Editorials
An Exorcism Like No Other: ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ Turns 15
Each subgenre within horror has left an incredible mark on pop culture. Slashers have become icons, acting as quasi-mascots of the medium. Zombies have infiltrated the mainstream, bombarding their way into video games, comics, anime and more. Aliens and serial killers have fascinated our morbid curiosities. And then there are possession films.
This subgenre specializes in portraying demonic possession, climaxing in final acts where our hero must perform an exorcism. While possession films existed before its release, the one film primarily responsible for the subgenre’s popularity is The Exorcist. In the decades since The Exorcist, the demonic possession genre has only grown in popularity, resulting in stellar films such as The Last Exorcism and The Conjuring. However, among all those films, there is one I adore most of all.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
Released in 2005, directed by Scott Derrickson and written by Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman, the film follows the court case surrounding the death of Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter). Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) is a lawyer requested to defend Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson), who is being held accountable for negligent homicide in Emily’s death. After seeking counsel through medical professionals regarding Emily’s bizarre and dangerous behavior, her family turns to Moore for help, who eventually decides to perform an exorcism.
The film is based off the real events and case regarding Anneliese Michel, a young girl who was thought to be possessed and where two priests were brought to trial for similar reasons. Much of the film borrows elements from that case and the details surrounding Anneliese’s endeavor.
Demonic possession isn’t such a worldly concern for many folks – it is a concept that is entirely dependent on one’s spiritual belief system. That said, it may be fair to assume that many of us have an opinion or two when it comes to existential, spiritual concepts. And the way that The Exorcism of Emily Rose navigates such concepts is brilliant. For as much horror as the film exudes, it is also an intriguing philosophical experience. Watching as lawyers, medical professionals and academics go back and forth is equally as thrilling as the haunting tension the film exudes.
The present-day timeline of the narrative follows the court case, with flashbacks providing context to Emily’s struggles. Bruner and Moore find themselves pitted against Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott), a prosecutor who strikes at the defense with no restraint. Thomas utilizes a variety of medical experts that speak to Emily’s mental state; specifically, how she displayed epileptic traits, as well as aspects associated with psychosis. His arguments continuously push the idea that had Emily remained on the medicine provided to her, she would not have died. Bruner attempts to provide the view that it was Emily and her family’s rightful choice to consult Moore for his spiritual guidance and help, and that he in no way tried to do wrong by her.
Among the qualities that make The Exorcism of Emily Rose so fascinating, this dichotomy of spiritual belief and psychology is by far one of the most interesting. For those who may not be inclined to believe in demonic possession, or who may be skeptical of the spiritual, the notion of one’s body being invaded by an invisible presence may be extremely difficult to buy into. In many cases throughout the subgenre, the viewer is provided minimal to abundant (sometimes corny) context regarding a demon’s presence. They either show up one day out of the blue or we get loads of exposition about ancient evil. The Exorcism of Emily Rose doesn’t ever go into detail regarding the entity possessing Emily, but it attempts to explore why she may have been possessed.
While there are films that do incorporate the use of science to try and explain such distress and abnormal actions from the possessed victim, many other films just want the viewer to buy into a vague evil presence. To be fair, this idea can make for fun horror, but it doesn’t offer a sense of depth. The Exorcism of Emily Rose confronts our understanding of this type of narrative and challenges us to think more psychologically. Maybe such shocking and otherworldly actions can truly be explained as traits of mental illness.
However, the intriguing foil to this is the spiritual-scientific angle also implemented. Bruner eventually calls upon Dr. Sadira Adani (Shohreh Aghdashloo), who specializes in a scientific study of possession. Her approach to the subject offers an open-minded view of possession (touching upon ideas such as individuals who are hyper-sensitive and have a unique sensory awareness of the world). The scene between Dr. Adani and Bruner doesn’t just dive into mysticism and ignore all other details, but it provides a rational take as to why exorcism may be useful in such medical situations.
These conflicting perspectives allow for a consistent rush of anticipation while watching the court case. But of course, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is more than a court room drama. It is also a horror movie, and damn does it lay on the chills.
