The Exorcism of Emily Rose

2005 film by Scott Derrickson

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Scott Derrickson
Written by|

* Paul Harris Boardman
* Scott Derrickson

Produced by|

* Tom Rosenberg
* Gary Lucchesi
* Paul Harris Boardman
* Tripp Vinson
* Beau Flynn

Starring|

* Laura Linney
* Tom Wilkinson
* Campbell Scott
* Colm Feore
* Jennifer Carpenter
* Mary Beth Hurt
* Henry Czerny
* Shohreh Aghdashloo

Cinematography| Tom Stern
Edited by| Jeff Betancourt
Music by| Christopher Young

Production
companies

* Lakeshore Entertainment
* Firm Films
* Mist Entertainment

Distributed by| Screen Gems (through Sony Pictures Releasing[1])

Release date

* September 9, 2005 (2005-09-09)

Running time

| 119 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $19 million[2]
Box office| $145.2 million[2]

The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a 2005 American supernatural-horror legal-drama film directed by Scott Derrickson, who co-wrote with Paul Harris Boardman. The cast includes Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Colm Feore, Jennifer Carpenter, Mary Beth Hurt, Henry Czerny, and Shohreh Aghdashloo. The film follows a self-proclaimed agnostic (Linney) who acts as defense counsel representing a parish priest (Wilkinson) accused of negligent homicide after performing an exorcism. The story is loosely inspired by the real-life case of Anneliese Michel.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose was released theatrically on September 9, 2005, by Sony Pictures Releasing's Screen Gems. The film grossed $145.2 million against a budget of $19 million. It received mixed reviews from critics, while Carpenter's performance was praised. It won Best Horror Film at the 32nd Saturn Awards.

## Plot

[edit]

Erin Bruner, an ambitious lawyer seeking to become a senior partner in her law firm, takes the case of Father Richard Moore, a Catholic diocesan priest charged with negligent homicide following an attempted exorcism of 19-year-old student Emily Rose. While the archdiocese wants Moore to plead guilty to minimize the crime's public attention, Moore instead pleads not guilty. During the trial, the statements of the witnesses are visualized via flashbacks. Prosecutor Ethan Thomas interrogates several doctors and neurologists to establish a medical cause for Emily's death, particularly epilepsy and schizophrenia. Emily had dropped out of her college studies after being consistently struck by delusions and muscle spasms at 3 a.m. She returned to her parents' home and was treated with epilepsy and psychosis medications. Moore was consulted when her condition failed to improve, and his assessment and observations led him to the conclusion that Emily was being possessed by a demon. With the consent of Emily's parents, Moore subjected Emily to an exorcism that ultimately failed. Moore surmised that Emily's medications were to blame for the unsuccessful expulsion, as they paralyzed Emily's brain activity and kept the demon out of reach.

Moore, wanting to tell Emily's story, gives his testimony when he is called to the witness stand. Bruner begins experiencing supernatural phenomena at home, waking up at 3 a.m. to the smell of burning material. Moore warns her she may be a target for the demons, revealing he, too, has experienced similar phenomena on the night he was preparing the exorcism. Bruner supports Moore by summoning anthropologist Sadira Adani to testify about the beliefs surrounding spiritual possession from various cultures, but Thomas dismisses her claims as nonsense. Graham Cartwright, a medical doctor who attended the exorcism, gives Bruner a cassette tape on which the exorcism was recorded, and Moore presents the recording as evidence. Cartwright's testimony to authenticate the exorcism and refute the prosecution's medical case is prevented when he is suddenly struck and killed by a car. A distraught Bruner retreats to her office, where her boss threatens to terminate her if she allows Moore to testify again. Bruner visits Moore in his jail cell, where he convinces her to allow him to tell the rest of Emily's story despite her boss's threat.

The next day, Moore takes the witness stand again and reads a letter that Emily wrote before she died. On the morning after the exorcism, Emily was visited by the Virgin Mary in a field near her house and was permitted the choice of ascending to Heaven. However, Emily chose to endure her suffering and later received stigmata on her hands. Thomas does not interpret the markings as a divine sign but rather as traces of self-inflicted injuries. The jury ultimately reaches a guilty verdict but surprises the court by asking Judge Brewster to give a sentence of time served. Although momentarily shocked by the suggestion, Brewster accepts it, and Moore is free to go. Bruner is offered a partnership in her firm but declines. Later, Moore and Bruner visit Emily's grave, and Moore states that the time will come when Emily will be declared a saint.

The epilogue reveals that while Moore never appealed his conviction and went to seclusion, Emily's story brought a profound effect on the masses, and her gravesite has become unofficial holy shrine that draws visitors from all over the world.

## Cast

[edit]

* Laura Linney as Erin Christine Bruner
* Tom Wilkinson as Father Richard Moore
* Jennifer Carpenter as Emily Rose
* Campbell Scott as Ethan Thomas
* Colm Feore as Karl Gunderson
* Joshua Close as Jason
* Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Mueller
* Duncan Fraser as Dr. Graham Cartwright
* J. R. Bourne as Ray
* Mary Beth Hurt as Judge Brewster
* Henry Czerny as Dr. Briggs
* Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dr. Sadira Adani

## Production

[edit]

The screenplay was written by director Scott Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman; in honor of the contributions of Boardman and other collaborators on the film, Derrickson chose to forgo the traditional "film by" credit. According to Derrickson's DVD commentary, he chose Boardman as his co-writer because Derrickson sees himself as a believer and Boardman as a skeptic, and believed the pairing would provide the screenplay with two different perspectives, thus providing the film some ambiguity as to whether it supports a religious/supernatural interpretation of the events depicted, or a more secular/medical interpretation.

