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The Last Exorcism (2010) Review

The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Daniel Stamm and written by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland. The film stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Tony Bentley, and Caleb Landry Jones. The plot follows a troubled evangelical preacher who performs an exorcism on a teenage girl, only to find out that she may not be possessed after all.

Hyped to hell, the Last Exorcism is a movie filmed in the fly on the wall / shaky cam documentary style. It follows an evangelical preacher who travels around performing exorcisms hoping to shed some truth on the age old practice. Turns out the old preacher ends up with more on his hands than he can handle and it’s up to him to save the day anyway he can.

OK, considering that The Last Exorcism has been hyped to hell, it was inevitable that it wouldn’t be able to live up to it. Well turns out it’s nowhere even remotely close to being able to live up to it. Quite frankly, The Last Exorcism is a big pile of shit. The marketing that led up to this movie has been grossly misleading. It’s difficult to explain without giving away too many spoilers but suffice to say all things are not what they seem in the world of the Last Exorcism. If your expecting some kind of modern day classic like The Exorcist your going to be greatly disappointed. In fact it’s safe to say this movie is about faith and faith alone. Don’t go expecting any ghoulish demonic possession’s (ala Linda Blair) there aren’t any.

Apart from the decent acting quality there is almost nothing positive to say about this movie. It’s an annoying, deceptive butt fuck all round. Do not spend your money on this flick, it’s crap. It’s not scary, it’s not fun, it’s not creepy it’s not really that interesting, the characters are fairly predictable and the storyline is run of the mill and a let down. I feel so let down by this flick it’s painful.

It’s hard to think of people who would actually enjoy this movie. Perhaps if your of a massive religious inclination you may find it somewhat riveting but honestly there’s movies that approach the possession / occult phenomenon in a much better and interesting way than this movie does.

The camera in the second half of the movie is just infuriating and becomes nauseous. The camera man seems to have developed parkinson’s whilst making this. It never stays still for a single damn second and a lot of the action takes place off camera. Expect to see a lot of darkness while watching this… Which is always great fun.

If i haven’t made my point by now i never will, avoid, plain and simple.

The Last Exorcism is a found footage horror film that relies heavily on its atmosphere and slow build to create a sense of unease and dread. The movie is very effective in its use of jump scares and creepiness, and the acting by Patrick Fabian and Ashley Bell is top-notch. The ending is a bit of a letdown, but overall, The Last Exorcism is a solid horror film that is worth watching.

Synopsis

The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by Daniel Stamm and written by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland. The film stars Patrick Fabian as Cotton Marcus, a troubled evangelical minister who performs exorcisms. The film was produced by Strike Entertainment and distributed by Lionsgate.

The film opens with a scene of a young girl, Nell (Ashley Bell), being chased through a cornfield by an unseen entity. The scene then cuts to five months earlier, with Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) preparing to film a documentary about his exorcism work, in the hopes of exposing it as a fraud. Marcus travels to Louisiana, where he meets with the Sweetzer family.

The family’s daughter, Nell (Ashley Bell), has been displaying increasingly disturbing behavior, and the family believes she is possessed by a demon. Marcus agrees to perform an exorcism, and the film crew sets up cameras throughout the house.

During the exorcism, Nell becomes increasingly violent, and Marcus is forced to admit that he may be in over his head. He calls in a priest, Father John (Tony Bentley), to help him, but the situation quickly deteriorates. Nell attacks both Marcus and Father John, and she is eventually restrained.

The exorcism appears to be a success, and Nell is returned to her family. However, the demon soon returns, and Nell’s behavior becomes even more erratic and violent. Marcus realizes that the only way to save Nell is to confront the demon head-on.

He returns to the Sweetzer home, armed with holy water and a crucifix, and he is able to drive the demon out of Nell’s body. However, the demon is not gone for good, and it vows to return. Marcus knows that he must find a way to destroy the demon before it can come back and harm Nell again.

Movie Details

Director: Daniel Stamm
Writer: Huck Botko, Andrew Gurland
Actors: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr
Release Year: 2010