What Emily endures is nothing short of horrific. From the way her body locks up, to her self-imposed bruises and declining sanity, her suffering is palpable. In contrast, though, she also has a brutal aura to her. While in the possessed state, her actions can be vicious. One can sense the physicality in each of her strikes and lunges. And of course, there’s her scream; if anyone were to ever capture the screams of hell, it would be her. The film effectively utilizes scenes with Emily in the possessed state. Visuals and audio sequences are never overloaded and are placed in proper moments to elicit goosebumps. In particular, the “barnyard” scene is easily one of the most chilling moments I have witnessed in a movie. Fifteen years after its release and I am still freaked out whenever I watch that sequence.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose has the power to provoke sincere anxiety. In the moments between the flashbacks and court room, Bruner is up late at night, unable to sleep and feeling as if something is among her. Ironically, for all the demonic demonstrations present in the film, it’s those quieter moments that best represent the sort of fright this film stirs. It is an experience that keeps one up at night, afraid to look down the hall and anxious enough to keep the bed covers over their head.
Many demonic possession films just want to shock the viewer, and that’s all good and fine – but The Exorcism of Emily Rose is so much more. It masterfully uses the tropes of horror cinema to get the audience to think deeper. It encourages the viewer to consider both science and spirituality, keeping in mind how both can oppose one another and how they can intertwine.
Like every subgenre of horror, there are many films that make up the cannon of demonic possession. For many in the horror community, there are the films that will remain the most iconic, along with those that are forgettable. But in the decade in a half since its release, there has never been anything quite like The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
This is a horror site, so the odds are pretty good that you don’t need me to introduce Curry Barker’s Obsession to you. The indie film made on a minuscule budget has gone on to conquer the box office, earning over $445 million in theaters with plenty more to come on VOD and home video.
It’s the story of a spineless twat who makes a magical wish for the girl he likes to love him back, and she does… with grotesquely tragic results. Think “The Monkey’s Paw” for a new generation, and you’ll have an idea of the themes at play here. It’s most definitely a horror film, a pretty great one at that, but it’s also one of the year’s best comedies (even if too few people are acknowledging it as such).
The film is new to home video, and the 4k UHD/Blu-ray release includes a feature commentary from Barker. It’s a strong track, despite more than a few long silences, as he shares his thoughts on the production, the choices he made along the way, and the cast/crew he was lucky to have by his side.
Now keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for…
Obsession (2026)
Commentator: Curry Barker (director, writer, editor)
1. Capstone Pictures financed the film, but it was picked up by Focus Features after the film played TIFF “and it was life-changing.”
2. The opening diner scene with Bear (Michael Johnston) practicing his speech was part of additional filming when Barker decided to change up the film’s start. “The opening of the movie was actually on the TV, and then it goes down to the dead cat, and then it goes upside down, and we’re looking at Bear looking at the couch.” That’s the final shot of the film, too, and Barker really wanted to have the open and close mirror each other. “I really held on to that,” he says, but test screenings led him to realize the film needed a stronger opening, making it clear how much Bear loves Nikki (Inde Navarrette). “I ended up loving this way more anyway.”
3. The girl sitting across from Bear in the diner is Chloe Breen. She’s a regular on Barker’s YouTube sketch comedy channel, That’s a Bad Idea. Barker’s partner in the channel, Cooper Tomlinson, plays Ian here.
4. Barker found it difficult to track the background players in the diner scene as far as making sure they weren’t doubling up or appearing where they shouldn’t be as the camera captured both sides of the conversation between Bear and Ian. He’s so focused on story and character, instead, but the crew paid attention and let him know when new takes were needed.
5. It’s difficult to hear, but the TV commercial playing when Bear arrives home to find the dead cat is a “creepy” one about weight loss that includes someone saying they starve themselves.
6. The title appears on the screen at 5:53, and Barker is over the moon about how it looks. He wanted it to be physically in the scene, but he was blown away by what the production designer, Vivian Gray, ended up delivering.
7. The scene of Bear on his bed talking to Nikki on the phone was also a reshoot. They had to redo it as the dialogue needed to change to make sense of other reshoots. It was a big headache, though, as by the time they came back for the reshoot the house’s owner had already completely changed up the interior for a couple other projects that filmed there.
8. The box for the One Wish Willow was designed by Barker’s mom, and he’s thrilled by the end product. “I’m always shooting for the stars,” he says about his hope that the One Wish Willow could become something iconic in pop culture. “That was the dream, at least.” Barker’s dad plays the guy hosting the trivia night at the bar. “He weaseled his way in.”
