Film Review: The Last Exorcism
Film Review: The Last Exorcism (2010)
Directed By: Daniel Stamm
Cast: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum
Review By: Kayley Viteo
One of the things I usually find lacking in demonic possession movies is that (except for very few) the emotion, what I feel is the foundation in these types of films, gets lost somewhere. More often than not, you end up with these movies straddling the good – but not great – range, simply because they freak you out for a moment, but nothing about them really stays with you. What is refreshing about The Last Exorcism is that not only is it unexpectedly emotional, but across the board the film delivers in creative, powerful ways. It is one of those films that comes along and takes you completely by surprise, because while the trailer does give away a few scenes (a couple scares), the overall plot and tone of the film are carefully masked.
Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), a preacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is at the tail end of a serious crisis of faith and on the verge of retiring completely. Disenfranchised because of injuries and deaths during exorcisms to the victims of the so-called possessions, Marcus is taking part in a documentary in order to exploit the rampant fraud. To do this, he takes one last case that the film crew will follow him on, but the trouble is – this might be the one that is not entirely in the victim’s head.
It doesn’t surprise me that director Daniel Stamm handles this movie so deftly, having hugely impressed me previously with A Necessary Death, another documentary-style film (which, while not horror, is thoroughly creepy in its own unique way). In contrast to its predecessors The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, or even [REC] (the latter two of which I thoroughly enjoyed), The Last Exorcism is less driven by scare-tactics and motivated purely by emotions and a sense of sincerity and earnestness rarely seen in horror films. There’s not very much gore here, but there is a story that is intelligent, creative, well-paced, and written in such a way that you’re not relying on the “found footage” to make you feel like it’s realistic. In other words, the writing is what truly lends a strong sense of realism to the film, serving only to heighten the tension.
By first allowing us to connect with Marcus and his family in some fantastic interviews, which set everything up perfectly, Stamm sets the pace in such a way that the tension only grows with each passing second. Fabian is especially fantastic in this section, somehow simultaneously managing to be both empathetic and arrogant. Still, his southern charm and all of his complexities make Cotton Marcus an even better character. Marcus’ charge, Nell (a superb Ashley Bell), is the perfect counterpart to his slick, big city style. She is, quite simply, a small-town girl with one huge problem – she seems to be waking up in the middle of the night and killing off the livestock with no memory of the events. I was honestly struck by Bell when she first spoke on screen, because she looks and sounds the part perfectly. The change in her voice and demeanor over the course of the film is acted so flawlessly that by the end, you’re genuinely shocked by her transformation not only because you like her, but because she looks and sounds so disturbing. It also helps that Bell is double jointed and does all of the requisite weird body-twisting herself, lending a sense of authenticity to the later scenes where things really go downhill.
I do think the film derailed in the last ten minutes, which was disappointing. I don’t want to say too much in order to avoid spoilers, but I would have preferred the film stay solely with the two central characters, Nell and Cotton, because the strength of their stories and how well they intertwined was the foundation for the film. There are pieces of the ending that I enjoyed, but overall it felt like too much was packed into the final minutes when at its very core, the movie was really quite simple (and better off that way).
Overall, The Last Exorcism is well worth a viewing. I know there are some on this site that probably don’t normally enjoy PG-13 horror (and I’m usually one of you), but this is a taut, tension-filled film that has great direction, writing, and acting. What more could you really ask for?
