The Last Exorcism: A Movie Review

Posted by: artsyfutsy on: October 31, 2010

• In: Movies & Books
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Hey guys, I’m back with (late) Happy Halloween greetings for everyone! ^^

With the fast-approaching end of the year, we from artsyfutsy will also be getting ready to welcome a new chapter in our oh-so exciting schooling lives: JC. Unfortunately though, this would also mark the end of this blog project (FYI, this blog was started for school project purposes). We will not be closing down this blog but we will not be updating as frequently, only as and when we have interesting material to share with you guys. We would sincerely like to thank everyone for all of your support for this humble blog of ours all this time.

And now, all sad news aside, I present to you our Halloween post:

In a feeble attempt to escape the horrors of revising for the upcoming Higher Chinese O Levels, I am here to give my thoughts on the recently-released horror flick, “The Last Exorcism”.

The Last Exorcism Promotion picture

Here’s a synopsis of the movie:

Taken from Yahoo!:

“When he arrives on the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer, the Reverend Cotton Marcus expects to perform just another routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic. An earnest fundamentalist, Sweetzer has contacted the charismatic preacher as a last resort, certain his teenage daughter Nell is possessed by a demon who must be exorcized before their terrifying ordeal ends in unimaginable tragedy. Buckling under the weight of his conscience after years of parting desperate believers with their money, Cotton and his crew plan to film a confessionary documentary of this, his last exorcism. But upon arriving at the already blood drenched family farm, it is soon clear that nothing could have prepared him for the true evil he encounters there. Now, too late to turn back, Reverend Marcus’ own beliefs are shaken to the core when he and his crew must find a way to save Nell – and themselves – before it is too late.”

I had been anticipating the local release of the movie ever since I first read about it in 8Days magazine and I must say, it certainly didn’t let me down. Stellar acting by the main cast and a well thought-out plot are inarguably the best parts about this movie. While Patrick Fabian’s portrayal of Reverend Cotton was also noteworthy, it was Ashley Bell that stole the show in her very convincing performance as the possessed Nell. This writer almost wanted to believe that was the case in the scene of confrontation between the Abalam-possessed Nell and Reverend Cotton in the shed where Bell (yes, she really did all the stunts by HERSELF, no kidding.) performed a series of disturbingly inhuman contortions.

Ashley Bell doing a contortionist-esque backbend as a possessed Nell

The plot is also commendable in its depth and creativity. It is different from your run-of-the-mill supernatural-oriented horror flick in that it also incorporates the viewpoint of a person who is actually in touch with the religion instead of just that of an outsider. The cynical attitude of Reverend Cotton towards his religion also makes him an anti-hero, which also sets the movie apart from the usual horror flicks as it gives it a sense of realism, which makes the whole movie even creepier.

That said though, the movie did have some drawbacks in the form its headache-inducing style of filming. This writer had to take a while to get used to the dizzying movements of the camera before she could start appreciating the movie. I also felt that the movie fell just a little short on the scare factor to make it a true, hardcore horror flick; kind of like a really good joke without the final punch line. (Note that I say hardcore, meaning chills-down-your-spine, hair-raising, scream-inducing-ly scary, the kind not meant for the faint-hearted.) The slightly boring beginning and slightly ambiguous ending were also a tad anti-climactic but, personally, I think that the great plot and acting are more than enough to make up for that.

Abalam-Nell glares at Reverend Cotton

On the overall, “The Last Exorcism” is a good horror flick perfect for a scary night out. It is thought-invoking and will definitely leave a lasting impression that probably wouldn’t fade for a while. I highly recommend this movie for horror beginners and gore-haters who are looking for some good brain exercise – it is just spooky enough for newbies to stomach and is one of the rare species of horror films where there isn’t blood splattering and brains exploding with every turn. “The Last Exorcism” truly captures the essence of horror and will undoubtedly be one of the best horror movies you have ever watched.

The Last Exorcism movie poster (for the record, this wasn't done by a stunt double too 🙂

And lastly, a trailer to spook you out 🙂 :

Happy Late Halloween 🙂

~ e3m1n