The exorcism of Emily Rose (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

( Max score: 100 )

85

Film Synopsis:

Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter, White Chicks) was an average teenage girl who was the target of terrifying demonic forces that would ultimately shock a town and torment her soul. But was she, as many believed, possessed? In an attempt to clear the clergymen who exorcised Emily, a skeptical attorney (Linney) awakens to the discovery that powerful spiritual forces may actually exist. This harrowing film unfolds like a recurring nightmare form which there is no waking.

My Take:

I have to tell you that I am not a fan of horror movies about demonic possession. I remember when The exorcism of Emily Rose was released in theaters and the trailer was being show regularly on television. I had no interest in seeing it and had not prior to this review. The problem for me is that I find the subject matter disturbing. After watching this one my feelings have not changed in that regard. I thought that this was a good scary movie and liked how it was told through a series of flashbacks. Jennifer Carpenter was strong in the title role as she gave a chilling performance. The remainder of the cast which included Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson and Campbell Scott all supported her performance in excellent fashion. The fact that it is based upon a true story made it all the more eerie although I am not certain to what extent liberties were taken to make it more screen worthy. The makeup and special effects were well done and didn’t go overboard in order to attempt to make Emily’s transformation excessively gruesome. This is a suspenseful and sometimes frightening film that is definitely a solid addition to the genre. I can’t speak for everyone but for me it was an experience that I won’t need to have again.

Parental Guide:

This unrated version contains frightening images and brief violence that would not be suitable for some viewers. Parental discretion is in order.

Audio: 84

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Video: 86

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The exorcism of Emily rose comes to Blu-ray Disc from Sony featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 29 mbps and lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 channel audio that has an average bitrate of 1.6 mbps.

This was a well balanced audio/video presentation that delivered the goods. Video quality was clean with lots of visible detail so that images were crisp with excellent depth and clarity. Black levels were respectable as they appeared deep while exhibiting plenty of visible gradation. Shadow detail was rendered with excellent dimensionality and delineation in all but a few instances where it varied depending on the camera perspective. The color palette was not extensive but those used looked great with no signs of blooming or oversaturated tones. The lossless audio mix aptly brought out the chilling nature of the soundtrack with stark realism. I had no trouble discerning the differences in the various voice effects and sounds as Emily battled the raging forces inside of her. The subwoofer was kept busy as it worked in tandem with the rest of the system to convey the low frequency and dynamic impact during the struggle in the barn during the exorcism sequence. This engaging and sometimes turbulent soundtrack definitely adds to the overall effect of this film. I found it to be excellent overall and appreciated its attention to detail and lack of ostentatious.

Bonus Features:

The bonus features contained on this Blu-ray Disc are the same as those on the 2005 DVD releases. They offer background on the original story and how it was obtained by Writer/Director Scott Derrickson as well as features on the headlining cast members and film’s visual design. The Genesis piece was the best of the three as it offered some interesting information on the story and production. The commentary was also quite good and had plenty of insights to offer from Director Scott Derrickson. None of the bonus content was offered high definition (bummer). The disc indicates that there are BD Live features however I was unable to locate the option in the disc menu.

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• Director’s Commentary
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• Genesis of the story - Featurette
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• Casting the movie - Featurette
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• Visual design - Featurette
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• Deleted scene with optional Director’s Commentary
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Final Thoughts:

Fans of The exorcism of Emily Rose are sure to be pleased with it’s debut on high definition Blu-ray Disc. Sony has consistently hit the mark with solid audio/video presentations on their catalog title releases and this one continues in that vein. This is not my kind of movie but I can appreciate its value and can recommend it for those who may be interested.