THE LAST EXORCISM (2010)

Studio:       Lionsgate
Director:    Daniel Stamm
Writer:       Huck Botko, Andrew Gurland
Producer:  Eric Newman, Eli Roth, Marc Abraham, Thomas A. Bliss
Stars:     Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones

Review Score:

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Summary:

While followed by a documentary camera crew, a preacher who performs placebo exorcisms has his beliefs challenged by a girl who may be suffering from a true case of demonic possession. 

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Baton Rouge, Louisiana – A documentary crew introduces Reverend Cotton Marcus, his son Justin, and his wife Shanna. Cotton is a contemporary preacher with practical beliefs. He uses magic tricks and showmanship to accentuate his sermons. His father John, also a preacher, gives Cotton a book on demons, as performing exorcisms is a tradition in their religious family. Cotton had a crisis of faith when his son was born partially deaf. Cotton now performs exorcisms for people who mail requests to him or who make contact through his website. He does not believe in demons, but feels he is providing a placebo that “cures” those who believe they are possessed.

Ivanwood, Louisiana – Along with sound technician Iris and camera operator Danny, Cotton travels to the Sweetzer farm to perform his last exorcism. On the road to the farm, a boy tells Cotton to turn around and then he begins throwing rocks at the car. The boy turns out to be Caleb, the son of Louis, the man who contacted Cotton. At the farm, Louis explains the background on his daughter’s possession and discusses the recent slaughter of livestock. Cotton meets Louis’ daughter, Nell. Nell does not remember killing the animals. Nell’s mother died two years previous. Louis then home schooled Nell and removed her from Pastor Manley’s Sunday school. Cotton does more interviews with the family. Iris gifts Nell her boots. Cotton tells Louis that Nell is possessed by Abalam, a demon known for defiling young girls. The only salvation for those he possesses is death. Cotton rigs Nell’s bedroom with parlor tricks and performs a placebo exorcism. Louis pays Cotton in cash and the preacher leaves with Iris and Danny.

During the night, Nell mysteriously appears at Cotton’s motel. She acts strangely and the trio takes her to the hospital. The next day, Cotton tells Louis that Nell needs psychiatric help, but Louis refuses. Cotton consults the local preacher Pastor Joseph Manley to ask about the Sweetzers. Manley says that he has not seen Nell since she was pulled out of Sunday school, but he will help if Louis gives him permission. Cotton returns to the farm, where Nell has slashed Caleb’s face. Caleb passes Cotton a note telling him not to leave Nell alone with Louis. Cotton convinces Louis to take Caleb to the hospital so he can stay with Nell in case the demon returns. Cotton finds Nell chained to her bed and saws her free. She continues to behave strangely. Cotton finds a picture of a bloody white cat that Nell claims she did not draw. Cotton overhears an answering machine message from the hospital revealing that Nell is pregnant. Iris believes Louis impregnated his daughter.

Nell steals the camera during the night and records herself killing a white cat in the barn. Back in the house, the trio finds drawings depicting Cotton in front of a fire and the three of them brutally killed. When Louis returns home and hears the phone message, he tells Louis that the demon Abalam must have impregnated Nell. He asks for another exorcism, which Cotton refuses. Louis tells Cotton and the crew to leave at gunpoint.

Cotton runs upstairs in response to strange sounds. Nell begins behaving strangely and running all over the property. She attacks Cotton but is subdued. Cotton agrees to a second exorcism. In the barn, Nell contorts strangely during the exorcism and claims to be Abalam. She eventually calms down.

Nell tells Cotton that she was impregnated by Logan, a boy who works at the café. Cotton calls Pastor Manley to the farm to consult with the family. Satisfied that the matter is resolved, Cotton leaves with Iris and Danny. While driving out of town, they pass the café and decide to stop. Logan tells them that he never had sex with Nell as he is gay. He says he only met her once during a party at Pastor Manley’s house the previous summer. Cotton wonders why Manley lied about not having seen Nell for three years and why he is having parties for teenagers.