The character of Emily Rose was inspired by the story of Anneliese Michel.[3] German director Hans-Christian Schmid made his own film of Michel's story, Requiem, around the same time in late 2006. Linney recommended Carpenter for this role after working with her in a play.[4]

Adolescent Sara Niemietz was chosen as the vocalist for the soundtrack and score.[5] Niemietz worked again with Christopher Young on The Uninvited (2009),[6] and is now an independent artist and cast-member with Postmodern Jukebox.[7]

## Reception

[edit]

### Box office

[edit]

The Exorcism of Emily Rose made $75.1 million domestically, and $145.1 million worldwide against a $19 million budget.[2] According to Derrickson, the film was not as successful as he hoped.[8]

### Critical reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 45%, based on 155 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads "Loosely based on a true story, The Exorcism of Emily Rose mixes compelling courtroom drama with generally gore-free scares in a ho-hum take on demonic cinema."[9] On Metacritic, it has an overall score of 46 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[10]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a rating of three out of four stars, describing it as "intriguing and perplexing" and writing that "the screenplay is intelligent and open to occasional refreshing wit."[11] Paul Arendt of BBC gave the film three out of five stars, referring to the "flashback story" as "high-octane schlock that occasionally works your nerves, thanks to a committed performance from Jennifer Carpenter".[12] Olly Richards of Empire gave the film three out of five stars as well, writing that "Viewed as a horror movie, Emily Rose isn't much scarier than the average, but combined with intelligent and balanced courtroom drama it has more to offer than your usual big-lunged, big-breasted screamer."[13]

Jerome Reuter of Scream magazine gave the film a rating of two out of five stars, writing that "The Exorcism of Emily Rose, while compelling at times, is nothing more than a blatant attempt to utilise a real human tragedy for an agenda."[14] Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, criticizing the "witless, didactic" screenplay and writing that "I've witnessed more complicated existential wrangling exchanged between two tokers."[15]

In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association listed the film in their Top 100 Scariest Films Ever Made at #86.[16] Jennifer Carpenter, whose "demonic" bodily contortions were often achieved without the aid of visual effects, won "Best Frightened Performance" at the MTV Movie Awards in 2006.[17] Additionally, it received the award for Best Horror Film at the 32nd Saturn Awards.

## See also

[edit]

* Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes
* Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers
* Possessed
* Exorcism of Roland Doe

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
2. ^ a b c "The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
3. ^ Hansen, Eric T. (September 4, 2005). "What in God's Name?!". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
4. ^ "Story Notes for The Exorcism of Emily Rose". AMC.com. AMC Networks. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
5. ^ The Exorcism of Emily Rose  at AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
6. ^ The Uninvited  at AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
7. ^ "Sara Niemietz Archives". Postmodern Jukebox. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
8. ^ "Hollywood Accounting: How A $19 Million Movie Makes $150 Million... And Still Isn't Profitable". October 19, 2012.
9. ^ "The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
10. ^ "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". Metacritic. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
11. ^ Ebert, Roger (September 8, 2005). "The Exorcism of Emily Rose Movie Review (2005)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
12. ^ Arendt, Paul (November 24, 2005). "BBC - Movies - review - The Exorcism of Emily Rose". BBC. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
13. ^ Richards, Olly (January 2000). "The Exorcism Of Emily Rose Review". Empire. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
14. ^ Reuter, Jerome (March 31, 2018). "THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE: Film Review". Scream. ScreamHorrorMag.com. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
15. ^ Gonzalez, Ed (September 6, 2006). "Review: The Exorcism of Emily Rose". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
16. ^ "Top 100 Scariest Movies". Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
17. ^ "Movie Awards 2006 - MTV Movie Awards". MTV.com. MTV. June 8, 2006. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

* The Exorcism of Emily Rose at IMDb
* The Exorcism of Emily Rose at Box Office Mojo
* The Exorcism of Emily Rose at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Exorcism of Emily Rose at Metacritic
* Comparison of the true story and the film at Chasing the Frog

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* The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
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* The Gorge (2025)
* Black Phone 2 (2025)

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Saturn Award for Best Horror Film

* Blacula (1972)
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* Dracula (1979)
* The Howling (1980)
* An American Werewolf in London (1981)
* Poltergeist (1982)
* The Dead Zone (1983)
* Gremlins (1984)
* Fright Night (1985)
* The Fly (1986)
* The Lost Boys (1987)
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* Arachnophobia (1989/90)
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* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
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* From Dusk till Dawn (1995)
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* The Devil's Advocate (1997)
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* The Sixth Sense (1999)
* Final Destination (2000)
* The Others (2001)
* The Ring (2002)
* 28 Days Later (2003)
* Shaun of the Dead (2004)
* The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
* The Descent (2006)
* Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
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* A Quiet Place (2018/19)
* The Invisible Man (2019/20)
* The Black Phone (2021/22)
* Talk to Me (2022/23)
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