On The Last Exorcism
Sorry I have been away for so long, but life must intrude on one's leisure activities. I just completed a major revision of my home theater, and I feel motivated to write reviews of films that would fall in"the road less traveled" realm of the spectrum. To be clear, you will never see me review any of the big blockbusters or flavors of the day. There are plenty of other, better blogs for that. However, I hope I can shed some light on some movies you would never consider; either for their content, reputation, or lack of publicity.
Last night I saw
The Last Exorcism. For the record, I am a born, raised, and active Roman Catholic. The subject of exorcism has always been fascinating to me, not only because of my upbringing, but that the concept of a lone, frail human battling a demon from Hell in a spiritual battle of wills appeals to my worldview of good vs. evil. And light does not always triumph; meaning, good may win the war, but individual battles will indeed be lost.
All exorcist movies must be compared to the granddaddy of them all,
The Exorcist (1973; directed by William Friedkin), which was based on a novel of the same name. I have to admit this movie is downright scary, and additional viewings do not lessen it's impact. Yes, some of the special effects are primitive by today's standards, but the tone and mood of this film is, for lack of a better description, evil and oppressive. You endure The Exorcist as much as view it. I consider it the greatest horror movie ever made.
Having said that,
The Last Exorcism has a great deal to live up to. Viewers of this film are more likely than not to have seen similar movies of it's kind, and the result could easily be disastrous. Indeed, we have only to look at
The Exorcist II, one of the worst horror movies ever made, for proof. It's very hard to stand on the same ground of something that has come before and been so successful, and such efforts rarely succeed. The last big exorcist horror movie was
The Exorcism of Emily Rose. It was just "ok"; nothing really new here. The movie was saved by the performance of Tom Wilkinson; a character-actor who gave a stellar performance of the film's protagonist priest, Father Moore.
So, what exactly is
The Last Exorcism? The film was billed as
The Blair Witch Project meets
The Exorcist. In some ways this is true, but truthfully it's far more Blair Witch than Exorcist. The
Last Exorcism is a "mockumentary" in the same vein as Blair Witch. This choice was polarizing as you either like that kind of gimmick or you don't. Some good news; most of the "shaky camera" herky-jerky movement shouldn't cause too much self-induced nausea as it's effect is far less pronounced than in Blair Witch.
Plot:
Baton Rouge child-prodigy Pentecostal preacher Cotton Marcus becomes disillusioned with his career choice. In short, he is tired of being a charlatan. The preacher hires a film crew to document his last exorcism in order to expose the fraud which he and his kind perpetrate on the ignorant and superstitious (props for actually mentioning
The Exorcist). Marcus takes the crew to a rural Louisianian farm where the owner claims cattle and animals are being killed by his possessed daughter. Marcus performs an "exorcism" using some very poor special effects, and pronounces the girl free from demon influence while gladly taking the farmer's money. Unfortunately for Marcus and crew the demon inside the girl has other ideas.
Pros:
As someone who is a practicing Catholic I was immediately put off by Preacher Marcus. He insulted my faith and beliefs on a very personal level. Having said that, though, the film does allow Marcus to find his way back at the end. The story is not overly complicated, and very easy to follow. You can feel empathy for this family that has experienced a great deal of tragedy, and the acting is overall very good for this genre. There are some very scary moments in this film, and you will get goosebumps. Creep factor is above average.
Cons:
"Why not go to the police?" "Why are they not involved?" You will be yelling these common horror-film cliches at the screen more than once. To be fair, it's a horror movie, and common sense takes a backseat to entertainment. Still...
The ending is not very good or well done, and does not fit the overall tone of the film. It felt rushed and amateurish.
Blu Ray Video and Audio Quality:
Considering the film is supposed to be sourced from video I think the video quality is more than acceptable. Overall, the print has a "soft" look to it. Colors are subdued with an earthy, organic quality that mirrors the locale of rural Louisiana. Contrast is excellent with well defined blacks and good shadow detail. The DTS HD Master soundtrack is excellent with clear dialogue. Bass extension can get very low and powerful in parts, especially the wild ending, and surrounds are active and useful. Very good effort overall.
Conclusion:
It's not the successor to either The Exorcist or The Blair Witch Project, but The Last Exorcism is a good horror movie save the silly ending. I really wish the director had not found it necessary to throw the movie in that direction. YMMV, but for me it was totally over the top.
3.5/5 stars.
