Genres:
Drama
Horror
Theatrical Release: 09/09/2005(USA)
Release Date: 01/01/2001
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time:
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language
Distributor/Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
In this blend of
psychological thriller and
courtroom drama,
Emily Rose (
Jennifer Carpenter) is a 19-year-old college student who begins displaying bizarre and troubling behavior; as her actions become increasingly destructive and shocking,
Emily begins speaking in strange tongues and destroys religious symbols that surround her.
Emily's parents believe that their daughter has become possessed of the devil, and the Catholic Church agrees to authorize an exorcism of the young woman. As
Father Moore (
Tom Wilkinson) attempts to drive the demons from
Emily's body, the girl dies in the midst of the taxing ceremonies, and
Father Moore finds himself charged with negligent homicide. Attorney
Erin Brunner (
Laura Linney) is hired to represent
Father Moore against prosecutor
Ethan Thomas (
Campbell Scott), who intends to prove there were concrete medical explanations for
Emily's behaviors, including epilepsy and schizophrenia, all leading to a heated courtroom debate between the notions of faith and science.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose was inspired by the real-life story of
Annaliese Michel, a young woman from Germany who died in 1976 after priests in Wurzburg spent eight months attempting to exorcise demons from her body. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide