A priest is on trial, but the devil may be guilty

The ongoing debate about the place of religion in a society founded

on secular law is given a new twist in “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.”

This is a surprisingly good movie with an interesting story line

and some pretty decent scares.

The core questions of this movie are whether the existence of the

devil is something that can be proven or disproven, and whether a

secular society should be debating spiritual issues in a court of

law.

A priest, Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson), is charged with

manslaughter in the death of a young woman named Emily Rose (Jennifer

Carpenter). The coroner’s office says her death was the result of

criminal negligence during an exorcism Moore performed. Moore and

Emily’s family say her death was caused by demonic possession.

While sitting in jail awaiting trial, Moore refuses to accept a

plea bargain. He wants the devil to have his day in court.

In a lot of ways, this movie feels like an episode of “Law and

Order: Special Exorcism Unit.” The prosecutor, Ethan Thomas (Campbell

Scott), is a devout Christian who argues that Emily’s condition was a

combination of epilepsy and mental illness. The defense attorney,

Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), is an agnostic whose client wants to

testify that Emily was possessed by demons and that we all need to be

spiritually on guard.

As the trial progresses, strange things begin to happen to Erin,

and she begins to wonder whether what Moore is saying could be true.

Are there dark forces in play, or is it all just a series of creepy

coincidences?

The best part of this movie is that it pretty much leaves it up to

you to come to your own verdict.

It wouldn’t be a scary movie if the scale wasn’t tipped toward

making you believe in demons, but you’re still allowed to draw your

own conclusions about what happened to Emily Rose.

The story is more of a supernatural thriller than a horror flick.

If you come to the theater expecting pea soup a la Linda Blair,

you’ll be disappointed.

It’s also a PG movie, and for the most part, there’s a tight rein

on the language.

This film’s soundtrack is eerie and unnerving and ranks right up

there with the music Stanley Kubrick used in “The Shining.” My only

complaint is that sometimes the scary music is overused.

Horror movies have a bad habit of using music to tell us when

something is supposed to be scary, just as sitcoms use canned

laughter to tell us when something is supposed to be funny.

When Moore wakes up in the middle of the night feeling unnerved

and decides to investigate, we don’t need the creepy music to tell us

to be afraid.

The movie’s plot is very loosely based on the true story of a

young woman named Anneliese Michel who died during an exorcism in

Germany in the early 1970s.

Her family and her priest were charged in her death. At trial, the

defense was allowed to play audiotapes of the exorcisms as evidence

she was truly possessed.

In retrospect, that Michel was mentally ill seems painfully

obvious. During her exorcisms, some of the demons inside her

identified themselves as Cain, Nero, Judas, Lucifer and Hitler --

sort of a who’s who in Christian hell.

All of this brings up an issue that’s very troubling in the “The

Exorcism of Emily Rose.” During Moore’s trial, one of the expert

witnesses called by the defense states a medication Emily was taking

was negatively affecting the spiritual part of her brain and

preventing her exorcism from being successful.

The only way for the exorcism to work was for her to quit taking

her medication.

Who wrote this part of the script? Tom Cruise?

In a world where people still believe in fortunetellers and still

argue that superstition is as valid as science, the last thing we

need is for people to start believing that taking medicine allows

demons to possess you.

Setting that big issue aside, I really liked “The Exorcism of

Emily Rose.” It’s a well-told story with interesting characters.

It vaguely reminded me of “Audrey Rose,” a Marsha Mason and

Anthony Hopkins movie from 1977, in which the existence of

reincarnation is debated in a court of law.

“Emily Rose” will make a good rental on a night when you’re

looking for something that’s a little scary and asks you to think a

little.

* JIM ERWIN, 40, is a technical writer and computer trainer.