Horror News and Commentary

Satan Back by Popular Demand

If memory serves, a little over 30 years ago there was a film about a demonically possessed girl. That film claimed to be based on true events. That film permanently raised the bar for horror films. That film pushed at the boundaries of censorship. That film gave rise to mass hysteria.

Can "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" have that kind of impact? Even though it, too, is inspired by reported events, I'm not holding my breath on the other points. Not because the shoes it must fill by having the word exorcism in its title are so large (though they are). I'm skeptical about "Emily Rose" because of its rating: PG-13. Yuck! In who's intellectual lacuna does it make any kind of sense to produce a film about good and evil that's watered down enough to earn a PG-13? Sure, when Leslie Nielsen says, "Your mother sews socks that smell," that's one thing. But "Emily Rose" looks like it wants to be an all-out horror film. We'll find out how it fares when it possesses theaters on September 9.

Depending on your tolerance for b.s., you may also want to tune in for one of A&E's timely showings of "The Real Exorcists" on September 5 and 8. The program promises to be a rousing look at modern-day buffoonery.--Pete Mesling

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Posted by Pete on August 31, 2005 1:08 AM
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