Movie Review: The Last Exorcism

The Last Exorcism, directed by Daniel Stamm, is the latest horror flick to come out of Hollywood. Shot documentary style, the film surrounds a small film crew who are shooting a documentary that follows Rev. Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), a disillusioned preacher who has become bitter towards his faith. Determined to "expose" the fallacy of ministry, Cotton takes the crew on a trip to perform his final exorcism, a practice that he asserts is nothing but a bunch of show. They soon find themselves on a farm where a young girl named Nell (Ashley Bell), whose father (Louis Herthum) believes to be possessed by a demon. Of course, Cotton believes this to be untrue and sets out to prove that what ails her is, indeed, nothing spiritual. However, as he starts to observe the girl and her actions much more closely, he begins to notice things…very strange things. Soon, it becomes evident that there is more to what ails Nell than Cotton had anticipated and in order to fight it, Cotton may have to dig deep and find his faith before whatever has Nell's soul takes it completely.

The story, written by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland, was written with one basic idea in mind: "If you believe in God, then you must believe in the devil." It is the prefect concept for a movie like this, considering the priest has a crisis of faith and openly admits that he takes advantage of these people. The writers give the Reverend a needed third dimension, which makes the story much more interesting to watch. Instead of Cotton being the man of God who, like in most satanic horror movies, arrives at the right time and delivers the unwitting victim into God's salvation, he is there to unwittingly dupe the family but, instead, begins to question his own beliefs and regains his own faith. Fascinating. Still, not fascinating enough to prevent the clichés from creeping into the story. While the concept may be new and unique, the execution was somewhat typical. Some portions felt anticlimactic, the story building up then just dropping it for no reason. Even the plot was easy to figure out. Halfway through the movie, the audience can already figure out how the whole thing will end. At points, it was obvious that these people were trying way too hard to make this movie the next Exorcist. It didn't work.

The acting, while cliché, was actually not too bad. It wasn't over the top, nor was it too mellow. It wasn't extraordinary, either. Everyone played their parts well and that was it. No one really stood out. It was all so ordinary. However, two people did stand out, giving very nice performances: Patrick Fabian and Ashley Bell. Fabian's portrayal of Rev. Cotton, an already fascinating character, was well thought out. Despite Cotton being a very unlikable person, Fabian was able to give him a certain charisma, which lead to the audience trusting his judgment…to a point. At first, because he is so sure of himself, the viewer can feel comforted, thinking that Cotton knows what he is getting into. However, as the film progresses, his morals and beliefs break down, as does the audience's trust in him. Ashley Bell was creepy as Nell….possessed and not. Because of a family tragedy, her father shelters her from the world and it shows from her innocent nature. Bell plays this aspect very well, almost too well. While she plays innocent well, she plays possessed almost to a tee. The scenes when her demon side comes were beyond creepy. While the movie itself is nowhere close to being Exorcist caliber, Bell's performance is close to Reagan caliber. It was very creepy.

The film was shot documentary style, meaning with a single camera filming all the events that transpire. This has been a increasingly popular style of film of late, mainly because of the success of films like The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and Paranormal Activity, all of which were financial successes. Why? This style of film adds a certain intimacy, making the movie seem more realistic, more terrifying. Again, it worked. The use of the camera gave an atmosphere that was thick with anticipation. The audience is kept on the edge of their seats, knowing something is coming but not knowing when…which, alone, is a terrifying concept. But, again, this worked to a point. Too many times, like with the story, the camera would be used to build up to something that could be scary but then release it too soon, the effect becoming anticlimactic. It was frustrating. So, after a while, the feeling of anticipation disappeared. People got scared less and less. It wasn't that great.

So, overall, the film was very typical. It wasn't impressive. It wasn't good but it wasn't bad. It was just so-so. It is probably best that people wait for this movie to be released on DVD.

The Last Exorcism (PG-13)

RottenTomatoes: 70%

Yahoo! Movies: Critics: B-; Yahoo Users: C

Imdb.com: 6.5/10

Hollywood.com: 3 Stars

My Grade: C…Meh, Just Rent It