"The Last Exorcism" is presented to the audience in documentary format, chronicling a Louisiana reverend named Cotton (whose faith has ambiguously lapsed) who performs phony exorcisms in order to "cure" delusional people who falsely believe they are being terrorized by demons. He answers a letter from a backwoods farm and heads there with his documentary crew to help an allegedly possessed teenager, Nell. Her father is convinced she is possessed, and is killing off his cattle in the middle of the night. Cotton arrives and performs a phony exorcism on her, complete with staged effects, hoping to leave the family with a peace of mind, and cured of their "demon". Needless to say, it actually appears something beyond mental illness is striking Nell— something supernatural— a demon, perhaps.
The real strength of "The Last Exorcism" is its form of presentation. Although it's presented as a documentary, it's near impossible to take it seriously as being "real footage", considering the editing appears to be of professional motion picture status, as well as the fact that a musical score is played over many of the scenes. Ha. Alright, so we can't take it as reality. But how could you anyway? The "found footage" angle died with "The Blair Witch Project". We all know it's fictitious. Nonetheless, the documentary angle of storytelling does provide a magnificent point of entry for the audience, and opens doors that a standard cinematic storytelling format wouldn't. It places the viewers in the center of the terror, and proves effective for a handful of scenes in the movie.
Secondly, I'd like to applaud the acting. Patrick Fabian is comical and serious when need be, and he plays the role of the skeptical reverend with flair. Even more notable is Ashley Bell, who brings a genuine innocence to Nell—sheltered teenage girl by day, animal-killing devil child by night— whose childlike purity runs rampant when she's given a pair of Doc Marten boots by one of the camera women, which appears to be the most exciting thing to happen to her in years. She's adorable when need be, and even more terrifying when the horror starts to kick into gear.
As for the ending of the film, which seems to be the biggest gripe by audiences— I was pleased and disappointed with it at the same time. The twist was original, and the concept was chilling and very reminiscent of "Rosemary's Baby" and "Children of the Corn". At the moment of its revelation, I was admittedly unnerved, mostly by the visuals we get of what was happening from afar, and the entire punch in the gut that was the realization of what had been going on the entire time. The last minute (very much drawn from "The Blair Witch Project") was fairly shocking as well, and the final camera crash was very spooky. Even as a seasoned horror film viewer, I was a bit chilled by it. It wasn't until I left that theater that I began to notice how hokey it was. Creepy? Yes. Disturbing? Mhm. Believable? Well, sort of, but not really. The film's plot device teeters on being eerily probable and almost too much to take in after having to deal with other fallacies prior. Perhaps it's because it all hits the audience within a matter of minutes, but either way, some viewers will find it wonderful and others will leave shaking their heads. I'm somewhere in the middle.
Overall, "The Last Exorcism" is a commendable effort, and the first "documentary" exorcism movie I've ever seen. The format of storytelling somehow works well with the subject matter, and even though it's impossible to take as a reality, it is engrossing. The ending of the film comes close to shattering what was built up throughout, but I personally don't think it quite gets there. In the light of everything, I think it's swallow-able for some people, though too much for others to commit to. It's a nice bent on the story, and the concept is extremely chilling, so I have to give it the benefit of the doubt here. It's a lot more interesting than another "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Friday the 13th" re-hash. 7/10.
The real strength of "The Last Exorcism" is its form of presentation. Although it's presented as a documentary, it's near impossible to take it seriously as being "real footage", considering the editing appears to be of professional motion picture status, as well as the fact that a musical score is played over many of the scenes. Ha. Alright, so we can't take it as reality. But how could you anyway? The "found footage" angle died with "The Blair Witch Project". We all know it's fictitious. Nonetheless, the documentary angle of storytelling does provide a magnificent point of entry for the audience, and opens doors that a standard cinematic storytelling format wouldn't. It places the viewers in the center of the terror, and proves effective for a handful of scenes in the movie.
Secondly, I'd like to applaud the acting. Patrick Fabian is comical and serious when need be, and he plays the role of the skeptical reverend with flair. Even more notable is Ashley Bell, who brings a genuine innocence to Nell—sheltered teenage girl by day, animal-killing devil child by night— whose childlike purity runs rampant when she's given a pair of Doc Marten boots by one of the camera women, which appears to be the most exciting thing to happen to her in years. She's adorable when need be, and even more terrifying when the horror starts to kick into gear.
As for the ending of the film, which seems to be the biggest gripe by audiences— I was pleased and disappointed with it at the same time. The twist was original, and the concept was chilling and very reminiscent of "Rosemary's Baby" and "Children of the Corn". At the moment of its revelation, I was admittedly unnerved, mostly by the visuals we get of what was happening from afar, and the entire punch in the gut that was the realization of what had been going on the entire time. The last minute (very much drawn from "The Blair Witch Project") was fairly shocking as well, and the final camera crash was very spooky. Even as a seasoned horror film viewer, I was a bit chilled by it. It wasn't until I left that theater that I began to notice how hokey it was. Creepy? Yes. Disturbing? Mhm. Believable? Well, sort of, but not really. The film's plot device teeters on being eerily probable and almost too much to take in after having to deal with other fallacies prior. Perhaps it's because it all hits the audience within a matter of minutes, but either way, some viewers will find it wonderful and others will leave shaking their heads. I'm somewhere in the middle.
Overall, "The Last Exorcism" is a commendable effort, and the first "documentary" exorcism movie I've ever seen. The format of storytelling somehow works well with the subject matter, and even though it's impossible to take as a reality, it is engrossing. The ending of the film comes close to shattering what was built up throughout, but I personally don't think it quite gets there. In the light of everything, I think it's swallow-able for some people, though too much for others to commit to. It's a nice bent on the story, and the concept is extremely chilling, so I have to give it the benefit of the doubt here. It's a lot more interesting than another "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Friday the 13th" re-hash. 7/10.