The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Audience Reviews

View More (1000+)

Benjamin H Superbly acted and expressive in its storytelling, The Exorcism of Emily Rose fails to captivate outside of the courtroom scenes and its attempts to be creepy feels generic and repetitive, however you still care for its central characters because of said acting and the well written courtroom scenes. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/07/25 Full Review YoYo I don’t think Jennifer Carpenter is given enough credit for what she can accomplish in her projects, cuz this was great acting on her part. Well done. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/29/25 Full Review Alejandra C Honestly this is my favorite film from any other exorcism. Carpenter just hits the mark and its beautiful acting. I appreciated the movie despite being a lot in the court room. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/05/25 Full Review dave e These people with such low ratings are ignorant in my opinion. This was a great film that included a trial, a story and some real scary scenes. The court room drama is what the movie is really about, because only the people in the room saw what the girl went through. It's a step right behind the exorcist, trust me. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/01/25 Full Review Paul S This movie is the perfect blend of The Exorcist and Primal Fear (complete with Laura Linney). I've heard the horrifying story of Emily Rose before, but seeing it played out on the screen made it so much more terrifying and intriguing. When the movie was finished, I was left with so much doubt, trying to decide whether what happened to Emily was an example of religion-driven negligence or something truly sinister and supernatural. Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson gave incredible performances, and this is one of the most compelling movies I have ever watched. I definitely recommend it for fans of horror and legal dramas! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/18/25 Full Review ROY Y In the landscape of horror cinema, few films manage to transcend their genre to become something more: a theological thesis, a legal drama, and, for some viewers, a therapeutic instrument. Scott Derrickson's 2005 film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, is one such rarity. My engagement with this film was not one of casual viewership; it was a deliberate, strategic intervention to counteract the profound psychological and spiritual dissonance inflicted by a prior viewing of The Taking of Deborah Logan. Where Deborah Logan presented a terrifying portrait of spiritual anarchy—a world where affliction occurs without recourse to a legitimate, ordered system—Emily Rose provided the perfect antidote: a narrative grounded in protocol, reason, and the sober realities of faith confronting the modern world. The film's genius, and its primary source of healing for the analytically-minded viewer, lies in its structure. It is not, at its core, a horror film; it is a courtroom drama. This narrative choice brilliantly reframes the central conflict. The audience is not merely asked to witness terrifying supernatural events; we are empaneled as a jury, tasked with weighing the evidence presented by two diametrically opposed but equally valid worldviews: the empirical certainty of medical science and the revealed truth of Catholic theology. For an individual whose life is a constant exercise in applying analytical frameworks to chaotic data, this structure is a sanctuary. It takes the subjective terror of the supernatural and subjects it to cross-examination, transforming a spectacle of fear into an exercise in discernment. The film's most compelling success is its rigorous adherence to procedural reality. Father Moore, the priest accused of negligent homicide, does not act as a rogue agent. He operates within the established, lawful framework of his faith, seeking and receiving the explicit sanction of his bishop before proceeding with the Rite of Exorcism. This detail, so often omitted in other films, is the foundational pillar of the movie's integrity. It presents a world where even in the face of incomprehensible evil, there is a protocol. There is an established authority. There is order. This stands in stark, therapeutic contrast to the horror of a world where no such system exists, where one is abandoned to the whims of chaotic malevolence. This narrative is rooted in the tragic, real-world case of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who died in 1976 after undergoing dozens of exorcism rites. The film does not shy away from the brutal consequences of this collision between faith and secular law. While the supernatural flashbacks are cinematically heightened for dramatic effect, the core conflict is brutally authentic. The diagnosis of epilepsy, the failure of psychiatric medication, the subsequent turn to spiritual intervention, and the resulting legal prosecution of the priests involved—all of this is a matter of historical record. The film forces us to confront a difficult truth: that genuine faith, when acted upon in the modern world, will inevitably be placed on trial. From a theological perspective, the film resonates deeply with what I have come to understand as the "Law of Testing and Tribulation." The defense raises the possibility that Emily was not merely a passive victim, but a "victim soul" who consciously accepted her immense suffering as a means to a greater spiritual end—to prove the reality of the spiritual realm to a skeptical world. This concept reframes suffering from a meaningless affliction into a purposeful, albeit agonizing, trial. It posits that the most intense spiritual battles are not a sign of God's absence, but of His profound, direct, and terrifying engagement. Ultimately, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a profound success because it is a film for the thinking mind. It does not demand blind belief. It demands analysis. It respects the viewer's intellect by presenting a case, complete with expert testimony from both sides, and asks for a verdict. For me, the verdict is clear. This film is a masterful depiction of the sober, ordered, and legally perilous reality of the Catholic ministry of exorcism. It healed the wound left by a film that reveled in chaos by restoring a world governed by protocol, and in doing so, provided not just a compelling cinematic experience, but a necessary and profound intellectual and spiritual comfort. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/08/25 Full Review Read all reviews

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now