Director of 'Emily Rose' hopes film prompts viewers to examine faith

Published: 2005-09-09

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The director and co-writer of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" said he wants the movie's patrons to ask themselves, "Is there a devil? and, more importantly, is there a God? and, if so, what's the implication of that?" "Those are questions to be reckoned with, and I'm unabashed in the belief that everyone has to reckon with those questions. Everybody has to answer that question. In some way, everyone lives their life based on what they believe," Scott Derrickson said in an interview in New York City. "This movie is intended to stretch and provoke everyone who sees it, including Christians," he added. Echoing the closing argument made by a lawyer played by Laura Linney in the movie: "Either there's a God or there's not. And whichever way you decide, it's still a terrifying aspect to contemplate." Derrickson said one purpose of making "Emily Rose" was precisely to ask these questions, although to do so he had to make "a scary, entertaining film."

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