It is always a bad sign when the producer of a film basically begs an audience to write good things about it on twitter. That was what Eli Roth (“Hostel”, “Cabin Fever”) did for “The Last Exorcism” before the screening I saw. Surprise hits should happen naturally instead of being thrust upon the public. “Snakes on a Plane” experienced a backlash when everyone predicted it to be a surprise hit. It wouldn’t surprise me if that is what happens to “The Last Exorcism”. It certainly doesn’t deserve to be a hit or even be classified a horror film.
One of the more annoying trends in horror over the last decade is the faux documentary style. The vastly overrated “Blair Witch Project” started this trend that seems to be picking up steam lately. “Quarantine”, “Paranormal Activity”, “Cloverfield” “The Fourth Kind” and the two “REC” films all have employed this method in recent years. Shaky camera work usually comes with this style. Sadly that is the case here.
“The Last Exorcism” follows a preacher named Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) who has come to the realization that exorcisms are bad and need to be stopped. He came to this conclusion after reading in a paper that a person died during one. Marcus has a documentary crew following him around. First we see Marcus in action at his church. He yuks it up with his parishioners and acts more like a carnival barker than a preacher. You can easily make a case that Bill Maher was directing the first half of the film with its disdain toward religion Whatever Marcus yells out to his flock, they eat it up with full abandon. He does all this while winking to the camera.
Marcus believed in the past that exorcisms were hokum. He never thought the people were possessed nor had a demon in them. Marcus just knew that it made them feel better after he performed it. He decides that the next exorcism will be his last and he will have the film crew document how fake everything is. Marcus gets many letters every week asking for his help. He practically knows what they will say before reading them.
The rural part of Louisiana awaits Marcus and his crew. Nell (Ashley Bell), a young teen girl, is the one who might be possessed. Why is it that girls are the ones that are usually possessed in movies? It sure seems that way. I gather that it is more shocking hearing girls spout endless profanity or gibberish, levitate and do gruesome things to themselves or assorted farm animals. In this case, it is livestock that is being hunted. Nell’s father Louis (Louis Herthum) is very concerned for her soul. Nell’s brother Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones) doesn’t seem affected at all. He just doesn’t want his family taken by Marcus and his band of tricks.
Marcus does his little ritual and thinks his work is done. He is sadly mistaken. He gets more and more involved in this family’s plight. Marcus tries to persuade Louis to get Nell some psychiatric help, while Louis keeps pushing Marcus toward the spiritual realm.
Last year “Paranormal Activity” filled me with dread throughout and the tension was palpable. On the other hand, “The Last Exorcism” did not scare me one bit. It is actually more of a comedy than a horror film. Bell does show a remarkable aptitude of twisting her body every which way and being quite nimble. It still won’t keep you up at night.
The ending of “The Last Exorcism” is pure silliness. It is supposed to be shocking, but it merely falls flat. It does bring up some questions like why does a camera person still film when they are in obvious danger? If it was me I would drop the camera and run for the hills. But we wouldn’t get all this spooky footage. We would be so lucky.
