Review – The Last Exorcism

Thanks for checking out our The Last Exorcism Review

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Daniel Stamm
Staring: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones
Released: August 27th, 2010

THE GENERAL IDEA

When he arrives on the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer, the Reverend Cotton Marcus expects to perform just another routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic. An earnest fundamentalist, Sweetzer has contacted the charismatic preacher as a last resort, certain his teenage daughter Nell is possessed by a demon who must be exorcised before their terrifying ordeal ends in unimaginable tragedy.

Buckling under the weight of his conscience after years of parting desperate believers with their money, Cotton and his crew plan to film a confessional documentary of this, his last exorcism. But upon arriving at the already blood drenched family farm, it is soon clear that nothing could have prepared him for the true evil he encounters there. Now, too late to turn back, Reverend Marcus’ own beliefs are shaken to the core when he and his crew must find a way to save Nell – and themselves – before it is too late.

THE GOOD

The film sets up like a documentary. After the Reverend decideds to pack it in and stop offering these fake exorcisms, he decides to reveal all his secrets. The first part of the film is done so well, you forget its staging for a supernatural film. It looks like a genuine documentary, and it feels honest.

This helps a lot with sucking you into the terrifying imagery we go to these films to experience. Instead of just accepting the supernatural off the cuff, we are instead lulled into establishing the mainstream reality. This stuff doesn’t happen, and when you see it happen on the screen you were just reminded of that when you see the very normal and believable life of the con man reverend who just told you this stuff doesn’t happen and its all in their heads.

Ashley Bell will haunt you. Her acting in this creates a character that will creep you out even without all the possession stuff. She nails this.

THE BAD

A few leaps in logic happen as the camera man remains devoted to his hired duty to document the film when all other logic says drop that camera and run. But of course if he did that, they would loose the documentary feel and “found footage” theme that the whole movie is presented in, so we forgive it.

There is a missed opportunity here and the film goes for the horror staged against reality instead of the deeper Crisis of Faith the Reverend experiences. Instead of dealing with that, the sudden exposure to demon possession being real turns into a man who doesn’t believe in rain boots stepping in a puddle. The premise falls flat as just an excuse for the camera crew.

OVERALL

They establish reality and tear it up in your face. Its an effective tool that pulls you into the film but sadly it resorts to shock that just doesn’t close the deal.

The ending leaves a lot to discussion and the lines of reality and supernatural are blurred making you wonder if it was supernatural at all. This double turn leaves the ending unfinished and leaves you without any sense of resolution.

I give The Last Exorcism a 4 out of 10 for at least giving us some good visuals, and some scary moments.