The Exorcism of Emily Rose

[Remo D]

Am I really the first one on the board to see this?

Long story short--FORGET the PG-13 rating. All that means is that nobody yells "Fuck me! Fuck me!" while hammering herself with a crucifix. And we've seen that already.

This one makes an interesting comparison to the AMITYVILLE HORROR remake as a study in contrasts. They're both "based on true stories," but the new AMITYVILLE was made by people who did NOT believe in the source story and chose to play hell with it in an utter send-up.

But THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE treats its story with the utmost seriousness, giving equal attention to the medical and spiritual theories behind this rather harrowing case.

There are PLENTY of shocks, but not once does this play as an exploitation film of any kind (not much ammo for the "not a horror movie" crowd).

The result, in my opinion, may very well be the best exorcism-themed movie since THE EXORCIST itself.

But rather than continue to pre-sell it, I'd really like to hear some of your reactions first.

And I'll just have to cry in my beer over missing CRY WOLF and VENOM.

[Lode]

Yeah, I really liked it a lot more than I thought I was going to. It's VERY loosely based on a true story. I'm sure someone just took an interesting news article and turned it into their version of a movie, so it was kinda cheezy to me at the end when they sum up what each character "went on to" do.

It was really cool how they gave equal weight to each side of the story, and smart to use a courtroom to do so.

One thing that bugged me was that all of the disturbing scenes went by in flashes so quick that you almost don't get the full effect.

SPOILER***





Like when she eats bugs off the floor in her room, I couldn't even tell what it was till there were spider legs in her mouth, and when they boyfriend wakes up to find her contorted on the floor. I just think those scenes would have had a stronger impact had we been forced to watch for a more uncomfortable amount of time.

And personally I'm getting pissed off at all these movies being rated PG13 cuz I'm tired of sitting in the theater with a bunch of stupid ass teenagers having full-on conversations, laughing at not funny parts, and trying to "predict" what will happen next (and badly).

[Angelica]

I enjoyed it as well. Wasn't really cramming either side down your throat.

I'm torn on the whole PG-13 thing. On one side it's great to see scary movies rely on imagery and suspense rather than gore, swearing and breasts. Some of the most frightening movies as of late were PG-13. The bad side is you do end up sharing the room with young loud little shits. That and some of these movies (like White Noise) I can't imagine wanting my 13 year old to see. It scares me to think what may be out there when I actually do have kids. I guess I will just have to go with them.. darn.

Anyway, yes, Emily Rose was smart of thoughtful and enjoyable...

[MattV]

7.5/10

good movie, huge improvment over other recent horror movies as of late, and milestones ahead of that shitty exorcist prequel.... the scene were the boyfriend wakes up to her all contorted on the ground is seared into my memory, very creepy image. I can't imagine how terrified I would be if I woke up to something like that.