Let's face it... Eli Roth isn't any sort of mastermind of the movies or cinematic genius. He made Hostel. People like seeing their own kind being ripped apart to pieces. Therefore, people liked Hostel. The general public can't really pin anything else on Eli Roth other than torture porn, and yet he slapped his name on this rather gore-less film entitled "The Last Exorcism." It's still beyond me why he attached his name to it... I would assume just to get some money and publicize it more.
But I digress. The Last Exorcism is a mockumentary-style film about a pastor named Cotton (Patrick Fabian) who tries to prove that exorcisms as a whole are a hoax. So he hires a cameraman and director/producer/boom operator/only-logical-person, Iris (Iris Bahr) to follow him as he attends to a request to exorcise a young girl named Nell (Ashley Bell). He sets up an elaborate and staged exorcism in her room when no one's looking and fakes an exorcism for her, but events take a turn for the worst when everyone figures out... it didn't work. Then the story delves into some sort of conspiracy where the whole demonized girl might be fake, might be real, might be a cover-up, she might have a mental disorder... point is, you have no idea what's going on.
First of all, as I've pointed out in at least one other review (for my loyal following of about 3 people), I hate nondiegetic sound/music in a horror film. To me, the point of being scared is putting yourself in the shoes of the main character or whatever victim is being shown; that person you're trying to live vicariously through is not hearing screeching violins and Jaws-esque suspense music... and the fact that filmmakers throw that in to scare you is cheap. Cheap cheap cheap. Which brings me to my next point:
The Last Exorcism is a mockumentary. Think movies like Cloverfield and Blair Witch Project; it's another entry into the shaky-cam, lost footage genre of filming we're seeing more and more of... but there's post-produced sound effects, music and editing weaved in. I guess whoever found this lost footage decided to try and win an Oscar before submitting it to, I don't know, the police?
To the film's credit, it's certainly at least a little fresh, inventive and creative. There's a scene involving Cotton trying to make a room seem possessed which is priceless because it essentially mocks the very genre it's trying to be. This also isn't your typical "there's something behind you" horror film either; in fact, it doesn't have many scares at all. It's more of a suspense-driven film for about 99% of it. All in all, it would be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of situation, if it weren't for the worst movie ending/twist of all time. I won't spoil it for the sake of anyone who still wants to see it, but the ending is just plain awful. It's contrived and almost offensive to the viewer, leaving you brain-f***ed with so much as a "You're an idiot" sign off line. Seriously.
Through its few fun moments and intriguing ideas, The Last Exorcism fails miserably within the last few minutes. I didn't like it overall, but I would've have at least respected its existence were it not for the ending. Ashley Bell is instantly likable, though, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her floating around a few future projects here and there, but she's the only savior for this satanic suck-fest.
3/10
-Kyle Shelton
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