well, I thought Emily Rose was an interesting movie, I enjoyed it more than I assumed I would... I had hoped it would be more of a suspense/thriller type and not a classic horror (re: hack and slash) movie, and this proved to be the case... it gave me chills at several points, that's what I enjoy from a good creepy movie (vs. seeing someone hacked into bits by a cackling madman...)
more to the point, I truly enjoyed the movie because it made me think... the presentation was rather one sided for most of the movie, as we really see only one perspective in detail (re: those that posit demonic possession as truth), but the other side is not left out entirely... I appreciated that... I assumed that I would be presented with "here's the demonically possessed girl, she's possessed, therefore you must accept the fact that the story we are presenting validates demonic possession and it's based on a true story so therefore it is fact"... but, I think they made an effort to tell the story and still give people enough detail that they can make up their own minds as to what happened... regardless of what they say, it's still fiction, no matter what events it may be based on, so fun story, but I digress...
it made me think. I like movies that make me think and make me question things... after sleeping on it, I can't say my views have changed any on this existence, but I certainly had thoughts and questions pounding the insides of my mind last night... disregarding any of the other god and devil and religious and scientific arguments in the movie, do demons exist or not? well, I have never really decided for myself, but I don't discount them from my outlook on reality...
my parents witnessed an exorcism of a family friend when I was a young lad... she had been given a book on Automatic Writing, where you basically open yourself up using methods of spiritual or mental exercises, to whatever is out there and let your hand have its own free will... (at least I think, I've never read much about it) anyway, so she tried this, and it worked for her, except after so long she couldn't get it to stop, and it would write things even when she was consciously trying not to... so she had friends and family involved in the church and two close friends who happened to be priests... anyway, not knowing any of the fine details myself, the story I was told goes, she was taken with the two priests and my parents to an exorcist who performed and exorcism and got whatever was controlling her hand the fuck outta her... so, me being me, I had to ask, "wasn't she just doing this herself? that's silly isn't it?" and my father who basically refused to talk about any details told me two things... the first was that it was the most frightening thing he had ever experienced (he was a rural RCMP officer for a while and had seen some nasty shit happen to people) and secondly that some of the things she had written were just like out of a horror movie... weird languages and things she should not have known, which were verified by linguists and other "officials" before they would consider the exorcism... so that's all I know about it really, the rest is conjured up in my mind... but, having not witnessed it myself, I have to say I believe the old man believes what he saw is real, and I give that some credence... also, I know the lady well, and she doesn't fit the profile of either a "nut" or a "pathological liar", so while I am not fully convinced, I give that story due merit based on those involved and my evaluation of their character...
basically, if all things are possible, though not probable, there is a possibility that demons exist, however improbable, and given that possibility, I don't discount them from my realization of this existence...
that said, I have no fear of them, that would be irrational...
nuff said...
