Movies
Director: Daniel Stamm; Screenwriter: Huck Botko, Andrew Gurland; Starring: Patrick Fabian, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Ashley Bell, Jamie Alyson Caudle; Running time: 100 mins; Certificate: 15
> Interviews: 'The Last Exorcism'
Every now and then, the PR blurb for a movie can be quite amusing to read back after viewing the film in question. Here is how The Last Exorcism is officially described in the promotional material sent out to us movie hacks:
“From producer Eli Roth, The Last Exorcism is a terrifying horror film in the tradition of and shot in the unique style of Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project.”
Or at least that’s what they want you to think. The reality of this rather grave matter would be best described in the following terms:
“From the dude pictured in the tabloids cavorting around with Peaches Geldof, The Last Exorcism is a thoroughly unalarming dud that rips off several iconic moments from The Exorcist and lazily deploys the same shaky-cam filming techniques and mockumentary tone used to far better effect in Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project.”
It’s a shame, as the broad premise certainly carried a great deal of promise. The early section of the movie chronicles the dubious actions of Protestant minister Reverend Cotton Marcus (Fabian), who dupes his followers into believing he’s a bona fide exorcist. In reality, he uses a procession of crafty tricks to make his act appear genuine. Disillusioned with his deeds, Cotton seeks to expose the fraudulence of his ministry by allowing a documentary crew to film him as he embarks on one last exorcism. However, his trip to ‘cure’ a possessed teenage girl on a remote farm turns out to be somewhat messy due to the weirdness of her family and apparent presence of a genuine devilish spirit.
An almost unnerving lack of scares and tension permeates the movie, with the uninspired script being suitably complemented by the insipid, leaden direction. The decision to cobble together ‘homages’ to certain masterpieces serves to highlight how creatively bankrupt this project is. In particular, the representation of the possessed girl - complete with white frilly nightie, greasy hair, pivoting head and demonic voices spouting obscenities - is simply pathetic. It’s a minor miracle that those Tubular Bells never start their distinctive chiming, although that was presumably down to clearance issues. To make matters worse, the climactic sequence in the woods is astoundingly similar to the ambiguous denouement of Blair Witch - including a near identical last shot.
A captivating performance from Patrick Fabian as the charismatic ‘fauxorcist’ succeeds in just about elevating this movie from the kind of rip offs with titles like ‘Matriarch Of The Living Dead’ that frequently line the innards of bargain bins. Let’s hope that Fabian’s extreme watchability - amidst the tripe he’s engulfed in - alerts the Hollywood moguls and snares him some coveted roles in the future.
On reflection, perhaps the “terrifying horror movie” referred to in the PR propaganda is justified in one capacity. For anyone with a decent knowledge of horror flicks will surely recoil in terror at how terribly several masterpieces of the genre have been shamelessly ripped off.
> What do you think of the movie? Share your views
© Optimum Releasing
Every now and then, the PR blurb for a movie can be quite amusing to read back after viewing the film in question. Here is how The Last Exorcism is officially described in the promotional material sent out to us movie hacks:
“From producer Eli Roth, The Last Exorcism is a terrifying horror film in the tradition of
Or at least that’s what they want you to think. The reality of this rather grave matter would be best described in the following terms:
“From the dude pictured in the tabloids cavorting around with Peaches Geldof, The Last Exorcism is a thoroughly unalarming dud that rips off several iconic moments from The Exorcist and lazily deploys the same shaky-cam filming techniques and mockumentary tone used to far better effect in Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project.”
It’s a shame, as the broad premise certainly carried a great deal of promise. The early section of the movie chronicles the dubious actions of Protestant minister Reverend Cotton Marcus (Fabian), who dupes his followers into believing he’s a bona fide exorcist. In reality, he uses a procession of crafty tricks to make his act appear genuine. Disillusioned with his deeds, Cotton seeks to expose the fraudulence of his ministry by allowing a documentary crew to film him as he embarks on one last exorcism. However, his trip to ‘cure’ a possessed teenage girl on a remote farm turns out to be somewhat messy due to the weirdness of her family and apparent presence of a genuine devilish spirit.
An almost unnerving lack of scares and tension permeates the movie, with the uninspired script being suitably complemented by the insipid, leaden direction. The decision to cobble together ‘homages’ to certain masterpieces serves to highlight how creatively bankrupt this project is. In particular, the representation of the possessed girl - complete with white frilly nightie, greasy hair, pivoting head and demonic voices spouting obscenities - is simply pathetic. It’s a minor miracle that those Tubular Bells never start their distinctive chiming, although that was presumably down to clearance issues. To make matters worse, the climactic sequence in the woods is astoundingly similar to the ambiguous denouement of Blair Witch - including a near identical last shot.
A captivating performance from Patrick Fabian as the charismatic ‘fauxorcist’ succeeds in just about elevating this movie from the kind of rip offs with titles like ‘Matriarch Of The Living Dead’ that frequently line the innards of bargain bins. Let’s hope that Fabian’s extreme watchability - amidst the tripe he’s engulfed in - alerts the Hollywood moguls and snares him some coveted roles in the future.
On reflection, perhaps the “terrifying horror movie” referred to in the PR propaganda is justified in one capacity. For anyone with a decent knowledge of horror flicks will surely recoil in terror at how terribly several masterpieces of the genre have been shamelessly ripped off.
> What do you think of the movie? Share your views
Your Views
6 Comments
Your Responses
Good performances spoiled by the lame ending. Pity about the stadycam work, it did make me feel quite sea-sick
me and my boyfriend went to watch this, i was disapointed to find that it was filimed like a documentary as i think it woul have been beter if filimed like a normal film. there were indeed a few jumpy bits, but thats when it was scary, this happened like 5 times the rest was all talking! the end was also crap i didnt understand!
Worse film I have every seen...... nothing scary about this film what so ever!!
I think this film deserves maybe 3/4 stars. It had a very good storyline and kept up the pace throughout the movie right up until the ending. I thought the ending was a big let down and it ruined aspects of the film. But this is definately not a fair review, it kept me entertained and scared at most points! Not the best horror, but a very good one
Dude whoever is saying the Last Exorcism wasn't good does not have good taste in movies, I am going to see it again me and my husband both loved it!!
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I don't think I was watching the same movie as this reviewer. I loved it! I'm a huge horror fan and thoroughly enjoyed this. It was jumpy and quite intense throughout, which I don't normally experience watching horrors. I even enjoyed the ending, even if it was a bit rushed, with no real explanation as to what was going on, but that's bound to happen with the documentary style filming that was used. I gave the film 4 out of 5 - really good, but not quite 5 star material.