By Nur Hazirah Sukarji

“If you believe in God, then you must believe in the devil.”

The nonchalant remark by Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), the lead character in faux documentaryThe Last Exorcism, heralded the next 90 minutes of onscreen horror for him.

For the audience, well….. not so much.

Directed by Daniel Stamm and produced by Eli Roth (Inglourious Basterds) with US$2 million (S$2.6 million) and already grossing more than 20 times its budget, The Last Exorcism follows the lead of Paranormal Activity and the Blair Witch Project to use the shaky documentary-style film to inject a sense of authenticity into the proceedings.

The movie begins by introducing Reverend Cotton Marcus, a charismatic preacher and well-known practitioner of exorcism, with many faithful believers in his work. However, after reading an article of a child who was killed during an exorcism, Marcus’ faith in Jesus Christ weakens.


Reverend Cotton Marcus does a fake exorcism to earn some money.

After 25 years of scam exorcisms, Marcus decides to end the fraud by permitting a film crew to film him, exposing the tricks of his trade. To earn a few extra bucks, he chooses to perform one last exorcism in rural Louisiana on 16-year-old Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell), whose father, Louis, (Louis Herthum) is firmly convinced that he had a demonic possession on his hands.


From left: Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), Nell (Ashley Bell) and Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum) in their first meeting at the Sweetzer’s farmhouse.

The following events revealed that Nell was not suffering from schizophrenia, but was controlled by the devil, Abalam, Prince of Lies. This is where the plot thickens, with Marcus not expecting that to come face to face with the real thing this time, leaving you wondering whether Marcus would survive long enough to turn the situation around.

In her feature film debut, Bell shone the brightest in The Last Exorcism, overshadowing even her veteran co-actor, Fabien. Personating two extremes, Bell slipped into her role like it was her second skin, effortlessly selling the innocence while looking creepily possessed at the same time. Also, the scary contortionist poses like the still below were really performed by Bell, as she had been dancing ballet for a long time, giving her flexibility. It helps that Bell’s “double-jointed” too.


The devil controls Nell Sweetzer’s body.

For a horror film, the lack of scares is the probably the most unforgivable sin. The good plot development and suspense so expertly executed by The Last Exorcism is undone by the lack of scares. The only thing that probably scared the audience was when Nell’s face distorted with unnatural body movements when Marcus attempted a second exorcism on her. Even that scene wasn’t as impactful as it should be, due to the lack of sound effects making the whole scene less convincing.

Unravelled by the lack of scares and an abrupt twist ending, The Last Exorcism doesn’t fulfill its potential of being a pants-busting horror.

https://youtu.be/NmrSR5O9QXc
The Last Exorcism trailer

Movie: The Last Exorcism
Rating: ★★★✩✩

Opens: 28 October 2010
Duration: 99 minutes
Language: English
Age Rating: PG13
Genre: Horror

Director: Daniel Stamm
Cast: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum