The cultural climate is ideal for this spooky and earnest theological tingler -- an overripe courtroom drama and horror flick combo -- billed as inspired by real events. Not only is religion a hot topic in contemporary society, but our culture never seems to tire of litigation or scary movies. The Exorcism of Emily Rose gives ammunition to atheist and believer alike, and there's plenty to assuage fright fans and devotees of legal dramas such as Law & Order. 

On the religion front, filmmaker Scott Derrickson clearly comes down on the side of faith by allowing for the possibility that Emily's harrowing plight has an otherworldly, transcendental source. Whether he's motivated by his own religious convictions or because, as a dramatist, he thinks it makes for a more gripping movie isn't clear. He certainly tries to have it both ways with a legal outcome that undercuts the drama.

Father Richard Moore, a Roman Catholic priest played by hardworking British thespian Tom Wilkinson, stands trial for negligent homicide after attempting to banish the demons allegedly possessing a 19-year-old parishioner. She's from a pious family residing in an unnamed farm community; her parents enlist his help when she goes bonkers during her first year of college. They have no beef with Father Moore, but the local authorities are compelled to prosecute.

To blunt criticism, they assign a devout Christian prosecutor (Campbell Scott).  Having a man of faith go after a man of the cloth is intended to strengthen the case. Ironically, his ambitious adversary couldn't care less about religion and is only interested in her career. Laura Linney gives her all in the tricky role of the skeptical attorney hired by the local archdiocese to defend the reverend. She becomes faith-sensitized in the process. Alas, because the movie has one foot in the horror realm, she's encouraged to see the light by slamming doors and unseen things that go bump in the night -- at 3:00 AM to be precise. 

Most of the ghoulish frights derived from Emily's symptoms and the actual exorcism ceremony, which we see in flashback during the trial, are nicely rendered. On the whole, the production can't be faulted and the cast is certainly worthy. Shohreh Aghdashloo has a crunchy cameo as an anthropologist who endorses the reality of paranormal phenomena, and Henry Czerny is disdainfully dismissive of the religious explanation as a medical witness for the prosecution.

Although schematic, the debate that unfolds in the courtroom about Emily's ailment is tantalizing. Those who don't believe in demonic possession might think twice. At least they might be entertained by the horror which is intended to buttress a serious examination of a sensitive subject -- an instance of the tension between faith and reason, superstition and science making a difference in the public sphere. The movie endorses the proposition that "the realm of the spirit is real," which is a far cry from believing God and Satan exist, let alone that they pop up in the natural world.

Derrickson, who co-wrote the script with Paul Harris Boardman, extrapolated from the death of a young German woman in 1976. Are they exploiting tragic source material to make rather obvious points about reasonable doubt when it comes to faith and spirituality? Like Father Moore, they seem sincere. But they try to have it both ways with a verdict that is a cop out dramatically.

As an agnostic ritual, The Exorcism of Emily Rose stakes out a middle ground between belief and doubt; as a movie, it's less successful.

(Released by Screen Gems and rated "PG-13" for thematic material, including tense/frightening sequences and disturbing images.)