R20 - Picture Analysis: The Last Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Last Exorcism of Emily Rose is a true story about the death of a 19 year old girl (Emily Rose) who was thought to have been killed by a priest called Richard Moore from inflicted wounds and malnutrition. He is then charged with negligent homicide and is told to please guilty so that the incident can be covered up. However a lawyer named Erin is hired to help Father Moore to negotiate a plea deal but Moore still insists on pleading innocent. At the trial, expert opinions agreed that Emily was possessed by an invisible creature in which after a few days from suffering a seizure, the demons attacked again and infested her. 

Father Moore gained permission from the bishop to do an exorcism, but it ends in failure. Ms Rose breaks her and screams in Aramaic, German, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. Before she faints, she reveals that she is possessed by six demons: Cain, Nero, Judas, Legion, Belial, and Lucifer. Later, according to a last letter she wrote, she was visited by the Virgin Mary, who explained that the demons will never leave. Ms Rose declines the Virgin Mary's offer of immediate death, and accepts her suggestion to suffer further so that the world can believe in demon existence.

In the end, they find Father Moore guilty, but give him no prison time except the time he already served waiting in jail.

Mise-en-scene & Camera Angle

• The focus of the picture is shifted on the disembodied girl towards the right centre of the picture
• The use of the barn gives a creepy element as it is evident that it is dirty
• The girl in the picture is completely upturned
• Wearing a white, dirtied nightgown insinuating that she is a more traditional girl
• The blood is mainly on her lower body towards her legs
• Her eyes have rolled white giving the more 'possessed look'. 
• The girl looks young giving the impression she is a child/teenager
• The use of the lighting is coming from the top, therefore as it falls on the girl's face highlighting the more 'scarier' parts giving the impression of a sinister look
• The top of the barn is completely dark and the lighting falls in the middle front of the picture 
• The picture fades out to dark