Movie Info
Movie Name: The Last Exorcism
Studio: Studio Canal
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): August 27, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG-13
The con is on!
Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) a former exorcist and has lost his faith. He’s setting out to make a documentary about the abuse of exorcism and its dangers. Marcus and his crew (Iris Bahr and Adam Grimes) have travelled to rural Louisiana to answer a letter of help from a man named Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum) claiming his daughter Nell (Ashley Bell) is possessed by the Devil. Performing a fake exorcism makes the problem worse, and Marcus is about to regain his faith when he discovers the horror he has unleashed.
Directed by Daniel Stamm, The Last Exorcism is a found footage horror film that plays up mystery and suspense surrounding the story. The film did stir controversy upon its release when in England, people demanded that the poster was offensive (leading to a new poster being created). The movie was met with relatively positive reviews.
Get out demon…thing…out! Get out…yep, out!
The Last Exorcism is one of those movies that I didn’t like on paper. I am not a “found footage” fan, and it awfully hard for any exorcism movie to reach the level of the original Exorcist. Despite this, The Last Exorcism turned out to be a rather creative film.
The movie does suffer from the found footage problems (and advantages). With found footage, you might miss crucial plot points due to the camera or sound being off, but it also allows filmmakers to skip over boring parts. It was obvious that the movie was going to lead to a “real” possession, but the twist at the end was a little unexpected (though not very satisfying). The movie has that same lack of ending like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, or [REC] had.
So you’re flexible…so what?
The acting for this one is a bit mixed. I find that Patrick Fabian is too “on” and I don’t think that someone would fall for him due to his theatrics. His character is supposed to be an actor in the movie and he must overact in those productions as well. Ashley Bell on the other hand is pretty good. She seems genuine and natural as a teen, but she can also play the possessed role well. I also kind of like the assistant “Iris” played by Iris Bahr on the documentary, and Caleb Landry Jones is fun as the scary redneck brother Caleb.
It’s fun to go to the country!
Visually, the movie doesn’t have to do much to impress. A twisting and turning body for Ashley Bell is almost all that has to be done to show possession, but the movie is shot in ways that heighten the fear. The ending sequence once again provided some variety to the film, and like it or hate it, was different looking.
The Last Exorcism is a somewhat entertaining film that has some real jumps and scares. I wasn’t expecting much and therefor was a bit more impressed. The Last Exorcism was followed by The Last Exorcism Part II in 2013 which is inherently funny since “last” is in the title. The sequel dropped the found footage-format for a traditional film.
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