The Last Exorcism
Release Date:
August 27, 2010
On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 46/123 |
David Mumpower |
Yes, the ending is horrible. Before that, I was caught off guard by this engaging take on the first person camera horror genre. 75 minutes of it is quite good. |
| 117/190 |
Max Braden |
I liked that this was a slight change of pace from Paranormal Activity 2, but the ending still fell apart. |
What say you about a movie that combines the plot of a movie like The Exorcist with the storytelling techniques we’ve seen in The Blair Witch Project? Lionsgate, which picked up documentary-style horror film The Last Exorcism, contends that audiences will fall for its faux realism approach – similar to how they did when Paranormal Activity became one of the unlikeliest box office hits ever while taking down the mighty Saw franchise in the process. The year before, moviegoers were arguably just as warm to J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield, which opened to a huge-for-January $40.1 million.
Let’s face it: documentary-style anything is so in right now. Said movies are a good example of that, as well as the proliferation of new TV series that have hit the airwaves in recent years. The Office more or less started the trend on broadcast, and Parks and Recreation and Modern Family followed suit. Southland, which TNT snatched from NBC despite low ratings, may be the first police procedural to be filmed as if a documentary crew captures the officers’ every move with their jittering cameras.
In The Last Exorcism, an Evangelical priest (Patrick Fabian) who has seemingly turned his back on religion invites a crew of filmmakers to document his final exorcism. His faith is put to the test when he tries to exorcise a supposed demon inside the daughter of a farmer. Other cast members, who you probably haven’t heard of, include Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Ashley Bell, Jamie Alyson Caudle and Tony Bently.
For people on the fence about whether a mashup between faux realism and exorcisms could work (read: scare the bejesus out of you), know that The Last Exorcism is in very good hands. The film is produced by Eli Roth, who got his start with Cabin Fever but is probably best known for the gory Hostel and its even more gruesome sequel. Daniel Stamm, The Last Exorcism’s director, previously helmed A Necessary Death, a
film that also makes use of the faux documentary format. In it, a film crew follows a man who intends to commit suicide. Though seen by very few, the movie was received very favorably by critics. (Eric Hughes/BOP)
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