Jennifer Carpenter gets possessed as Emily Rose in The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Credit: Steve Schirra

 It’s not often that you see a movie so disturbing, so horrifying that you are forced to say to the person next to you, “I’m going to stab you in the leg if you don’t stop whimpering.”

But such was the case with The Exorcism of Emily Rose, a movie written and directed by Scott Derrickson that will literally scare the Hell out of you.

At the press screening, I had to remind my friend, with whom I attended the film, that I would perform my own brand of exorcism on him if he didn’t stop acting like a little girl.

But it’s hard not to react as such when you’re subjected to the perfectly executed horror of Emily Rose. There were few people in the theater who weren’t squirming in their seats as the story unfolded.

The movie opens with a medical examiner entering the Rose household. It seems their oldest daughter, Emily, has passed away due to “unnatural causes,” prompting the on-the-scene officer to arrest Father Moore (Tom Wilkenson).

But why arrest the priest?

As the story continues, we learn that Emily’s care was completely laid to rest in the hands of Moore, her priest, who is now on trial for negligent homicide.

Enter his lawyer, Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), who has to somehow defend a man who seemingly allowed a disturbed girl to starve to death. His defense: The girl was possessed by demons who made her harm herself and lose her will to eat.

The district attorney, Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott), argues that the girl was simply schizophrenic and epileptic, which was the cause of these “possessions,” and that the priest should have left her in the care of a doctor.

Mixed in-between the court scenes are flashbacks that show the progression of Emily’s “condition,” which begins when she is away at college. One night, she is unable to control her movements as her body thrashes and contorts as she feels a “presence.”

Medical science says these are just seizures caused by a medical condition, but Father Moore thought these episodes were something more — something evil.

Emily Rose is the perfect blend of courtroom drama and horror. Think “Law and Order” meets The Exorcist (sans the puking up green slime and head-spinning parts).

The sound effects, score, cinematography and excellent cast come together to make this a truly horrific masterpiece and perhaps one of the best horror films of all time. This is definitely one to see in the theaters.

As you walk out of the theater, unnerved, remember this one fact: It’s based on a true story.

Contact Forum Editor Steve Schirra at [email protected].