The Last Exorcism continues on the tails of the recent horror, found-footage hybrid craze, in this tale of a Louisiana preacher who brings a documentary film crew with him to a random exorcism. When he arrives to his client’s farmhouse in a small town deep within New Orleans to perform the service, he learns that this possession might be legitimate after all thus threatening his mortality.
Patrick Fabian is perfectly cast as Cotton Marcus, the preacher whose personal experiences with his family have softened his faith in religion. He now views his preaching as a cash cow to fund the medical bills for his young son, but he just might need to re-discover his faith soon in order to save himself and the film crew.
Patrick Fabian is perfectly cast as Cotton Marcus, the preacher whose personal experiences with his family have softened his faith in religion. He now views his preaching as a cash cow to fund the medical bills for his young son, but he just might need to re-discover his faith soon in order to save himself and the film crew.
Before being thrusted into the scary following acts, we are shown Cotton working in his ministry and given a sympathetic yet somewhat comical character study as someone who really wants to help people even though he has to stage these exorcisms for monetary compensation. Cotton is like most of us, trying to survive given our lot in life and working to support a family. The strength of the character originates in Fabian's portrayal of Cotton with such a high likability factor, whether you believe in the justifications of his exorcism roadshows or not.
Another strong performance is delivered by Ashley Bell who plays the might or might-not-be demon host Nell Sweetzer. The camera is the audience’s point of view perspective, so when she looks at the camera and is basically looking at “us”, her gaze burns right through you. She also provides some of the film’s great scares catching the audience off-guard by flipping from sweet Nell to raging demon-mode in an eye blink.
The less said about this film, the better, but the ending is a subject of great debate. A knee-jerk reaction can leave someone shocked at first until reflecting on the obvious foreshadowing cast throughout the film. The ending confirms a lot of questions that were presented and is ultimately effective.
Any unfair comparisons to The Exorcism and The Blair Witch Project should be eliminated right away, even though the film does contain some moments similiar to Blair Witch that will not be spoiled. Those two flicks and Exorcism are totally different films even though they look extremely similar on the surface and those comparisons should rightfully end there. The only negative factors for this film would be some creepy scenes missing that were presented in the trailer and the use of music during this supposed documentary. The music is very haunting and does help drive the film, so it receives a pass, and the missing scenes will be in the DVD for sure.
There are some good films floating around the cinema this weekend and this is definitely one of them. Even if you are not satisfied with the ending or some other dynamics in this film, you will be more than pleased with the breakout performances of Fabian and Bell.
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Check out some of the viral marketing that Lionsgate used to promote this film:
http://mashable.com/2010/08/19/last-exorcism-viral/ - link to article on Chatroulette prank vids. Hilarious!!
http://churchofstmarks.com/ - Reverend Cotton Marcus and ministry website
http://twitter.com/cottonmarcus - Twitter account for Reverend Cotton Marcus
info@churchofstmarks.com - E-mail address for ministry
15 comments:
I'll admit I'm curious on this one, tho I usually wait for DVD on this level of pic. But thanks for the heads-up anyhow!
I'm curious about this one as well. I didn't care for The Exorcism of Emily Rose and this does look a lot like that...but I'll take your word that its different.
@ 'Stro - Your welcome. I'll be honest and admit I did not really want to see it. I wanted to see Piranha but Mrs. Man-Cave dragged me into this one. I'll see Piranha soon enough but I'm glad I did see this in the theater.
Rev - I totally thought it was going to be like Emily Rose (which I hated with a passion) when I first saw the trailer. But this is NOTHING like that one at all. I can say that much. No court room drama in this film.
Great film and it doesn't (thankfully) traverse down the same path as other demonic possession films. It carves out its own niche with new concepts and ideas. And I do think there were underlying religious themes and a commentary on its modern practices.
But that is for another time and another post. Great review dude. Tops on my list right now of best horror films of '10.
Good to hear someone enjoyed it. I've read numerous reviews that state the last fifteen minutes is over the top hysterical and not in a good way.
Since you recommend it I will it give it watch. I've heard it's more of a thriller than a straight horror film. Would you agree?
At least they're not claiming it's really found footage like The Fourth Kind tried to. I was really naive on that one. Would have been so much cooler if it had been half way real...still scared me, so it's a winner in my book. I'll give this one a whirl when it hits DVD..
PoT - we run on the same tracks so I knew you would enjoy it. Glad to hear!
Alex - You should check it out, but wait til DVD if you are not anxious to see it right away. I too have read some down reviews about the ending, but it is effective and makes sense once all the clues given throughout the film have been tied together. Thus the ending is a perfect fit. And the lead actor is fantastic!
TS - well I would say that there are thriller elements, but this is flat out horror. Give it a watch when you can...in the meantime it would make a great Non-Review candidature.
Dorn - yes they didn't try to pass this off as real and hood thing since three principal thesbians are recognizable from other projects. def check it out when it hots the shelves.
You know... I used to be able to stand like that... (the top picture)... MAN, I wish I hadn't lost so much flexibility. Maybe what I need is a DEMON!
Seriously though, looks like a movie my daughter would like a lot, so thanks for the heads up!
Hmmm. Maybe I might see this after all.
PD
Hart - that picture is of the universal limbo champion. no one can beat her or flex at her level. Haha
Puss - Go see it. One of the best I have seen this year.
We brought up a lot of the same points in our review (especially on the Blair Witch comparison). You mentioned the foreshadowing/clues in the earlier parts of the film that make the ending come full circle, which I haven't seen a lot of people note in their reviews yet (I didn't either). Without giving anything away, I found the most telling details in Nell's brother. This movie just gets better upon reflection for me!
ever since I watched Exorcist: The Beginning I have been turned off by exorcism movies.
I'm with J.Astro I think...prob. wait for Netflix with this one. Although since you gave it your stamp of approval I'll probably be more apt to see it.
Im a huge fan of the found footage film and especially of all things exorcism, so I am all in on this one, but I'm afraid its going to have to wait until DVD
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