The Secrets of Emily Blair (2016) Reviews

• No, really, is this a comedy?

  carlfannen-939-7541652017-06-23

  If this is a joke, it gets a solid six. If it's a thriller, it gets zero. If it's a horror, well, there's some nasty stuff, so 2 for horror. I enjoyed it. I really did. I just have no idea what it was supposed to be. If a twelve-year-old watched The Exorcist, Deep Space Nine and Rocky back-to-back, wrote a script in three hours and gave it to their 16- year-old sibling doing a movie studies course and SOMEHOW it got though to some movie exec... well, that's this movie.

• Surprisingly good! Definitely worth watching.

  nitzanhavoc2017-07-25

  I must admit, I had zero expectations from this one. Another exorcism film, sadly (or better yet ridiculously) trying to live up to The Exorcism of Emily Rose (I mean come one, even her name). Many such attempts have failed in the past few years, and all I wanted was to enjoy an exorcism film I haven't yet seen, in hopes that it wouldn't bring the level down too much. I'm happy to say I've been very pleasantly surprised! The film starts as one might have expected. Nothing remotely innovative, original, or impressive. A cookie cutter story of a kindhearted nurse becoming possessed. I was a little annoyed that they cast an eye-candy-and-nothing-more, and half-expected her to do very poorly. My sincere apologies to Hellen Hollman for that terrible misconception, as nothing could have been further from the truth. After all the possessed women we've seen on screen, she still managed to be impressive, both as Emily and her "demon-self". On that matter, while the story felt slightly forced and in no way compelling, the cast made everything right. First of all, seeing Colm Meaney as a priest about to perform his first exorcism in a Horror film? Nothing less than a treat! Not his best performance ever, but not at all below standards (and high ones for that matter). Will Kemp and Adrian Paul were excellent as well as concerned fiancée William and former priest Henry Roizman respectively. In addition, while I didn't so much like the way they designed the demon itself, displaying the way Emily attempts to fight it is one of the two sole original features in this film (and a great idea). The second being, of course, the ending (which lacks any impressive or special characteristics, as Horror endings often do, but is original to some extent in its own way - you'll realize when you get to it). All in all, surprisingly good and well-made, and another Horror film poorly judged by IMDb ratings. Honestly, take my word for it and never trust this site's ratings or reviews (present company in no way excluded). If the trailer and plot synopsis (or cover photo, or cast, or crew, or any manner by which you choose what to watch) appeal to you - watch it. If they don't - don't. However, I would certainly give The Secrets of Emily Blair a chance. I'm sure glad I did.

• Another "eh" horror film

  bigmike8282016-10-04

  Besides the bad acting from a few of the actors, the movie was "eh." It started off like any normal horror flick with a few intense sequences and creepy camera angles. But after about 25 minutes, you just stop caring about the characters. They don't react the way a normal person in their situation would and it was kind of annoying. You know those movies where you expect someone to react in a way and they do the complete opposite? That's kind of how this movie was; just OK. The makeup team did a great job with the character Emily; she didn't look like the same person by the end of the film. Overall, this movie could have been a lot better if they worked with the story a little more and had better direction given to the main actor and priest. Other than that, Emily's character was done well.

• When did Groot turn into a demon?

  mike-aposhian2017-06-22

  The only cool thing about this movie is that it is the only exorcism movie I have seen that actually illustrates the possessed fighting the demon inside their own soul. That was about the ONLY fresh aspect this movie brought to the table. Other than that the Demon looked like a bad rip off of Groot, the CGI was beyond laughable, the demon voice sounded like a 4 year old who just learned how to use auto tune mixed it down, the writing is terrible and the acting was pretty bad as well. As I type this the ending of the movie is playing in the back ground and I cant even keep myself interested in it. If you want a good laugh, or are writing a thesis on how not to make a horror movie, I highly recommend this pile of trash. I cant understand how any of the reviewers above me found any redeeming qualities in this film.

• Terrible Movie—I Kept Falling Asleep

  bgthomaswriter2016-10-27

  I am not ever sure why I gave this movie a shot—so many exorcism movies are just retreads of other, better movies. Perhaps it was the length (only about 90 minutes). Perhaps it was a few of the stars, like Colm Meaney, Adrain Paul and Tom Wright—all so very good. Whatever the reason it was a huge waste of time. I try not to write bad reviews, but this film really was terrible. I kept falling asleep. It was full of action, lots and lots of the possessed star—Ellen Hollman as Emily Blair—acting like a demon and starling and hissing, and lots of gore too. But it was just silly, and despite all the stuff that was going on, I was bored to tears. Even the actors I mentioned above were sub-par, which is sad, because they are such good actors. Maybe it was the directing by Joseph P. Genier? Or was it simply that the script was so bad that no one, not director or stars, could do anything with it? So blasé. So stereotypical. So sensationalistic. Right down to the part where Meaney, as the priest, tells Emily Blair's husband that the church just doesn't do exorcisms anymore. I wonder how they got Larry Drake—the John Doe of the film in a very small part—to be in this? To do his first film in years? He was actually kind of scary, but he is in and out of the film way too fast for our own good. Please don't waste your time on this movie. Because it really is a waste of time. How sad.