28th Favorite Movie - The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Make sure you have read the first post in this series ("My 50 Favorite Movies") before you read on...

I wasn't planning on ever seeing this movie until three things happened. First, a friend of mine told me how seeing this movie inspired him to be a more devout follower of Jesus (and it wasn't just because it "scared the Hell out of him"). Second, I learned that the writer and director, Scott Derrickson, is a Christian who believes that spiritual warfare is real. And third, I learned that the film was based (albeit loosely) on a true story.

During pre-production of the film, Derrickson's faith stood in opposition to producer of the film's agnosticsm. The two friends would often argue about spiritual matters: "is there a God?" "are demons and angels real?" "does demon possession realy occur or is it just psychological?" Their debates are reflected in the two main characters of the film. On the side of faith is Father Moore, the parish priest who is called to perform an exorcism on his parishoner, Emily. On the side of agnosticism is Erin Bruner, the lawyer who is called to help sort out the mess after the exorcism fails. Should the priest have relied on doctors and psychologists instead of exorcism? Was Emily possessed or just sick? The film does a great job of making a case for either side... although I think in the end Derrickson makes a stronger case for the spiritual explanation. In fact, there are a couple clips that I have shown during talks to the high school group.

So here's why you really should (or should not) see this film: it is dang scary. You WILL have a hard time falling asleep, and you will never look at 3 am the same way again (you gotta see the movie to understand). I had a bunch of the high school guys over to watch this movie one night last summer because they all love horror movies. We were having a good time scaring one another until one of them says, "Danny, there's someone standing on your balcony." I was like, "good one... that would be pretty freaky". And they were all, "no look, really, there is someone there." We turned to look and sure enough, something was there. EVERYONE freaked out and started running into the other room. I figured as the adult, it was my job to go see what he/she/it wanted so I got a little closer... and discovered that when you catch a glimpse of our Direct TV satellite dish at our new apartment while watching a scary movie in the dark, it can easily be mistaken for a head.

So if you don't mind being freaked out for a few nights, check out The Exorcism of Emily Rose. While you will most definitely be scared, you could also be inspired.