Film Filter: Off- I have to start out by saying this is probably my all time favorite horror flick. Anytime anyone asks me for a good recommendation, this is the first one I spout. I think it's virtually a flawlessly made scary movie, and it seriously creeps the shit out of me EVERY time I see it. For reals.
Pros- Besides everything? Hmm, let's start with the fact that it's my favorite (self-generated) movie genre of Theological Thriller. I love that movies of that classification have a haunting sense of realism to them, as they don't feature stereotypical movie "monsters" seeking blood or vengeance. For me, these films strike a deep cord of fear that roots itself in its plausibility. The idea of something I actually believe in haunting me without any way to control it, or myself, is much more frightening than a foot tall gingerbread man stalker, midget leprechaun assailant, or gargantuan hooked villain. But hey, that's just me.
This movie also has fantastic symbolism and cinematography. Leave it to a spiritually-rooted film to create mass symbolism (no pun intended), right? This film is no exception. Above and beyond its spiritual symbols, its use of the colors red and white in different scenes does not go unnoticed, and even the Rachmaninoff prelude in C# minor that is played by Emily on the piano is indicative of a dark, haunting theme. Also, the cinematography sort of piggybacks off of the symbolism concept. Although not exclusively relevant to each other, the screen shots and scenery in certain parts of the film help enhance the symbolism, while providing a wide array of aesthetics to feast on through the duration of the film.
Going off of that concept, the ability to have a story with a small group of key characters as opposed to one main character allows us to have a variety of stories and perspectives in the film. The nature of the time changes (going from the present to the past) also accounts for this. These concepts help the film to become diversified, while not deviating from the main point of the story.
The acting in the film is very good, especially on behalf of Jennifer Carpenter who plays Emily Rose. This seems to be Carpenter's first big film, and it mustn't have been easy to portray a possessed person. You know an actor does a great job when it isn't until the fifth time you've seen the movie that you think, "Gosh, that must've been really hard PRETENDING to be possessed..." because the thought that they aren't actually possessed hadn't occurred to you.
Cons- Psssh! Really?
Wrap-up- There are many other things that are great about this movie, but why read about it here? Why don't you just watch it already?
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