The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Not much appears to be right in poor Emily’s world. As if wandering around in the cold in her nightie isn’t enough, she is also apparently the host for the devil himself, which means everywhere she looks the poor girl sees demons, while rude and menacing voices emerge from her delicate throat and she can’t seem to stop running into the wall. Undoubtedly this is the scariest film I have seen in many a moon – all sorts of noises take advantage of surround sound – evil cackling assaults the ears from all sides while Beelzebub whispers his wicked nonsense from somewhere seemingly about 5 rows up. Maybe it’s him flicking the popcorn too? And naturally there are the classic visuals to match – a girl’s body twisted and tormented on the floor, a demon face appearing in a window, and the old faithful scenario of a cat leaping out of the dark to guarantee you need a trip to the dry cleaner afterwards.

But don’t be fooled! This isn’t merely a nasty Exorcist rip-off. In fact, it’s more like John Grisham accidentally buggered Stephen King and their love child wrote a single novel before dying in a tragic house fire. Poor put upon Tom Wilkinson, the priest who exorcised Emily, is up on charges and has to defend his faith in court. Clearly Emily has taken advice from ClaimsDirect™ and is looking to hang the Church out to dry. Horror! Courtroom drama! Laura Linney taking this all a bit too seriously! Surely The Exorcism of Emily Rose should be the film of the year on these criteria alone? Certainly the film was responsible for a turnaround in the general slump that was felt in the US Box Office this year thanks to underperforming bilge like The Fantastic Four, and it certainly put the wind up me. Enjoy.

Greg Taylor