Plot
The film begins and we quickly meet our main character – a somewhat scummy priest who is out to disprove exorcisms after he reads that a failed exorcism led to a young child’s death. The priest, who used to perform fake exorcisms, replies to letter begging for help and takes a camera crew with to document every second. What shadows are some exceedingly strange events which lead everyone around the priest to believe that this might be a legitimate possession. As each night passes, the bangs get louder; the footsteps get closer and reveal a terrible secret...
Review
I don’t know too much about director Patrick Stamm. He doesn’t seem to have much film experience. He is new to the horror field and that left me with some doubts. I didn’t, however; want to go into The Last Exorcism with his previous work, or lack there of, in mind. This turned out to be a good impression because The Last Exorcism, despite still being a flawed film, far exceeds my worries about Stamm’s short list of directorial films.
Where this film doesn’t do so well is with our main character. He is scamming a poor grieving family out of money for an exorcism he faked. Granted, the priest’s demeanour and intentions tilt to the side of righteousness towards the end of the film but at that point I felt it was too late. Tension in the score doesn’t always foreshadow an instant jump, and sometimes the payoff comes when you are least expecting it. For those looking for a scary film, you will have to temper expectations. The real treat here is the story and the ability to set up expectation, and then quickly swerve in a different direction, leaving you solving what is truly happening. We are given a restricted viewpoint, and left to fill in the blanks with our mind.
Zoltan Honti’s cinematography makes this story really come to life. The technique he applied is to just keep it simple and stick with what really works. Rather than have scene shots that come right to the camera, most of the more shocking moments come at the end of long pans, allowing enough suspense to build before displaying the viewer something that isn’t even all that petrifying, but still succeeds to catch you off guard. The fact he has considered is the genre as he adds quite a lot gothic features. For example the music played creates a different atmosphere as the tension builds the music gets faster and louder which create an impact. The atmospheric lighting gives the film the final finishing to success.
The first portion of the film is definitely enjoyable. Fabian is as likeable as Cotton Marcus himself. He’s a complete natural in front of the camera, keeping the watcher amused the whole way through the opening portion of the film. But it’s not all fun and games, Fabian highlights Cotton’s romantic side as well, both in terms of his family life as well as his fading confidence in his faith.
After such a stunningly slow and effective build up, it’s really too bad The Last Exorcism has to come to such a rushed end. Possibly the whole closing situation might have been more believable had we had not zipped through it so quickly. Then again, what else can you imagine from a film dealing with such intense subject matter? It has to come to a lavish conclusion and while it may not be easily digestible, everything leading up to the moment is so gripping it makes it appetizing enough.
We are left with a raw and thin horror film that leaves much to be discussed and divided after the lights come up. With a absorbing performance by Ashley Bell and a haunting theme and storyline, The Last Exorcism is elevated beyond the average horror film and illustrations that even in a world where so much is rehashed and carved from the same stone, surprises can still be found.
Verdict
Is The Last Exorcism a bad film? Not really. It has rather a few decently creepy moments and it feels like sincere effort and attention was put into it. Don’t go searching for another Exorcist or The Exorcism of Emily Rose to compare because Stamm’s film doesn’t quite match up. It is worth at least one watch. Not bad, but not something you’re going to want to re-spin in your DVD player too often.
Star rating= ***
Date: 28/1/11