At first glance, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” appears to be a rip-off of “The Exorcist,” but it actually throws in an interesting element into the mix.

As it so happens, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” turns out to be more of a courtroom drama than it is a horror film.

The film is based on the true story of a priest, Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) who is put on trial for the death of Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), whom he had performed a failed exorcism on prior to her death. He did this because he believed she was possessed by demons, while the public believed Emily had a mental illness that led to her death.

His lawyer (Laura Linney) doesn’t believe Emily was neither posessed nor mentally ill at first, but as strange events begin happening around her, she begins to buy more and more into the belief that demons had possessed Emily.

The story is told through a series of flash back sequences of events that occurred during Emily’s possession through the eyes of various characters.

The horror aspects of the film are the weak point; most of the scenes meant to scare you have already been seen in the previews and offer very little shock value too, unlike “The Exorcist,” which manages to maintain some of its shock value more than 30 years after its original release.

That’s not saying it’s perfect; it’s just well made and it makes for a good rental.

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