Written by: Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

More than an account of demonic possession, this psychological thriller is a courtroom drama that delves into personal demons vs. religious demons, asking more questions than it answers.

When the head of her law firm (Colm Feore) asks one of his ambitious junior partners, Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), to take on the science vs. faith case of Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson), she makes a deal for a future senior partnership. But facing a tough district attorney (Campbell Scott), she refuses a plea bargain, preferring to allow the story to unfold in court.

Flashbacks reveal 19 year-old Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), a devout Catholic who is molested by dark forces that surfaces at 3 a.m. (evil's traditional witching hour). When she seeks medical assistance, she's diagnosed with "psychotic-epileptic disorder" and given drugs. When that doesn't work, she seeks solace in church, where the parish priest becomes convinced she has a serious spiritual problem. With her family's consent and the approval of the diocese, on a fateful Halloween night, he performs the official Rituale Romanum Rite of Exorcism, which proves lethal.

Inspired by a true story, writer Paul Harris Boardman and writer/director Scott Derrickson set up the dilemma smoothly, minimizing CGI while propelling the bone-chilling narrative. Unlike "The Exorcist," this is a balanced, analytical examination of the controversial phenomenon of possession, raising provocative, if generic, questions about the existence of evil. As the agnostic, Linney propels the possibility, while Tom Wilkinson (whose part is underwritten), Jennifer Carpenter, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Mary Beth Hurt support admirably.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is a terrifying, high-tension 6, evoking a kind of haunting horror.