In 1973, a little girl named Linda Blair scared the heavens out of audiences around the globe with her impressive, horrifying and unprecedented performance as a child overcome by demons. The levitating beds and that unforgettable 360-degree-spin of her head have haunted people ever since and gained “The Exorcist” notoriety for being one of the most horrifying films ever.

Today, director Scott Derrickson gives us an entirely new, more raw perspective into the true story of “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” telling of a devout Catholic girl from a small town whose full-ride to college facilitated her being away from home for the first time. One fateful evening, soon after arriving at school, Emily experiences the possession of not one, but six different demons, all of whom allegedly possessed all the major antagonists of the Bible. We meet her parish priest, played by Tom Wilkinson, when he is charged with negligent homicide after Emily’s death during his performance of an exorcism. What follows is a trial on the actual validity of exorcism, but more importantly, the movie’s main issue, “What happened to Emily?”

However shocked audiences were in the ’70s, today’s theatrical adaptation of a possessed girl is six times as brutal. With only a rating of PG-13, people may ask how evil the devil can really get, but the film succeeds in this by suspending the usual Hollywood gore effects and putting all of the horror in the hands of Jennifer Carpenter. Her contorting spine, macabre eyes and hellish energy put forth in screaming toward the heavens are more convincing than another gallon of blood could ever achieve. The way she moves, the way she tortures herself, the way she captures the hyper-human fury of a tormented soul – it will keep the question burning in your mind: “How did she do that?”

With her resume boasting a forgettable spot in “White Chicks,” Carpenter’s diversity and “enthusiasm” in portraying Emily is a surprise, treating us all to some blood-boiling, scary-as-hell fun.

Derrickson made the wise decision to give the role of Emily to the lesser-known actor, stripping any comfort of familiarity from us, and we must take the film’s direction on blind faith, not knowing what’s next. If we were to see Keira Knightley on the screen, the cut to our psyche wouldn’t be as deep, because that pretty daughter from “The Pirates of the Caribbean” could never be as terrifying.

Better-known, yet still as effective, is Laura Linney playing Wilkinson’s high-priced, agnostic lawyer. Linney is also impressive in her depth as she grows to understand the evil surrounding her cannot always be proven, yet exists just the same. The downside to the film is that it is of two worlds. In one, the creepy and dark realm of Emily’s possession sets us up for two hours of horror and terror. Yet just as soon as the heart rate gets to that peak point, the film shifts its attitude into the more analytical, straightforward trial scenes. It’s not that one side is worse than the other – they are both very effective – yet the inconsistency between the two gives the impression of a “Law and Order” episode from the depths of hell.

Jennifer Carpenter is the true gem of this film; without her devotion to the character, it would not have been anywhere close in its ability to make shadows seem dangerous. Not overlooking Wilkinson and Linney, the trio brought together in this film makes this “true” story more real than we might want it to be.

3 1/2 out of 5

“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”

Sony Pictures

Director: Scott Derrickson

Starring: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Jennifer Carpenter

Length: 114 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, including intense/frightening sequences and disturbing images