Hard to believe there’s still plenty of life left in the “found footage” genre that sparked both “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity.”
“The Last Exorcism” involves a preacher trying to atone for his sins – pretending to perform exorcisms for cash.
His attempt at salvation comes in the form of documentary footage “found” for our entertainment.
The minds behind “Exorcism” do more than milk the single-cam genre for all its worth. They corral a terrific lead performance and a nuanced look at religion.
Not shabby for a no-budget horror film with precious little blood to be spilled.
If only the ending didn’t cause you to lose faith in the entire production.
The Rev. Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) has a confession to make. He’s been performing exorcisms for years and making a pretty penny from it. But it’s all a ruse. He knows how to rattle household items on cue and say the right mumbo jumbo to make it seem as if the devil was exiting a body.
So he hires a documentary crew of two to capture his last exorcism, his exit from a pretty seedy business.
The found footage is presented in a more streamlined fashion than the reels at the core of “Blair Witch” or “Paranormal.” But the movie cheats a bit. This footage comes with standard horror movie music spliced in, which makes for an awkward hybrid. Still, the effect is like we were dropped into the lives of some ordinary people facing extraordinary events.
Cotton gets a shock when the so-called “possessed” girl he’s called in to save (Ashley Bell) could be the real deal.
“The Last Exorcism” never delivers the big scare – we do get several mid-sized shocks, -but the story is enthralling all the same. The movie goes light on the bloodletting and even lighter on special effects, and it doesn’t suffer for it. Our collective knowledge of exorcisms, born mostly from the 1973 film, is used as effective context without exploiting our affection for that horror classic.
Fabian is terrific as Cotton, a man uncomfortable with both his faith and past behavior. A good heart still beats beneath those contradictions. It might be the best horror movie performance in recent memory.
The film tries to fight back against the sub genre’s traps, and it partialy succeeds. At one point the camera man shows real trepidation about continuing to shoot, and the documentary format allows for different camera angels .. even though we only see one camera throughout.
“The Last Exorcism” is a crafty mashup of “The Exorcist” and “The Blair Witch Project,” one that capitalizes on the strengths of both films. But the final reel is scary in all the wrong ways, proving even the most clever concepts have trouble sticking the landing.
(Photo: Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell, front), Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian, left), Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum, center), and Caleb Sweetzer (Caleb Landry Jones, right) in “The Last Exorcism.” Photo credit: Patti Perret/Lionsgate Films)
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Oof! What to do – What to do? See it in theaters or wait for DVD? I really hate it when the final act stinks on ice. I may hold out for the DVD on this one. Thanks for taking one for the team, Mr. Toto.
I saw it this afternoon, I’d quibble on the point that he makes a pretty penny from performing exorcisms, they make a point of showing him having to deal with a possible unpaid bill regarding his son’s new hearing aid. At one point he also makes the statement that one thing he really wants is medical insurance.
The filmmakers had to make the character of Cotton more than simply a scam artist to make him sympathetic. At any point he can just walk away with his money and never look back but he continually goes out of his way to try to help the girl and the family when I think most people wouldn’t. Cotton’s concern for the girl is paramount through out the film even exceeding the concern of the film crew that is with him. Although he’s fallen from the faith, he acts like a man who still has it.
The ending was a little disappointing if only because it was too abrupt. One question I had about the film was it all takes place in Louisiana, way out in the middle of no where, yet most everyone had absoultely no accent or only a smattering of one.
One very unique thing I liked was the new twist they put on the camera showing the killer’s eye view in one sequence.
I applaud the attempt to put a new spin on a classic story.