subject: The Last Exorcism Review;Does this latest movie offer adequate fright? [print this page] The Last Exorcism Review The Last Exorcism Review
Brand new film "The Last Exorcism," a scary documentary-style horror film, took off to the North American box office top place this weekend.
The movie, directed by Daniel Stamm and co-produced by Eli Roth, a horror director well-known for his frightening thrillers such as "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel", follows a disillusioned minister allegedly filming his final exorcism for a documentary.
The film is shown as found video footage, a la "The Blair Witch Project." The movie follows fraudulent preacher Cotton Marcus (performed by Patrick Fabian) as an expert exorcist. He's pragmatic with regards to the service he delivers and aren't bothered with redemption until he's rocked by the premature birth of his son and the passing away of a youngster during an exorcism conducted by another preacher. Having conducted bogus exorcisms since he had been a child, the clean-cut family man, tired of the charade, chooses to expose all the tricks of his trade to a documentary crew.
After slapping a Jesus fish on his vehicle, he heads to the farm of alcoholic fundamentalist Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), who is sure that his daughter Nell (Ashley Bell) is possessed. Utilizing the aid of numerous special effects (such as concealed speakers that play unearthly sounds), Marcus "exorcises'' the demon from Nell and collects his money. But it's soon evident that this tormented, wide-eyed adolescent is going through something unnatural, something that Cotton is not prepared for.
So we are led to the obligatory sequences of possession. Nell wanders around creepily. She twists her neck, contorts her entire body, and assaults pets and people. It's very standard issue, and that's exactly what the movie ends up being as well. There are suggestions that the possession is connected with fundamentalism and family dysfunctions, which then leads down to a plot twist.
Both Fabian and Bell are outstanding. Yes, Marcus is kind of a creep, predatory upon the beliefs of some others for his own gain. But Fabian makes him likable in any case, somebody who is prepared to take us within the game, even if it is at his own expense. His character likes the camera, and it returns the feeling.
The suspense is carefully constructed. 'The Last Exorcism' doesn't depend on cheap shock effects but locates scares in weird shots - many of which cut deep because the camera is caught out of position, or is not in focus, or is far from the action. Director Daniel Stamm stimulates the imagination rather than shunt it aside. If you like "The Blair Witch Project" or "Paranormal Activities", then you would probably love all the raw angles in this film.
But inspite of mostly strong performances (particularly by Fabian, who easily gets you rooting for the slick Marcus) and a satisfying, slow-building tension, the plot cause the movie to fall apart at the end. It's like director Daniel Stamm and his team recognized they were treading very close to making a film with real depth and edge that horror audiences may hate, and they simply couldn't pull the trigger. True horror fans might not get enough scare/creepy factor from this one! What you see in the previews is pretty much ALL you get.
"The Last Exorcism" took 21.3 million dollars in its first weekend in US and Canadian theaters, according to preliminary figures from Exhibor Relations, beating out another newcomer "Takers."
The crime action, starring Hayden Christensen, singers Chris Brown and T.I., and Idris Elba, follows the exploits of a group of professional thieves who take on one last job.
It took 21 million dollars in box office receipts over the weekend, pushing last week's number one move, old school action flick "The Expendables" to the number three spot.
"Expendables," Sylvester Stallone's film about a group of weathered mercenaries out to topple a South American dictator, earned 9.5 million dollars in its third week in theaters.
Down one spot to number four was "Eat, Pray, Love," Ryan Murphy's adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's novel about a divorcee's jaunt to Italy, Indonesia and India, starring Julia Roberts.
It earned seven million dollars in its third week of release.
