The Exorcism of Emily Rose (Special Edition, Unrated) (DVD)

Back in July of this year I posted an article based on some editorial material provided to me by Sony Pictures titled "The Story of 'Emily Rose'". Much to my surprise that article is still the most read article on RopeofSilicon.com, which leads me to believe that my review of the DVD may not mean that much, but hopefully some of you will find it helpful.

First off I think a lot of you should be warned, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is just as much a courtroom drama as it is a horror/thriller. The film centers around the case brought upon Father Richard Moore (Tome Wilkinson) as he has been charged with contributing to the death of Emily Rose, a girl you died shortly following an attempted exorcism performed by Father Moore.

Emily's back-story is then told through the use of witness testimony and flashbacks as the truth is attempted to be brought to the forefront.

I said it in my theatrical review already so I will keep it short, the work of Jennifer Carpenter as the possessed Emily Rose is fantastic. She is as convincing as one could be when trying to convince an audience they are possessed by demons. But on DVD, just as it was in the theater, this film hits a major roadblock in its courtroom drama. The drama just isn't there. The courtroom is bland, the dialogue is bland and Campbell Scott is anything but intriguing as the prosecuting attorney, and if you watch the special features you will learn that Laura Linney, who plays defense attorney Erin Bruner, was actually the one who recommended both Scott and Carpenter. I guess 50/50 ain't bad when it comes to casting recommendations from the lead actress.

As for the special features I wasn't taken aback, but then again they weren't a complete waste of time. There are three featurettes which add up to about an hour in running time as they focus on the casting of the movie, the look of the movie and the origins of the story and the film. These three featurettes are a nice length and have some good information, the only problem you run into is in deciding whether or not you want to watch these or listen to director Scott Derrickson's commentary. If you ask me either way will suffice, but doing both is more redundant than informative.

There is also one deleted scene and approximately two minutes of additional footage cut back into this unrated version of the film. The unrated footage doesn't exactly stand up and yell, "Look at me," but if you are like me, having more footage when it comes to movies is always better.

What did bother me about this DVD is that there are two things I wanted to see/hear. First off we all know that the original exorcism performed on Anneliese Michel back in 1968 was recorded, and that recording is available, and director Derrickson has heard it. Why not have it on this DVD?

Secondly, I have been hearing for so long now how awesome Jennifer Carpenter's audition was and it was reiterated on this DVD numerous times. We have seen a lot of audition tapes on DVD lately... Why not on this one?

I like to think these two questions are more than nitpicks; I think they are legitimate questions. The fact that the material isn't on there leads me to believe that a special edition of this DVD will most likely hit store shelves come Halloween 2006. Don't be surprised, but until then you will certainly get a few scares out of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, just realize you are going to have to wade through some dull courtroom scenes to get to them.