This is essentially a courtroom drama, as fast-rising lawyer Erin Bruner (Linney) takes on the defence of Father Moore (Wilkinson), a priest accused of allowing Emily Rose (Carpenter) to die after a very messy exorcism. The prosecutor (Black) is bent on proving medical negligence, and as a series of witnesses and experts take the stands, the ("inspired by a") true story unfurls of a young woman tormented by demons. Or maybe she was actually psycho-epileptic.

Director-cowriter Derrickson gives the film a slick sheen that cleverly obscures his slightly simplistic directing style. Underneath the smooth cinematography and score, there's a gritty little indie trying to get out. But Derrickson beats that more thoughtful tone into submission with a constant barrage of deafening noises and creepy lighting effects, plus images that are seriously disturbing as Emily's body is thrown and twisted by her internal struggle.

Performances are strong--especially Linney as the sceptic drawn into some sort of belief through her encounter with something she can't understand. Wilkinson is fine and understated as the knowing, helpful, decidedly not-mad priest. And Black adds a nice counterpoint as a believer forced to take the opposite side in the fight. Carpenter isn't required to do much more than grimace and scream, but she does that extremely effectively, especially when she finally tips over into Linda Blair territory.

The balance between cerebral legal drama and gut-churning freak-out is nicely maintained, even if it gets somewhat cheesy now and then. We are drawn into the story by the way it's so thoroughly grounded in real life, which allows us to open up to the possibility that maybe this actually happened. And the grisly Exorcist-style scenes are truly disturbing. It's rare to find a horror film that can actually get us thinking about the world around us.

themes, violence

14.Sep.05