Movie Review: 'The Last Exorcism' relies on mental scares rather than gore

“The Last Exorcism"

Directed by: Daniel Stamm
Starring: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum, Iris Bahr, Caleb Landry Jones, Tony Bentley, Shanna Forrestall
Rated: PG-13

William Friedkin's 1973 film “The Exorcist” remains the movie that scared me more than any other. Roman Polanski's “The Tenant” is a close second. It wasn't the gore in “The Exorcist,” and there's very little in “The Tenant,” but the basic premise of both films.

Whether you believed that the child in “The Exorcist” was actually possessed by a demon or simply suffering from some brain disorder is irrelevant. The thing that scared me was realizing something like that could actually happen. “The Tenant,” too, was ambiguous. Was the main character really being persecuted by his neighbors or was he simply going mad? I guess I don't trust my own brain enough to not just short circuit at some point and send me into a mental snake pit.

Both of those films haunt me, especially when I have a fever and get sort of crazed from it.

“The Last Exorcist” has the same theme but is presented in a different format.

Following the lead of recent horror movies such as “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity,” Daniel Stamm's film is presented as if it's a documentary. It's a decent gimmick and Stamm and company use it well. I liked “The Last Exorcist” more than either “Blair Witch Project” or “Paranormal Activity.”

The budget is miniscule by Hollywood standards but the look - even with the faux documentary “shaky cam” style - is first-rate, and there are a lot of interesting plot elements that set the movie apart from run-of-the-mill low budget horror pieces.

The most interesting part in the setup is the story of the southern preacher, Cotton Marcus, played by Patrick Fabian.

The Reverend Marcus has been performing “exorcisms” for years but has recently had a change of heart and decides to expose the ritual - and, breaking the magicians' code - the modes of deception used. He hires a documentary film crew to accompany him to what he vows to be his last of such shams. His intentions are good, and even when he defends his previous “exorcisms,” he seems like a good guy. He explains that the possessed people involved really believe they are possessed and if they also believe that he can heal them, then they will be healed.

But he's tired of living the lie.

Real life evangelist Marjoe Gortner felt much the same way in the 1970s (see the documentary “Marjoe”), and magician James Randi made a career out of debunking people such as Uri Geller who claimed to bend spoons - and perform other legerdemain - by some divine psychic power.

Cotton gets constant requests for his services and is paid well. For his final act - and the ensuing exposé - he chooses Nell Sweetzer, a 16-year-old girl who lives with her alcoholic father and twitchy older brother in the Louisiana backwoods. Nell's father is convinced she is possessed by a demon - farm animals have been found slaughtered on his land and blood found on the girl's nightgown - and he wants her healed.

Cotton and the film crew head to the Sweetzers' farm, first encountering Nell's brother, who tells them the family doesn't need any help and throws rocks at the crew's car. Nice welcoming committee.

After meeting Nell - played by doe-eyed Ashley Bell in her first starring role - Cotton begins showing the camera all of the chicanery involved in setting up for one of his exorcisms.

And all seems to go as planned. The girl responds to the ritual and the reverend thinks it's another typical case of his mind over demonic matter.

But things go from bad to worse in the last half of Act 2. Nell becomes more agitated, hostile, violent, sometimes catatonic and simply downright weird. The other Sweetzers aren't any more pleasant or less creepy than the possessed Nell.

The film crew is scared and Cotton begins having a crisis of faith. Maybe there is something to this exorcism thing, and maybe Nell is possessed by some sort of demon.

There's plenty of tension involved. And Bell does a good job being possessed (or something worse).

All in all, I liked “The Last Exorcism” until the final few scenes, which are a combination of confusing and contrived.

But it's worth the price of a ticket if you like scares and nervous anticipation. There's not a lot of real gore in it. It's not like one of the “Saw” or “Hostel” films, although it was produced by Eli Roth, who directed the latter. Most of the real scary stuff comes from the mind of the viewer.

That's sometimes the scariest place of all, when led there by a decent film.[[In-content Ad]]