By BECKY JIMENEZ
Rip staff writer
Imagine yourself just having witnessed “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” and driving home at 1 a.m. in a mortuary removal van. Creepy, isn’t it? Well, it was.
Granted, since the word exorcism is embedded in the title, the movie focuses entirely on the trial of Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) with random flashbacks to the actual events surrounding Emily’s “condition.”
Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) is a 19-year-old college freshman who was brought up in a Catholic-devoted household. Nonetheless, when she leaves home to attend college on a scholarship she encounters an inexplicable incident.
She is found in her dorm room, frantic and in a state of shock. Emily is nonresponsive at this point and doctors have concluded that she has to be hospitalized. She is diagnosed with a psychotic epileptic disorder, which requires immediate medical treatment.
After this incident, Emily begins to have hallucinations in everything she sees. Random classmates began to take forms of demons. She has random spasms where she feels like there is another person or entity in her.
Emily returns home to the care of her family. They make the decision to seek help from their priest, Father Moore. Rose agrees to be submitted through the ritual better known as an exorcism. Emily and her family are deeply convinced that she is under demonic possession.
Father Moore agrees to proceed with the exorcism. The exorcism itself is really creepy and much like the graphic scenes in the movie “The Exorcist.” Emily’s body is found in a distorted state, her joints lock and she convulses uncontrollably. She speaks in different tongues and is in a frantic state whenever Father Moore tries to control her.
The exorcism fails, and as a result, Emily dies. Father Moore is arrested and charged with the murder of Emily.
Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) is assigned to defend Moore although she can be classified as an agnostic. Erin is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism, yet she is determined to prove that Emily was under demonic possession.
Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott) is assigned to the prosecution and fits the stereotypical ruthless stigma that lawyers are presumed to be. Scott is determined to convict Father Moore because he doesn’t agree with Catholicism. He tries to convince the audience and the jury that Emily had a psychotic epileptic disorder.
Throughout the entire movie, the audience is presented with evidence pertaining to the case. All information is presented as a way of letting the audience to form their feelings about demonic possession. Testimonials are presented by Emily’s father, friend, Father Moore and lastly by an exorcism expert.
Oh, and let’s not forget the gruesome photo that is presented throughout the whole trial. A great big blow up of Emily’s coroner photo. Emily’s corpse is distorted, bruised and cut. She has broken teeth and looks like she has been badly beaten with a baseball bat.
The topic surrounding faith is analyzed through all different types of points of view, such as: atheist, Catholic, non-Catholic, and the agnostic. Despite the amount of testimonials that are presented on behalf of Father Moore, he is found guilty. However, although the jury found Father Moore guilty of negligence they suggest to the judge that his sentence be waived as time served.
Ultimately, Emily’s story has been told. It is up to you to choose whether to believe or not believe despite your preference of religious beliefs. Do demons really exist? You decide, but remember that this movie was inspired by true events.