The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) and Requiem (2006)

Today I choose to write my reflections on two films, a first for this blog.  The movies I choose to spotlight are: an American drama film directed by Scott Derrickson titled The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005); and Requiem (2006) a German drama film directed by Hans Christian-Schmidt.  Both Requiem and Rose are based on the strange,  real-life case of German woman Anna Elisabeth "Anneliese" Michel.  I feel a connection to this story, being a Catholic Christian interested in the ritual of exorcism, but also due to some odd coincidences-like the fact that in the past I have visited the town of Wurzburg, where Anneliese Michel attended college in the 1970s.
Annelise Michel (1952-1976) was a West German young woman who was diagnosed with epileptic psychosis.  She had a history of ineffective psychiatric treatment.  After five years of ineffective treatment, her devout Catholic family sought the help of the Church.  She underwent Catholic exorcism rites a year before her death.  She died as a result of dehydration and malnourishment.  Her parents and two priests were charged with negligent homicide in her death, and were sentenced to fines and probation.
Scott Derrickson, the director of Emily Rose, minored in theological studies in college.  He is a Protestant believer, who is not afraid to examine questions of faith and morals in his movies.  He is also a veteran director who concentrates on speculative fiction subjects.  Some of his most popular movies include Sinister (2012), Deliver Us From Evil (2014), and Doctor Strange (2016).
As regular readers of my blogs already know, speculative fiction is one of my favorite film genres-and this includes the horror genre.  It can be difficult at times to reconcile my faith with this envelope-pushing genre.   It is particularly interesting, when the subjects of religion and horror intersect.  This intersection is often most noticeable in the horror sub-genre of the "exorcism" movie.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose really stands out from the pack from your standard exorcism movie, particularly with regards to its structure and characterizations.
Emily Rose opens with the arrest of Father Richard Moore (veteran actor Tom Wilkinson) a Catholic diocesan priest who is accused of negligent homicide by the government, following the death of one 19-year old college student,  Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter, of Dexter tv fame.) Father Moore had recently performed an exorcism on Emily Rose, but she did not survive the ritual-dying of self-inflicted wounds and malnutrition.
Father Moore's Archdiocese begs him to plead guilty in the case, to avoid any further bad publicity, but Father Moore maintains his innocence.  The case comes to the attention of attorney Erin Bruner (Laura Linney, in a strong portrayal) a hungry and ambitious agnostic, who sees the high-profile case as a potential springboard to a partnership in her firm.  Moore agrees to be represented by Bruner, in hope that the truth of the Emily Rose incident can be brought to light in court.
What's particularly novel about Emily Rose among exorcism movies is the setting-most of the drama of the film takes place in the courtroom.  Emily's past is told through flashbacks during the trial, through witness testimony.  And yes, this gives the film the opportunity to showcase some considerable melodramatic special effects.  Judge Brewster (Mary Beth Hurt) presides over the trial-though, we never get a sense of her religious beliefs, or lack thereof.  The prosecuting attorney chosen for this case is one Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott, in a convincing performance) a devout Methodist, who is deeply skeptical of the rite of exorcism.
The prosecution highlights Emily Rose's history of epilepsy and psychosis to explain her strange behavior at college that prompted Father Moore's exorcism.  Emily failed to respond to the anti-seizure medication prescribed to her by doctors to curb her strange visions and physical contortions.  She was driven home from college by her friend Jack, after which, her religious family summoned the priest.
Bruner's defense of Moore relies on the idea that the possibility is that Emily Rose could have, in fact, really been possessed by demons-a possibility that, though possibly untrue, cannot be entirely ruled out.  Bruner highlights this possibility by questioning authoritative witnesses such as Sadira Adani (Shohreh Aghdashloo) an anthropologist who relays to the court the spiritual possession legends from other cultures.
Though an agnostic, Bruner comes to question her own lack of religious conviction-we see her awakened at an odd hour of the night (3 am, the hour when demons choose to mock the Holy Trinity, according to exorcism lore.)  She experiences various supernatural phenomena at home, and is reminded by Father Moore that he, too, suffered such exposure to the demonic on the night before the exorcism.
The trial, and the film, ends in a not-quite-expected way, and we are given a glimpse of future events that, depending on your point-of-view, could be cause for hope for the future.
Make no mistake about it, this is a frightening film.  The audio and visual components of the movie add up to quite a few jump-scares.  Definitely not a movie to watch late at night all alone in a dark house!
The film was co-written by Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman.  Derrickson has said in an interview that he chose Boardman specifically because he is a non-believer.  Derrickson saw the pairing of a man of faith and a skeptic, as infusing the screenplay with two different perspectives.   This pairing was necessary to create a sense of ambiguity with regard to the story, allowing viewers to make up their own minds regarding whether the film is a religious/supernatural interpretation of events, or a secular/medical interpretation.
There is also ambiguity regarding the story of Anneliese Michel when it comes to Hans Christian-Schmidt's 2006 film Requiem, based on the same case as Emily Rose.  Hans Christian-Schmidt, despite his name, is not a believer.  He appears focused on the question: why would an intelligent young woman, an epileptic, choose the arcane ritual of exorcism, over continuing medical treatment for her disease?
Scripted by Bernd Lange, the film unfolds slowly, and not much happens but gradually.  The cinematography is such that it looks as if it was actually filmed in the the period it is based in (the 70s) though filmed decades later.  Definitely a lower-budgeted affair here, as compared to Rose.  Sandra Huller plays central character Michaela, and she is very believable in this pivotal role.  We get a great sense of her sheltered upbringing as an epileptic in her strong Catholic family in her small town, and the culture shock she experiences when she goes off to college.  At college, she encounters new experiences, becoming re-acquainted with an old friend from her town (Anna Bloomier) and meeting a new boyfriend (Nicholas Reinke.)  Unfortunately for Michaela, the symptoms of her epilepsy (an illness she had been concealing and controlling with medication) start to manifest themselves under the stress of college, and she experiences the hearing of voices, along with the seizures this time.  Perhaps as a result of falling into sinful behavior at school, Michaela decides to turn back to the Church for help.
Michaela runs into trouble when she finds it hard to trust either the pastor of her parish, or the parochial vicar, both of which have wildly deferring positions on the rite of exorcism.  Complicating matters is the fact that although her father loves her, and wants what's best for her, Michaela's relationship with her domineering mother is very strained.  The film seems to imply that it is Michaela's mother that forces Michaela to trust the rite of exorcism, over the medical solutions to her condition-despite her father's objections.
In the end, the only thing we're really sure of in Schmidt's film is that mental illness is a terrible thing.  The film is scary, but not in a traditional horror film way.  It's scary, because it shows demonic possession to be a subjective and perspective condition.  As a believer, I find this POV lacking, but, the possibility of it being remotely true, as highlighted by Requiem is considerably scary to me.