A few months ago, I "Tivo'd" the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose. (Here is a link to the official website and here's a link to the real story on which the movie was based.)

I had been meaning to watch the movie for nearly two years, since I spoke to Father Jeffrey Grob, assistant to the exorcist for the Archdiocese of Chicago, during the trial of Father Gerald Robinson.
Father Grob said at the time that he had just seen the movie and that the filmmakers "basically got it right." That was fascinating to me, that a real-life exorcist had seen the movie and felt that Hollywood was pretty accurate in its depiction of demon possession and the ritual of exorcism.
Well I watched the first 3/4 of the movie last night. I couldn't watch the whole thing because my wife thinks horror movies are repulsive, especially ones involving demons, demonic possession and exorcism. And I generally agree.
Yet, this movie has been on my mind ever since Father Grob, a genuine exorcist, recommended it. So I watched most of it last night but when my wife was done with her TV show, I shut it off for her sake.
I thought the movie was pretty scary at times and just creepy in general. There were a few scenes that made my skin crawl, through the power of cinema and good filmmaking.
But I beg to differ about its portrayal of demonic possession. This young girl -- Emily Rose in the film, Annaliese Michel in real life -- is shown being attacked and possessed by invisible demons who force their way into her through violent contortions and for no apparent reason.
I believe demonic possession can be real, but I don't believe the demons would just randomly choose someone.
I believe a person who becomes possessed must first "open the door" to a spiritual realm they do not understand or are unaware of, or possibly, though more rarely, do so deliberately and invite the demons into their life. I think they usually start out by dabbling in the occult, reading about or practicing occult rituals, for example.
I personally have witnessed someone who was demonically possessed and then delivered through God's power two times in my life. But that's a blog for another day.
Of course, there also are numerous accounts in the Bible of Jesus and his disciples casting out demons.
So yes, I think demons are real and I think spiritual warfare is fact, even if it is largely ignored or misunderstood in today's high-minded society.
This movie opens with Emily's death, so there's no suspense about that part of it, but I'm curious to see how the film ends.
I'll guess I'll give you a full review when I watch the rest of it... someday, when Janet's not home...
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Speaking of devils, my alma mater, the Duke "Blue Devils" (Oh how I dislike that team nickname), made an early exit from the NCAA tournament. The Dookies had a good season for their talent level but they didn't have the big guys in the middle and lived and died by their perimeter shooting.
On the day they lost to West Virginia, they died when they couldn't hit anything from the three-point line. Literally. The team was oh-for-15 from 3-point range.
It hurts to say this but it looks to me like the dreaded Carolina Tar Heels are the ones to beat right now.
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Christmas is exactly 9 months from today. Have you made your shopping list yet?

Toledo, Ohio
March 25, 2008