MOVIE REVIEWS: THE LAST EXORCISM

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THE LAST EXORCISM



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 exorcized 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.

Director: Daniel Stamm

Cast: Patrick Fabian, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Jones, Tony Bentley.

Release Date: Aug 27, 2010

Rated: Disturbing violent content, thematic material, terror and some sexual references

Runtime: 1 hr. 28 min.

Genres: Horror, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Daniel Stamm spends the better part of his film building up tension and having you question your expectations of what’s really going on in this story. Unfortunately, the film takes an unexpected and unneeded U turn that makes everything before it seem totally and utterly pointless. It makes me wonder if Eli Roth, serving as producer, just couldn’t keep himself contained and felt the need to add his own flavor to the ending. The set up is interesting and compelling, giving you something unexpected from what has become a terribly predictable subgenre of horror. The cast of unknowns play their roles well and are believable for the most part, only a few spots of just plain bad acting early standout. Patrick Fabian is the strongest of the group as a PT Barnum type reverend who’s trying to expose religious rituals with a healthy dose of cynicism. Ashley Bell is more than adequately disturbing throughout, besides the fact that she looks a tad too much like Michael Cera for my taste. She plays innocent well but with a strong under current of something off throughout. Her ability as a contortionist is extremely helpful. The supporting player, like the camera crew and the girl’s father, are solid enough but forgettable. The Last Exorcism could have been a low budget gem if Stamm had just stuck to the trail he’d made earlier in the film instead of ripping off a classic movie about demonic shenanigans and it’s not the one you think.

C-