9. “Feels really self-indulgent to name the bar Barker’s Pub,” he says, “but I actually didn’t come up with that idea.” It was his mom’s idea, and she worked with the crew to surprise him.
10. He has nothing but praise for Navarrette and says he expects her to have a huge career because of her performance in this film.
11. The scene with Bear and Nikki in the car starting at 15:35 was originally “much longer.” It used to include a long monologue from Nikki about the difference between love and romance. Barker wanted to keep it as it adds more to her character and motivations, but it was dropped for pacing.
12. He’s very fond of the shot at 18:56 where the car window frame is blocking Nikki’s head when she walks towards the car. “When you can’t see someone’s face, you can’t see their intentions, and when you can’t see their intentions that’s creepy.”
13. Barker wrote the little tune that plays when you remove the One Wish Willow from its box using an app on his phone.
14. Nikki returns to the car after Bear makes his wish, and Barker points out that they’re making tiny digital tweaks to Navarrette’s face. “Ninety-nine percent of it is performance, and you gotta give her her flowers, but we do these tiny little things to her eyes and her smile to make her just that much more off.”
15. Navarrette doesn’t like to rehearse, apparently, and she limits her performance when doing so. “I didn’t know what she was capable of,” he says, in regard to the beat where Nikki is kissing Bear only to suddenly seem shocked. “So when she freaked out like that I looked at my producer and thought ‘okay, wow, this movie might work.’”
16. “I learned a lot of lessons as a director,” he says, from making his feature debut here. One big one involved his love of oners. “I don’t like to cut, unless I have to,” but shooting that way leads to issues as you don’t have room to fix problems in post-production if the actors are too slow, if you need to make later dialogue changes because of reshoots, etc. “It’s not that I learned not to do it, it’s that I learned to do it better. I’ll never not do it.”
17. Nikki comes to Bear’s door at 35:44, and it’s intentionally shot in a way that’s “breaking the line.” The term refers to line of sight between characters when the angle flips back and forth – it should match up, but here Barker shows Bear looking camera left and then shows Nikki doing the same. “The inspiration for this was The Invisible Man, which is one of my absolute favorite horror movies. Leigh Whannell directed that.”
18. The montage of happy times that starts at 38:07 was lit, colored, and shot at a different frame rate than the rest of the film.
19. The movie was shot in twenty days, not counting the handful of reshoots they came back for later.
20. Barker edited the film on Adobe Premiere Pro. He thinks it’s an awesome program.
21. Nikki gives Bear a gift at the restaurant, and Barker wanted the box to look like it could contain a One Wish Willow. “The effect doesn’t really work that well, but that was the idea.”
22. He says at 44:55, just after Bear and Nikki finish having sex, that “this is clearly where Bear becomes a little bit of a villain.” I’d argue he’s been a villain since making that wish, but yes, his conscious decision to have sex with her – knowing it’s outside of her control – is where he locks fully into his assholery.
23. Some viewers miss it in the dark bedroom, but Nikki is in the shot at 45:39 before making herself known the next time we cut to the wide shot. She’s also wearing makeup to up the creepiness factor, and Barker had asked the makeup department beforehand to go watch some uncanny valley TikTok videos as a reference. “They did a great job, I think she’s terrifying.”
24. “I don’t like my dreams,” says Nikki, and I had interpreted that to mean that she’s free of the spell in her dreams and subconsciously knows that she’s being forced into loving Bear – and that knowledge upsets and confuses her when she’s awake. Basically, her dreams are the screaming we hear on the later customer service call, and I think her talking in her sleep around the 1:23:00 mark – and asking Bear to kill her – backs up that theory. Barker sees it differently, though. “I think when Nikki goes to sleep, she’s the real Nikki, and when she says she doesn’t like her dreams, she’s referring to she doesn’t like a reality where she’s not in love with Bear.”
25. Nikki side-walking across the bedroom at 47:53 with the flowers in front of her face is actually performed by a dancer double. This is a side note, but Bear not turning on his bedside light during this entire sequence makes me hate him even more.
26. Nikki was supposed to bite Bear’s lip at 51:00 while they’re kissing, but neither Navarrette nor Johnston wanted to do it. “I thought it was cool.”
