The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

: Sweet Potato

Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Carpenter

These kinds of movies give me the creeps. I have always had this fear that, in watching them, or being involved in any Satanic or occultist stuff, I am opening the door and inviting the bad spirits in. I won’t even touch a Ouija board! Interestingly, the film echoes the same sentiment when Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) warns Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) that, due to her involvement in the case, she is under attack by the dark forces. This film is another “Based on a true story” exploration, this time of a girl, Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), who is diagnosed by her doctors as a psychotic epileptic when she begins to experience strange and frightening seizures, but who becomes convinced she is possessed by the devil. As Emily continues to get worse, unable to eat and sleep, tormented by her condition, Father Moore and her parents agree that she is dealing with a spiritual, not medical, crisis. Father Moore attempts an exorcism (it isn’t pretty, believe me!), but that, too, fails to help. Coming to the conclusion that neither drugs nor exorcism can fight this demon, they all agree that they should do nothing, and Emily stops taking the prescribed medication. She eventually dies of injuries and an overall shut down of bodily function, resulting in a negligent homicide charge against Father Moore. The prosecution attempts to prove that she was, in fact, suffering from a rare medical condition, and that Father Moore (to whom the girl’s care had been entrusted) allowed her to deteriorate and die needlessly. This is where it gets interesting, for those of us who like to go deeper and really analyze things. The question is how do we know that physical and mental conditions are purely medical and not spiritual in origin? How can we make that distinction? Do we really know enough to dismiss the idea that demonic forces can exhibit symptoms similar to actual medical ones? Are they one and the same? I don’t know about you, but my feeling is that we don’t know everything, therefore we cannot draw absolute conclusions on the subject. I enjoyed this film for the mental exercise, but I would not recommend it for your little tater tots or to those of you with strong religious objections to the content. In my opinion, it was more engrossing and less gross (cute play on words, eh?) than it’s predecessor, The Exorcist, even though that film is considered a classic. Be warned, when dining on this dish, Mr. Potato Head, with little red horns, might be an uninvited guest, so keep the lights on and don’t dine alone.

PotatoPatti