The Last Exorcism (2010)
US (dir. Daniel Stamm)
Cast: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Jamie Alyson Caudle, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Tony Bentley
Synopsis: 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 confessionary 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.
Review: Finally, a movie that is appealing to both Christian enthusiasts and satanists! Who said it wasn’t possible!?!?
Before I go any further, let me just say that in the interest of giving “The Last Exorcism” a fair chance, I won’t delve too heavily into spoilers because revealing them would ultimately ruin one’s experience of the film. “The Last Exorcism” is a PG-13, mockumentary-style exorcism film that actually spends more time exploring the concept of the rift between religious extremism and secular attitudes towards healing the mind and body then it does scaring the shit out of anyone. It is essentially a science versus religion debate akin to “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”. Sure, “The Last Exorcism” boasts some pretty awesome (non-CGI) effects (I have to admit I was pretty impressed to discover that the exorcism effects were purely physical contortions and not computer generated in any way), but it does not successfully provide enough full-blown horror to satisfy someone looking for a balls-out, head-spinning, vomit-laden exorcism movie along the lines of 1973’s “The Exorcist”. There’s a significant, and I’ll have to admit, pretty fucking unexpected, twist that happens with about 5-10 minutes left in the film, but it proves to be (unfortunately) too little too late.
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