27. Barker’s agent told him that Andy Richter was interested in the part of Sarah’s (Megan Lawless) dad despite it being a very small role. He just wanted to be a part of the film.
28. The camera move in the parking lot from right to left at 58:19 is meant to mirror the earlier shot that showed Ian’s car parked next to Bear’s. “It was a cool idea in theory,” he says, “it’s kind of just a weird camera move now, it doesn’t really work.”
29. All of the driving shots from inside the cars are filmed with giant LED screens outside the windows projecting previously filmed street scenes. It looks pretty good, but the film’s cinematographer, Taylor Clemons, hates the way some of it looks. The shot at 1:00.20 of a garage door outside the car’s windshield is also actually an LED screen. “It was actually cheaper to shoot on the LED wall than to find some random person’s house who’d let us shoot in their front yard.” I get it, and I know I’m just an old guy yelling at the clouds of progress, but that’s still unfortunate.
30. Barker cameos as the voice of the customer service representative for the One Wish Willow manufacturer.
31. The more choices he has with his footage, the more difficult it is for Barker to edit. He typically makes his edits in his head before and during filming, but sometimes – it’s the party game scene here that triggers the thought – he’s “overwhelmed” by the amount of footage he has to choose from.
32. Nikki’s monologue at the party was written mostly by Barker’s father. He didn’t want it to sound like his own writing, and he’s thrilled with the result. “It’s really disturbing.”
33. “This scene was really, really scary to shoot,” he says about the scene where Bear and Nikki argue after the party. He’s referring to her backwards walk, lunge, and weird gibberish, and he adds that it was difficult to convey to cast and crew what exactly he was going for here until it was fully edited together. It was a challenge to trust himself at the time. “I didn’t even know if it was going to work out or be scary.” The scene ends with her monologue in the shadow of the doorway, and they shot different versions, including one where she cuts herself with the knife. Barker decided her performance and the mere presence of the knife was enough.
34. He’s not happy with the insert shots of the phone starting at 1:21:04. It was on a rig to hold it still, but it didn’t satisfy him. “Ari Aster does them really, really well. I almost want to text him.”
35. Barker wanted to put loud music over the beat where Bear is sneaking out of bed without waking Nikki, but the film’s sound mixer, Ben Zarai, offered up some smart advice. He told Barker that the music should be quiet if he wants to build tension in a scene “because you want there to be room for something crazy to happen.” Loud music and sounds make audiences think there’s no additional possibility of a scare or a jump.
36. They only had three fake car windows for Nikki to smash her head through. The art department accidentally broke the first one. The second one was used, but chunks of styrofoam from the door frame fell into the shot immediately after her head crashed through. The third one was the charm.
37. It was Tomlinson’s idea to have Bear open Sarah’s last college application letter after she’s been murdered, and it’s a great suggestion as it twists the knife even deeper for both Bear and viewers.
38. The house used as Ian’s house – where they held the party, and where Bear asks Ian to make a wish – burned down in the L.A. fires.
39. Barker “got a lot of pushback” from producers, readers, and execs on the scene where Ian wishes for a billion dollars and it immediately falls from the ceiling. They thought it “didn’t fit in this world, and felt kind of silly,” but the filmmaker stuck to his guns.
40. “That is a sex doll,” he says when Sarah’s spread-legged corpse is glimpsed in the chair. It was cheaper to buy the doll than have a prosthetic corpse made.
41. Barker shows he’s one of the good ones by keeping the commentary going through the end credits when too many others wrap it up as soon as they start. Even better, he uses the time to praise numerous people whose names scroll by in the credits.
Quotes Without Context
“It’s the least thing I care about in the world, but it still matters.”
“It’s not the most realistic dead cat ever.”
“I’ve been listening to this song for so long. I love this song. It’s an indie song. I don’t think everybody knows this song, but it’s a pretty well-known song. I think people know this song. I’d be surprised if nobody knew this song.”
“I wanted this movie to have theme songs.”
“That’s very gross, but it’s mostly beans.”
“I was in marching band in high school.”
“This to me is just the classic rom-com moment at the end of a rom-com movie, in just a fucked up, twisted way, obviously.”
Keep up with more horror commentary breakdowns here.
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