The Last Exorcism

Starring: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones, Shanna Forrestall
Directed by: Daniel Stamm
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror, Drama
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An evangelist (Patrick Fabian) who performs exorcisms but doesn't believe in them invites a documentary crew to record his last exorcism before retiring from the practice.

Review:

Tim: I loved the idea of The Last Exorcism. The whole fake documentary thing is certainly an interesting approach to movie making, and I admit I find these types of film entertaining. It makes great sense to do the whole mockumentary around exorcisms. It's such a terrific idea, and I was excited to see how it would all turn out.

I have to admit this film was not what I expected. I give the movie credit for anticipating where the audience would expect the movie to go, and circumvent the usual route. Unfortunately, the route taken isn't exactly amazing. This film does get credit for being unpredictable, which I really appreciated.

I admit I was in a near constant state of nervousness while watching this film. I like movies about exorcisms because they can be so scary. There's something inherently frightening about the idea of a normal person being taken over by malevolent evil powers. So, the movie does a very good job of creating a creepy atmosphere that keeps viewers off balance. I kept waiting for that undeniably frightening moment- the moment when I'd jump and immediately curse myself for being too scared. That feeling pervaded the entire film- what's going to happen next, and how scary is it going to be? Unfortunately, it never came. This movie felt like it was always on the verge of becoming really, really scary- but it never does. I appreciate the moving keeping me on my toes, but I'm disappointed there wasn't a real payoff.

I also like that this movie was purposely ambiguous. As you watch the film, you really don't know if you are watching a character possessed by a demon, or a very sick mentally ill girl. The movie doesn't give any definitive answers, and I liked that.

The cast wasn't great, unfortunately. I can see why Patrick Fabian was cast as Cotton Marcus (great name, by the way), but I thought his performance left a bit to be desired. It's fine, but it doesn't approach the realm of being good. The best performance has to go to Ashley Bell. Apparently, she has hypermobility, and was able to perform all of the contortions herself. That is amazing, and she was easily the best aspect of the film. The other actors were decent, but no one was really impressive.

The end of the movie is pretty controversial. It doesn't exactly give us the ending we want, but it doesn't give the obvious ending, either. While I didn't find the conclusion of the film very satisfying, I appreciate the attempt to be unexpected and not take the road most of these films travel. I admit I don't fully understand the ending (it's purposely left very ambiguous), but it was a bit of a letdown.

I have to say that The Last Exorcism was refreshing because of its uniqueness and the different approach to exorcism movies. There were plenty of opportunities for this movie to do the same thing that's been done time and time again. I love that this film fought against that. This is a decent movie. It certainly had elements that could have propelled it forward, but as is, the movie isn't very good.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Exorcist, The Exorcism of Emily Rose