The Exorcism of Emily Rose (***)

Admirably freaky flick. It gets under your skin in a way no recent "horror" movie has. True, most of the film is a courtroom drama, but even horror movies have their downtime when they're not trying to scare you, and I found this film's downtime in the courtroom to be completely engrossing. It's a tad corny at times what with Laura Linney and Campbell Scott as opposing attorneys objecting up a storm, but that doesn't detract from the downright haunting scare scenes scattered throughout. After seeing this, I doubt you'll ever get back to sleep should you wake up at 3:00 am one day. The director, Scott Derrickson, is a rookie, and this is a fine film. He also co-wrote the script, which is often literate, and does a fine job of balancing both the faith and medical aspects of the story. The film says quite a lot about faith towards the end, but doesn't come across as one-sided or self-serving. This is an interesting film that's based on a true story. I walked out wanting to learn more about the actual case.