After seeing this movie you'll be very afraid of being woken at 3 am. And if you do wake up at 3 am...well, let's just leave it at that for now. I had never heard of Jennifer Carpenter before this movie. Now I think I'll be hearing a whole lot more about her, and seeing more of her as well. And well deserved it is - her portrayal of Emily is superbly scary and harrowing while at once you feel the terror in her mind at not being able to fight her inner demons. To be fair, all the actors are excellent. Linney's agnostic/mystic who tries to understand this strange thing called faith. Wilkinsons quiet, softspoken, priest and Scott's man of faith appalled by what has taken place. The movie elegantly shows the same stories from different points of view and quietly balances between faith and science. However, as I had expected, everything sort of leans over on the faith-side towards the end. It would have been nice if that had been left entirely up to the viewer. There are some genuinely scary moments in this film and you get a good look at what has driven Emily into madness/taken possession of her body. The climactic exorcism is of course the scariest part, the best thing is that they don't overdo it. Everything falls within what could take place if she was, or wasn't, possessed. A final word of advice - don't watch this right before going to bed.
Review of The Exorcism of Emily Rose
