The Last Exorcism

The Exorcist meets The Blair Witch Project and gives birth to Rosemary’s Baby in director Daniel Stamm’s cheesy horror movie The Last Exorcism. Presented as a mockumentary, the film follows Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), a young evangelical preacher who has lost his faith but allows the filmmakers to record his last for-pay exorcism in rural Louisiana. Marcus prepares to perform the ritual—complete with parlor tricks—on Nell (Ashley Bell), a teenage girl whose gullible father (Louis Herthum) is convinced that she’s possessed and is killing their livestock. Although Nell’s brother (Caleb Landry Jones) is hostile to the idea, Marcus proceeds with his knowingly fake exorcism, but when it fails, he becomes convinced that actual diabolic activity is taking place—especially after discovering that Nell is pregnant, giving rise to questions about paternity and suspicions of incest and child abuse. The script, which seems intent on throwing every horror device but the haunted kitchen sink into the mix, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense even at its best moments (the big twist ending is surely the worst), while the jerky, handheld cinéma vérité camerawork frankly seems hackneyed. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (the first with producers Eli Roth, Eric Newman, and Thomas A. Bliss; the second with director Daniel Stamm and costars Ashley Bell, Patrick Fabian, and Louis Herthum), a 'The Devil You Know' making-of featurette (21 min.), 'Real Stories of Exorcism' interviews with real-life victims and participants (15 min.), a text 'protection prayer,' and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are an audio commentary (with a haunting victim, a deliverance minister, and a clinical psychologist), four cast audition tapes (16 min.), bonus DVD and digital copies of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)