Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum,
Caleb Landry Jones, Tony Bentley, John Wright Jr,
Shanna Forrestall, Justin Shafer
Written by Huck Botko & Andrew Gurland
Certification UK 15 | US PG-13
Runtime 87 minutes
Directed by Daniel Stamm
The faux documentary format – is it, as some claim, becoming a little overdone in horror circles? Since the awful Blair Witch Project made the style popular, we've seen it used to good effect in such films as Cloverfield, the two [REC]s and Paranormal Activity. Now comes The Last Exorcism which, for me, once again shows that this format, when used properly, can be very effective.
It's the tale of Cotton Marcus (Fabian), a holy man and evangelical preacher who is renowned as an exorcist. He's intelligent, charming, very smooth ... and a complete fake. Having a crisis of faith, he's decided to give up the practise, and exposee the fakery for what it is, and so invites a documentary filmmaker (Bahr) to accompany him on what will be his last exorcism. From the hundreds of letters he recieveis, pleading for his help, he chooses the case of Nell Sweetzer (Bell), whose fundametalist father Louis (Herthum) claims is possessed by a demon and up to all manner of no good. So off they head to the Sweetzer farm in Louisiana, where Cotton hopes to expose himself, and all exorcists, for the fakes they are. They arrive to meet a seemingly sweet teenage girl, and despite Cotton believing her problems are psychological, they proceed with the "exorcism" at the insistence of Nell's father. But all is not quite as it seems.
I'm loathe to reveal any more of the plot, because that could be entering spoiler territory. Suffice it to say, this is an intelligent and effective thriller – thanks mainly to the performances of its two leads. Fabian is superb as the charismatic preacher seeking redemption for his sins. He makes Cotton a well-rounded, believable character who, despite all his wrongdoings, you can't help but like – and root for when things start to go a bit ... wrong. It's a great performance, as we see him struggle with both his faith and the events that are going on around him. But pivotal to the whole film is Bell as "victim" Nell Sweetzer, and damn is she good. In both the physical and psychological demands of the role, she is nothing short of astounding. She swings from the sweet and terrified teenage girl to a "possessed" monster with the skill of an actor much older and more experienced. Both she and Fabian must become breakout stars after this. The film itself delivers several good scares – and a sublime twist at the end – but there are a lot of laughs to be had, too. Nicely directed by German Daniel Stamm (it's only his third film), The Last Exorcism is proof that the faux documentary is alive and well, and in very good hands.
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SECOND OPINION | Craig McPherson ??½ You’ve got to hand to demons. The one thing they hate as much as most cinema goers is “Shakes” the camera man. That’s about as close to a spoiler as you’re going to get when it comes to the Eli Roth-produced and Daniel Stamm-directed “reality” horror flick The Last Exorcism. Eleven years after The Blair Witch Project and two after Cloverfield tried to breathe new life into the genre, this exercise in faux cinema vérité delivers a mixed bag of results as it tells the story of Reverend Cotton Marcus (Fabian), a Louisiana-based evangelical pastor groomed at an early age to be a preacher of the good word.
Problem is, because Marcus literally grew up in the milieu, at his core he isn’t exactly what you’d call a believer. He’s more of a businessman and crusader, vowing to save “younguns” from trauma and death at the hands of exorcists by staging fake demonic expulsions to satisfy their skewed state of reality. His exploits are chronicled by a documentary crew seeking to expose religious fakery in the US deep south, with which Marcus has agreed to assist. First across his desk is a case of demonic possession involving 16 year-old Nell Sweetzer (Bell) at a small rural farm. It’s there that his expectations and faith, or lack thereof, clash as he comes to grips with what may or may not be an actual case of demonic possession, or a psychotic incident. The promos and posters are deceiving. There aren’t any scenes of Nell walking on ceilings, however the contorted poses she strikes were, apparently, quite real and without special effects (think of Cirque du Soleil meets The Exorcist).
The Last Exorcism’s basic story is sound, however its execution is undermined by its haphazard adherence to the “found footage” premise, beginning with the camera work. If you tend toward nausea when it comes to jerky, in and out of focus cinematography, stay away. If you believe that “reality” films should stick to a rigid code, maybe this isn’t for you as there are enough technical inconsistencies here to drive a cinephile nuts (the use of tension building background music, the sudden on-camera appearance of the sound recording tech, sans recording gear – I could go on). The movie’s theological mistakes equally abound, such as the notion that an evangelical pastor would carry a crucifix depicting the image of Jesus, or that like-minded non-Catholic believers would adorn their dwelling with statues of the Virgin Mary, however such nuances are considered “nitpicking” in Hollywood’s terms. While The Last Exorcism isn’t a bad movie, it isn’t the best horror flick to come down the pipe this year either. It’s the sort of thing you might want to rent on DVD and curl up in front of with a big bowl of popcorn, and then, if you really want to be scared, follow it up with William Friedkin’s masterpiece.