The Last Exorcism

The Last Exorcism: Atheists Beware

Film Review by Patrick Thompson

This film is great for a majority of its length, but beware – it will end up disappointing you. For those who enjoy a little bit of a kick at organized religion, or atheists of all colors, it will be of a particularly bitter nature. Not because it is another in the line of faux docs with shaky cams, a la Blair Witch and Paranormal–it is because it does an amazing job of making you think that it will be a movie of an original stripe, but does not turn out that way. For the great job that it did through most of its length, I can almost forgive it. Almost.

Those of you who enjoy exorcism movies for the frights and special effects, you will also be disappointed, but the rest of us will enjoy (and did enjoy) it because it tried hard not to have them. There are no head turnings or wall crawling here, no lighted eyes or green vomit spewing; and for those who loved the exorcist for the fine job it did in setting up the frights (Damien’s mother coming to mind), you will also be disappointed. There is no set up for the supernatural here. This is where the film disappoints, because if it had only chosen a different destination, the lead in to the end would have been perfect.

The film begins and follows through on making a mystery of not only whether or not the girl in question is possessed, but also of what family secrets lie beneath the quiet Louisiana countryside setting. This is set against the story of the reverend Cotton Marcus (great name, btw–soft, southern and old school catholic all in one) in the lead, who has his own secret to which we are party, and it contrasts perfectly.

The characters in the movie, all played by unknowns, do a great job convincing us of who they are and do an even better job of hinting at, but never telling (at least, for some, until the end) us what their real motives are. Kudos to them, especially the lead Patrick Fabian (the reverend) and Caleb Jones, who played Caleb, the aggressively antagonistic brother, with such youthful arrogance that I couldn’t take my eyes off him, constantly looking for some sign of what he was up to. Perfect name for the character, I thought.

The best premise of any of the exorcism movies I have ever seen is whether or not the possessed is really possessed and how the people involved come to realize that they are or not. “The Exorcist” and “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” are two films that toed that line well. In the first, you knew she was but it was chilling to see what medical technology would subject her to in order to find out; in the second, though the flashbacks pushed our imaginations to believing she really was, the court drama reminded us that we did not (BTW: love you, Laura Linney).

“The Last Exorcism” also toed the line very well through the film, at first suggesting that the family’s secrets were to blame, then the girl’s psyche, and it should have been left at that, but it wasn’t. I guess the producers and/or writers felt they needed a big Hollywood ending to satiate the audiences, give them that “…good bang at the end…to let them know when to clap”. Unfortunately it backfires and taints the previous good work, and left me feeling cheated of my money.

This is one film I hope will have a different ending in the director’s cut, something that leaves you guessing and wondering, which was the juiciest part of the film, instead of the one it has now, which is just a bunch of Christian propaganda pits at the bottom of the glass.

P.S. Could someone tell the scriptwriters in Hollywood that we are tired of teenage girls always being the victims? Surely there must be someone else  demons/psychopaths/aliens/monsters come across? Please?

Promotional photo: Lionsgate Films