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The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism

A movie released August 27, 2010

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Faux Horror-mentary Has High Haunt Count

  • Jan 9, 2011
Rating:
+2
It's the amateur hour to be sure, but they do a lot with very little.  As a faux documentary, Louisiana preacher, Rev. Cotton, would like to make good on his track to perform phony exorcisms.  In a straight-forward fashion, he shows his duplicity up front, so he can expose exorcism once the headlines show what harm well-meaning people have done to a girl during the ritual.  Things fall apart to be sure, but the results, while not always startling, have a creepy haunt count. Subjectively, I have to say the full-throttle final scenes are what give the movie its best force.  If you want to quibble about the ending, at least I found it to be haunting and filled with great meaning.  Overall, it may be less original than 'The Blair Witch Project,' but I found it more satisfying and coherent in the end.
Faux Horror-mentary Has High Haunt Count

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January 10, 2011
Nice review, JP! Glad to see you still around! Oh, I won't say anything anymore since Chris already said a great comment!
 
January 09, 2011
Good synopsis and for the most part, I agree. For me, the best thing about this film was the development of the Cotton character; a man who has played the evangelical preacher his whole life but didn't necessarily buy into it, and now he's in a situation that requires faith. I don't agree about the ending, as quibbling as that may be ;-). It felt tacked on, as if it were included only for the sake of convention. I would have preferred something subtler, something that didn't go for the obvious. But that's just me.
January 10, 2011
nice observations, Chris!
 
1
More The Last Exorcism reviews
review by . August 28, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
When You Believe in God, You'll Have to Believe In The Devil...
Let’s cut to the chase; if you don’t like the first-person POV style cinematography and storytelling first seen in movies such as “The Blair Witch Project”, then in movies such as “Diary of the Dead”, “Paranormal Activity” and the Spanish Horror hit “[REC]” then you may not be the right viewer for “THE LAST EXORCISM”. The film was co-produced by Eli Roth and directed by Daniel Stamm and was meant to emulate the documentary …
review by . February 05, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
** out of ****     If there's anything really "wrong" with "The Last Exorcism", then it's that there's nothing bad about it yet there's nothing good about it either. The film intends on riding its mockumentary/ "Blair Witch"-style premise as long as it can, and in a number of ways it's more of a success than past efforts. But I've seen better. In fact, I've seen much better. "REC" and "Paranormal Activity" are both great examples of horror films which use their "Blair Witch Project" …
review by . July 07, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) was raised from childhood to succeed his father as the minister of their church. Very intelligent and charismatic, he normally has the crowd in the palm of his hand during his services. Marcus performs exorcisms on people who claim to be possessed. However, he doesn't exactly believe in what he does, instead, he believes that the problems exist in people's heads.      After reading an article on a botched exorcism, Marcus gathers …
review by . March 05, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
COMMENTARY ELEVATES THIS TO 5 STARS
      THE LAST EXORCISM      I will admit that when I first heard about this I was actually interested in it unlike another handheld style flick that was coming out. I have always been into these exorcism movies and it also had Eli Roth and the "Dawn of the Dead" remake producers on board so I was into it. After finally seeing it I had to say I was impressed with some things and not so much on others. I will say that it is a good movie but it could …
review by . September 05, 2010
      The horror documentary--a brilliant bit of filmmaking if done right, a curious experiment if not.  Either way, the mocumentary filmmaker is ahead of game because idea itself so novel.  For starters, the documentary format precludes any notions of disbelief--it goes step further than the mere willing suspension of disbelief, and presents itself immediately as "real" and "true".  Following on that, documentaries are, quite often, understood …
review by . August 28, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
THE LAST EXORCISM is yet another horror movie told through the use of "captured by someone who just happens to be filming for some other reason" device. Examples include THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (which started it all, for better or worse), PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (captured by a home camcorder), DIARY OF THE DEAD (captured by the camcorder of a college student, plus other video from the web), CLOVERFIELD (camcorder), QUARANTINE (local news cameraman with an endless battery), etc. In this current film, …
review by . September 25, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
"If you believe in God," says Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), "then you must believe in the Devil." This eternal clash between good and evil is the backbone of Christian faith, and Marcus understands that. Growing up in Baton Rouge as the son of a preacher, he was groomed to become one himself at a very early age; looking back on his life, he admits to the camera that, while he learned plenty about behaving like a preacher, he never really learned about what he was preaching. …
Quick Tip by . March 05, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
Caption
I found this to be a good film but the real goodies here are the commentaries on the DVD/Blu-Ray release. Both are very good with one being the director and the actors and the other being the producers. Both are good with the director/actors one being more fun and lively and the producer being one of the absolute best learning commentaries I have ever heard. If you are interested in behind the scenes stuff and how films are made this is the commentary for you. The other bonus features are good as …
Quick Tip by . January 09, 2011
There's a wonderfully little idea wrapped up inside THE LAST EXORCISM that -- given the hands of a competent director -- may actually have blossomed to frightening realization: a charlatan preacher goes about trying to prove faith is misguided when he attempts a 'Punk'd'-style documentary about fake exorcisms. The twist? He's actually caught in the middle of what may (or may not have been) a real-life incident of possession. Again, in the hands of a competent director, THE LAST EXORCISM could've …
see all The Last Exorcism reviews (10)
About the reviewer
John L. Peterson ()
Ranked #112
I am a substitute teacher who enjoysonline reviewing. Skiing is my favorite pastime; weight training and health are my obsessions;and music and movies feed my psyche. Books are a treasure and a pleasure … more
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About this movie

Wiki

The Last Exorcism is a movie directed by Daniel Stamm

A troubled evangelical minister agrees to let his last exorcism be filmed by a documentary crew.

When he arrives on the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer, the Reverend Cotton Marcus expects to perform just another routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic. An earnest fundamentalist, Sweetzer has contacted the charismatic preacher as a last resort, certain his teenage daughter Nell is possessed by a demon who must be exorcized before their terrifying ordeal ends in unimaginable tragedy. Buckling under the weight of his conscience after years of parting desperate believers with their money, Cotton and his crew plan to film a confessionary documentary of this, his last exorcism. But upon arriving at the already blood drenched family farm, it is soon clear that nothing could have prepared him for the true evil he encounters there. Now, too late to turn back, Reverend Marcus’ own beliefs are shaken to the core when he and his crew must find a way to save Nell – and themselves – before it is too late.

Poster art for "The Last Exorcism."
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Movies, Horror, Horror Movies, Eli Roth
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Details

Director: Daniel Stamm
Genre: Horror
Release Date: August 27, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Screen Writer: Huck Botko
Runtime: 87 Min
Studio: Lionsgate Films
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""If You Believe in God, You'll Have to Believe In The Devil...""
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