When The Blair Witch Project exploded onto the scene in 1999, it ultimately created a new horror “faux-cumentary” genre. That it managed to survive its embarrassing sequel speaks to the first film’s winning formula.
That same formula was applied to another horror sleeper hit, last year’s Paranormal Activity. And now comes The Last Exorcism, born from the same vein as these two predecessors but with slightly more prominent actors and a solid concept.
Rev. Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) is a man who’s lost his faith in what he’s been paid well for over the last few decades—performing exorcisms. He’s become more of a showman than a preacher.
Tired of the façade, Cotton decides to allow a documentary crew to follow him to one last exorcism to prove that such rituals are nothing more than the fake sideshows he’s mastered.
A random letter leads Cotton and the crew to a remote Louisiana town farm where a teenage girl (Ashley Bell) is supposedly suffering from a demon possession. While he pulls out all his tricks of the trade to simulate a real exorcism, it’s soon apparent that the reverend might be facing a situation he’s never encountered before.
The premise is a great one backed by some really great performances by Fabian (Big Love) and Bell, who is like a possessed, demented version of Harry Potter’s Luna Lovegood. It's also funny when it's not building suspense and it wisely doesn't rely on too many CGI gimmicks. And while the faces are those of familiar actors, the people who inhabit this small Louisiana backwoods town feel real, down to their church-going practices and their pleasant-enough dispositions. But they also make you feel like you are definitely a stranger crashing into their lives, so tread carefully.
Unfortunately, the movie—directed by Daniel Stamm and a producer's credit and public thumbs-up from Eli Roth (Hostel)—totally collapses in the final act under tired clichés seen in much better films like Blair Witch and, of course, The Exorcist. There’s also a lot borrowed from a certain B-movie Kevin Smith has also said he used for inspiration for his upcoming horror film Red State, but to name it may give too much away.
As it stands, The Last Exorcism is a really entertaining, creepy little flick with a terrible finish. There’s plenty to enjoy, but true horror fans may find it hard not to balk in the end.
The Last Exorcism opens in theaters today.
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