When the words Based on a true story precede a film, you can expect a certain amount of artistic license in the telling of the story. Maybe someone forgot to explain this to Danish director Ole Bornedal, when he helmed this, his first English-speaking flick; this disclaimer really should have read Based really, really, really loosely on some stuff that some guys claimed happened to them, but have no proof that it did as it would appear, having watched the film, a far more accurate statement.

After three months of being officially divorced, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has pretty much removed all his belongings from the family home. He's bought a new place which he hopes to do up with the help of his two daughters, Emily (Natasha Calis) and Hannah (Madison Davenport), readying the place for the weekend visits ahead.

In order to pick up some bits and pieces for the house, the three of them stop off at a local yard sale. There, Emily sees a wooden box that she falls in love with and gets her dad to buy for her.

After a day or two of them hanging out in the new house, Emily starts to act slightly out of character. Clyde initially just puts it down to the stress of the divorce and the huge impact it's having on his daughters, but as time goes by, he starts to believe it's something more. But when the family ask what exactly has gotten into Emily, Clyde soon realises the question shouldn't be what but who...

You know what? I think those burritos from lunch are really beginning to repeat on me.

The fact that this film is based more in fiction that reality is no bad thing. Where it does come into question however is with its pedestrian, run-of-the mill plot; although Bornedal does a swell job in giving the film an air of foreboding in its look and feel, there's no disguising the overall generic, seen-it-all-before factor it exudes from the off.

If you're going to take huge liberties with your source material, you should at least do your darndest to make it as original as possible. Clearly Bornedal and his crew didn't not only try hard enough, but simply didn't try at all

Kudos to young Calis though, who gives a great account of herself/her selves as far as being possessed is concerned.

What's most ironic though is that the short documentary film included on the disc, which looks into the real life dibbuk box and the experiences of its various owners, is a far more intriguing premise than the one the film provides.

On top of that, this version is proud to call itself the uncut version<>/i>, which wasn't seen on its theatrical release; but considering its still only a 15 certificate, it's probably only a tad longer and certainly none the scarier.

Bornedal certainly provides an atmospheric experience, with some nice touches visually and in the audio department, but there's no denying that The Possession had a better, stronger film fighting to get out.