The Exorcism of Emily Rose / Sybil

The Exorcism of Emily Rose expertly combined two of my favorite genres: courtroom drama and young-woman-goes-mad. All right, maybe that the latter one is more of a sub-genre, but nevertheless, I find it fascinating.

Although the film is being promoted primarily as a horror flick, people expecting gore and ghouls may be disappointed. Not to say that it doesn't have its frightening moments: it does have the requisite creepy backgroud music (as most of know, the music can sometimes scare us more than the visuals) and a few jump-out-of-your-seat scenes.

However, what I found most disturbing were the flashbacks of the experiences in which, depending on which side of the court case you believe, Emily is either possessed or experiencing psychotic hallucinations.

The scenes from Emily's point of view, when she sees faces of passersby turn into yawning black horrors are truly disturbing. Jennifer Carpenter's performance is very convincing as the pious college student who believes that God is testing her by forcing her to endure seizures and horrific visions.

I'm reminded of a classic made-for-TV movie that is available in a edited film version, Sybil, starring Sally Field as a student suffering from multiple personality disorder. Field won an Emmy for the role, in which she had sixteen personalites and none of them very cheery. The film and the book it was based on are credited with creating public awareness about child abuse and the possible resulting psychiatric disorders.

In short, even though I don't believe in possession, The Exorcism of Emily Rose was frightening-mental illness is a lot scarier than any movie demons, in my opinion.
Selina frequents movie theatres and video stores so often that she is often misateken for an employee. She actually works at the Epcor Centre and also organizes a monthly performance event. For details, go to http://spaces.msn.com/members/redmilerevenge/. Please send questions, comments and offers of fame and fortune to sechebib@gmail.com.