Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson lend a touch of gravitas to the otherwise "straightforward spooker" The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. Writer/director Scott Derrickson was inspired by the true story of an allegedly possessed girl who died during an exorcism in 1976. Here, Linney plays the lawyer who defends the priest accused of her death (Wilkinson). It opened to mixed reviews, but horror films have a tradition of doing well at the box office and this was no exception.

A Rose Smells Just As Sweet

The real-life case of German college student Anneliese Michel is only briefly discussed in the featurette Genesis Of The Story. In fact Derrickson refers to it as "a burden" and explains that he and co-writer Paul Harris Boardman worked from a much wider frame of reference. He claims to have read around 2000 books on Satanism and real-life exorcism case studies, which he calls, "The most unpleasant part of making this film."

A featurette on casting hears from the likes of Linney and Wilkinson. Boardman admits that in hiring them, the hope was to separate the film from lowbrow entries into the horror genre. Despite their earnest intentions though, Derrickson reveals that it took a lot of persuading to get Linney on board. "Well, these movies can be absolutely godawful," explains the actress, "This is treading a very fine line and before you jump in and commit to something like this you need to make sure everyone is on the same page."

The last featurette - and the most substantial of the batch - deals with the look of the film. "The visual intention of the movie was always to marry beauty and terror," says Derrickson. Although it's something of a cliché these days, he refers to the paintings of Francis Bacon while production designer David Brisbin uses specific scenes to explain the colour palette, ie "Orange is terror, maroon is inquiry and white is hope..."

Banishing Demons

There's only one deleted sequence and it follows Erin (Linney) home with a strange guy she's picked up in a bar. In an optional commentary, Derrickson gives countless reasons why it was cut, talking about how "cheesy" and "familiar" it felt as well as being "too judgemental" of Erin as a person. Essentially though, it just doesn't add anything to the story.

It's a pity that Boardman doesn't join Derrickson for the main commentary especially since it's revealed that they had very different viewpoints on the Anneliese Michel case. Derrickson relates their dynamic to the partnership of "Mulder and Scully" (Boardman being the sceptic) but adds that they tried to be "even-handed" in their portrayal. He goes on to discuss the visual conception in more detail (even citing Ingmar Bergman as an influence) and the difficulty of balancing the courtroom drama with the scary stuff. Apparently he took advice from 12 Angry Men helmer Sidney Lumet who recommended "being patient" with the courtroom proceedings and resisting the urge to let things "get hysterical" too quickly.

Often this assembly of extras feels like putting on waders to skip through a puddle. Derrickson tries desperately to impose some depth on his work, but for a film that claims to be based on a true story, there is a worrying dearth of information on Anneliese Michel. There's also nothing in the way of direct behind-the-scenes access. Besides a few interesting notes on style and approach, this DVD merely offers an illusion of something more solid.

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