The filmmakers return to the Sweetzer farm and find Satanic symbols written all over the walls. With night fallen, Cotton spies a fire in the woods. The crew creeps up and discovers an occult ceremony in progress with Pastor Manley leading the ritual. Louis is bound and gagged while Nell is restrained to a makeshift alter. The baby is removed from Nell and thrown in a fire. Cotton pulls out his crucifix and approaches the cultists while quoting scripture. Iris runs but is killed by cultists. Danny is then killed by Caleb and he drops the camera.

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Review:

“Found footage” movies nigh universally have the problem of finding a way to keep the first hour of the film engaging.  They never want to show their cards too early and everyone knows the best scares are reserved for the last 10 minutes.  “The Last Exorcism” jumps this hurdle by turning its first act into a satisfying character exploration with a genuine interest in meaningful drama.  “Exorcism” begins with a focus on the man of the cloth who will be performing the title.

Tent revivalists and televangelists build empires of wealth by fleecing the naïve and the gullible with no nobler a goal than satiating their selfish vices.  Similar to these ordained conmen, Reverend Cotton Marcus is also a fraud.  But unlike his peers, Cotton has more sympathetic intentions.  He uses exorcisms as a sugar pill to help those he thinks are possessed by a demon of the psychosomatic variety.  His aim is to purchase his handicapped son a new hearing aid.  There seems to be little harm in a pretend exorcism banishing a pretend demon if the end result is that everyone is happy.  Unless it turns out the demon is more than a figment of imagination.

Reverend Marcus may not be the most convincing preacher, as his flair for showmanship takes precedence over the word of God, but he is a compelling character.  I might have paid more attention in church as a youth had my pastor trumped up his sermons with card tricks and sleight of hand.  At once likeable and accessible, wearing plainclothes or a linen suit instead of a collar or cassock, Cotton takes a modern approach to faith.  His personal beliefs do not include spirits and demonic possession, but it would be bad for business if his followers found that out.  Albeit well intentioned, his exorcism racket is a swindle nonetheless.  Immediately there is an interesting moral conflict in the nature of what he is doing in the first place.  He is slick, yet not a hardcore hustler.  Patrick Fabian makes Cotton so engaging that he very easily carries “The Last Exorcism” through the traditional first act trough.

With a documentary crew in tow to record the secrets of his particular trade, Cotton travels to the Sweetzer farm to meet the family at the center of what is planned to be his final exorcism.  Nell is a prototypical farmer’s daughter: innocent to the point of naïve, with plain looks and a wholesome personality.  As Nell, actress Ashley Bell encapsulates all of these traits, although in initial scenes she plays Nell as overly sweet.  Her smile is so eager that it would not be unexpected to see her cheeks explode at the thought of organizing her sock drawer.  The way she perks at every slight compliment is liable to introduce more eye rolls than empathy.

Then again, it could be intentional.  If Cotton’s general assumptions are correct, then Nell’s possession is just an emotional or mental disturbance.  Or, it may even be that she is savvier than she lets on and could be up to a greater con than Cotton.

After introductions conclude, the movie launches into an exploration of Nell’s peculiar affliction, including some of the perils of faith and religion.  Is Nell simply insane or could there actually be a demon inside of her?  There are no CGI effects to be found in “The Last Exorcism.”  Everything caught on camera is actually caught on camera, which lends a very distinct feeling of authenticity.  Without overt supernatural elements, it has a sense of being grounded in an identifiable reality where even demonic possession might be possible.

Adding to the realism are several convincing performances, particularly Louis Herthum as Nell’s father and Tony Bentley as the family’s previous pastor.  Some of the slower moments leading to the finale can grow dull, but the script and cast create multi-dimensional characters that are genuinely interesting.  Watching the drama of the Sweetzer family struggling with Nell’s situation is as engaging as pea soup and spinning heads.  Inject a huckster minister with a compelling personality into the mix, and waiting for horror to unfold is anything but a chore.

Some critics have claimed the conclusion to be ambiguous, while really it is more open to interpretation than promoting any real bewilderment.  Given that the general subject of the film has been well traveled, the ending takes a turn as satisfyingly unpredictable as the rest of the film.  The realistic performances only make the final payout that much more shocking.  What “The Last Exorcism” creates is a film that satisfies not only as “found footage,” but also plays as one of the better exorcism/possession films not directed by William Friedkin.

Click here for a review of the sequel, "The Last Exorcism Part II."

Review Score:  75

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