The Exorcism of Emily Rose (DVD)

One of the things I love best about working the horror beat is, there’s so much to choose from within the genre — there’s horror/sci-fi, dark fantasy, slashers, comedic horror, and so on. I couldn’t imagine having to write about any other genre because comparatively, they are so narrow. With The Exorcism of Emily Rose, we get suspense, mystery, courtroom drama, and yes, horror.

It’s loosely based on the true story on Analise Michel, a young woman who died in the 1970s after an exorcism was performed on her. Debates still rage as to whether she was demonically possessed (the exorcism was sanctioned by the Catholic Church), or if she was merely mentally disturbed (there’s lots of evidence to support this supposition). The Exorcism of Emily Rose is told from a few different points-of-view (her, her parents, her priest, her lawyer) which makes for an enticing and often chilling suspenser. (Click here to read our review of the theatrical release.)

The DVD has a sinful amount of additional release material. Unfortunately, none of it was terribly remarkable to me. I would have liked to have seen much more on Analise Michel, the history of exorcisms, etc., but for those specifically interesting in learning more about the actual writing and production of this film. Also, the “unrated” version of the movie is a bit of a cheat, as the only added scenes are from the courtroom (and you thought you’d see some spinning heads and crucifix sex-play, huh?).

First up, there’s a solo commentary with first-time director Scott Derrickson, and while he’s enthusiastic and informative, his way with words soon grows tedious as he says, “um,” “uh,” and “you know” more often than Cheech and Chong used to say “man”. It’s rather distracting, but for you I muddled through most of it: Derrickson talks about the evolution of the script, the use of colors and symbols in the film, how the actors were cast, and offers up the occasional trivia tidbit (star Laura Linney is so allergic to cats, it’s in her contract that she not work with them — so what’s one of the essential scenes? Linney’s character visiting Emily’s bereaved parents and their dozens of pet felines). In addition, he graciously gives a lot of credit to others involved in the production.

There is one deleted scene, and it’s easy to see why it was ditched. In it, Linney’s character picks up a stranger in a bar, takes him back to her place, then cast seem to understand why he’d possibly be expecting a little something-something.

The making-of featurettes are heavy on talking-head interviews with Derrickson and his co-writer/producer, Paul Harris Boardman. Still, they have some interesting things to say about the color palette of the film (influenced by the paintings of Francis Bacon) and how the imagery of crosses was covertly added into some scenes and segues in the movie.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a solid DVD rental and certainly enjoyable, but unless you’re absolutely sure you’ll love the movie it’s probably not a keeper.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson

Check out our video from the red carpet premiere of The Exorcism of Emily Rose.