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The Exorcism of Emily Rose – Rating 4 out of 5

In an extremely rare decision, the Catholic Church officially recognized the demonic possession of a 19 year-old college freshman. Told in flashbacks, ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ chronicles the haunting trial of the priest accused of negligence resulting in the death of the young girl believed to be possessed and the lawyer who takes on the task of defending him.

Emily Rose takes a different approach in presenting the idea of exorcism. The exorcism has already been and now Father Moore stands trial for negligent homicide in regards to her death. Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) is called in to defend the priest and his actions. She isn’t sure what to believe and she’s let one too many criminals go in her career. Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott) is the religious prosecutor who believes Emily was mistreated or not allowed to be treated for schizophrenia and has died due to medical complications.

The story is told in flashback and assumed visions Emily may have had during her ordeal. We hear accounts from friends as to her state of being and ultimately from Father Moore who relays his account of the events in detail.

This is not a horror movie, but a dramatic documentary about demonic possession. Is demon possession real? Is there a scientific or religious basis for it? Witnesses and evidence are brought in to explain the phenomenon and both are equally convincing and plausible.

Scenes of Emily’s body contorted and stiff will make you cringe. The scenes of her “delusions” are just enough to have the right effect without being overstated. There is plenty of mood and atmosphere in this story and Laura Linney and Campbell Scott do a superb job of presenting the case in a most convincing way.

The main thrust of the movie is to cause debate and speculation on demonic possession and whether it is “real”. The Church has doctrine on Exorcism, but yet they don’t acknowledge it. The symptoms for possession looks remarkably like mental illness and a prescription of the wrong meds. So is demonic possession real or simply mental illness.

This movie presents multiple arguments and multiple facts to support those arguments. It’s very well acted by all parties and has plenty of “creepiness” to make it all the more suspenseful. No gore, no hacking and slashing, no nudity or teens making out in the back of a Camaro. Good story, strong plot and strong acting. Definitely worth seeing.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (Unrated Special Edition)

Other Articles of Interest:

• The Possession
• The Last Exorcism
• An American Haunting – Rating 2 out of 5
• The Raven – John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe
• Dead Silence – Rating 3 out of 5
• Time to have a look at the Conjuring 2
• Exorcist II – Heretic – Ranking 3 out of 5
• Exorcist – Dominion/Exorcist – The Beginning
• Saw III
• The Black Cat – Rating 3.5 out of 5

Exorcist III – Ranking 3 out of 5

I don’t really see this as a sequel to the Exorcist and don’t think it really fits in with the rest of the story. We have a serial killer on the loose a cop trying to figure out what’s going on. Our cop has lost his faith and his ability to believe in the goodness of man and he’s also confronted a suspect who seems to be possessed by the devil. Although there are repeated elements from the Exorcist, I don’t see the two as part of the same story line.

It’s a good story on its own and shows the work of the devil as he interacts with the world through a serial killer. And what a crazy serial killer he is. Full of wild stories on how he handles the bodies, drains their blood and removes their organs. Quite the monologue with plenty of gory details. Brad Dourif as the Gemini Killer is worth watching the movie for.

Exorcist III is a fun haunt in its own right with some loose ties to the original Exorcist story.

Buy Exorcist III for $9.98

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Other Articles of Interest:

• Exorcist II – Heretic – Ranking 3 out of 5
• Kevin Bacon comes to the small screen in The Following
• The Exorcist
• Hannibal – Season 2 Premiere
• Hannibal – Takiawase – S02E04
• Exorcist – Dominion/Exorcist – The Beginning
• The Devil as told to us by M. Night Shyamalan
• Bloodstains – Jeff Mudgett
• American Horror Story – Asylum – S02E01
• Saw III

Exorcist II – Heretic – Ranking 3 out of 5

As far as sequels go this falls into the same category as most, it doesn’t live up to the original. However, this sequel has a confusing plot, and really seems to be a forced story to capitalize on the success of the original. We really get no insight into the previous events and we go no advancement of the story. There are a couple of decent scenes but the past life dealings with Pazuzu lead to a fairly bland and uneventful ending.

Linda’s back and she’s more confused than ever. Some of the dialog comes off as laughable and some of the medical “procedures” just seem dumb. There aren’t really any tense moments like we get in the first film and we don’t have the same sort of tense showdown. In the original we have Regan battling with the devil himself, in this one, who knows what’s going on.

The movie is worth watching because there are a couple of scenes of note, but on the whole you don’t get anything out of this one.

Exorcist II – Heretic

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Other Articles of Interest:

• Exorcist III – Ranking 3 out of 5
• The Possession
• Saw
• The Exorcist
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose – Rating 4 out of 5
• Exorcist – Dominion/Exorcist – The Beginning
• Grave Encounters 2
• Imprint – Masters of Horror – Rating 2 out of 5
• Insidious – An interesting tale, but not quite what I expected
• Thr3e – Rating 3 out of 5

The Exorcist – Rating 4 out of 5

You know the Exorcist, or if you haven’t you have no business reading the movies on this site. Even though the movie came out in 1977 it still has plenty of disturbing imagery and a creepy soundtrack.

In conjunction in with the debate on good versus evil and the strength of faith we have the scenes of pain and suffering Regan as she not only undergoes the doctor’s tests, but the physical contortions of the possessions. Although some of the scenery and costuming will seem dated they are easily overlooked as you get hooked into the story.

And yes, the spiderwalk scene is pretty creepy looking. And no matter how many years have gone by the final scene of Regan spewing vomit, cursing, spitting and destroying the room in the final showdown is still pretty un-nerving.

This is still a great movie and definitely worth seeing, again.

The Exorcist – $7.99

Other Articles of Interest:

• Exorcist II – Heretic – Ranking 3 out of 5
• Exorcist III – Ranking 3 out of 5
• Exorcist – Dominion/Exorcist – The Beginning
• Dead Silence – Rating 3 out of 5
• The Gravedancers – After Dark Horror Fest – 8 Films To Die For
• Best Halloween Movies?
• The Omen – Remake – 06-06-06
• An American Haunting – Rating 2 out of 5
• Reincarnation – After Dark Horror Fest – 8 Films To Die For
• Unrest – After Dark Horror Fest – 8 Films To Die For