REVIEW: ‘The Last Exorcism’

When I was too young to drive but old enough to ride my bike, I would, on most any summer day, trek on down to the old Hampton-Illinois library.  Usually, I could be found in one of two of places: either the science-fiction or religion sections.  Religion might sound like a curious section for a boy barely in double-digit years to be poking around, but there was one book that repeatedly held my fascination.  Up on a shelf high enough for me to need a stepping stool to reach was a small, red and black book, barely bigger than a paperback.

Its title?  One simple word: Demonology.

Maybe there was just something about my Roman Catholic upbringing that drew me into that mysterious world of candlelit rituals and spiritual warfare.  Maybe I’ve always been attracted to the darker elements of life.  Whatever the reason, it makes me excited about movies like “The Last Exorcism”.

“The Last Exorcism” follows Pastor Cotton Marcus, who was raised by his father (also a pastor) to be a prodigy, touched by the Holy Spirit at a young age.  However, Cotton is not so much a prodigy of spiritual matters as he is a master student of observation and manipulation.  Now, after years of being trotted out like a performing pony, he wants out.  All he needs is a job with health insurance.  As a bit of a last hurrah, Marcus decides to take a documentary crew with him on a random exorcism in rural Louisiana to show that, like much of what he’s known of organized religion, it’s all just showmanship and some sleight of mind.  They meet with Louis Sweetzer, who is very concerned that his daughter, Nell, is possessed.  Marcus approaches Nell as he has every exorcism he’s ever performed, and we are taken through the process.  After money has changed hands, Marcus performs a very theatrical exorcism, complete with groaning demons and smoldering crosses.  Nell is fine now… or is she?

“Exorcism”, while nowhere near as well-hyped as last year’s “found footage” sensation, “Paranormal Activity”, is head-and-shoulders a better movie.  What sets “Exorcism” apart is the development of its characters.  There is more to the people portrayed than just what might be considered stereotype.  Pastor Marcus – portrayed with an easy charm by Patrick Fabian – while seeming like an affable con man trying to pull a fast one over on a rube, is also a man tired of his current lot, conflicted in his faith and possessing compassion in the face of an unbelievable situation.  As the possessed, I absolutely loved Ashley Bell’s performance as Nell.  There are so many little things she does – sometimes a look or a slight upturn of her mouth – that convey much of what is going on within her, be it joy, fear, madness or menace.  She is simply amazing.

However, one thing that may be a point of contention for some viewers is that “Exorcism” is shot in cinema vérité style, or what has lately been dubbed the “shaky cam”.  Detractors focus on the camera’s movement, missing the magic of what happens on the screen: the story isn’t being presented as a simple entertainment, but as an actual event.  When done well, as in “The Blair Witch Project”, “Cannibal Holocaust” or the recent “[REC]” series, the film pulls you into its reality.  The success or failure of the style isn’t based on the steadiness of the image, but on how effectively it keeps you immersed in its world.  To that end, I feel that “Exorcism” succeeds handily.  Director Daniel Stamm, in his first mainstream feature, does a wonderful job of establishing characters and tone, gradually dialing up the tension as things go along.  Another point of debate will be the ending:  of all the possible ways to close out the story, Stamm handles it in one of the more creative ways possible, without jarring us from the world they work so hard to keep us in.

Teenage gore-hounds may be disappointed by the lack of the traditional horror trappings like gore and nudity, but “The Last Exorcism” more than makes up for it by giving us a riveting and frightening experience.