The Last Exorcism

Viewer Rating:Cyberx_94 has rated The Last Exorcism rating: 3 Star

The last exorcism


The last Exorcism is a horror film starring Patrick Fabian and Iris Bahr. It is directed by Daniel Stamm. The plot focuses on preacher who is sceptical about exorcism to do just that in a small American town when he receives notice of a young girl who may be possess by the devil.
The movie is 1 hours 18 minutes long.

Having enjoyed the exorcist, its sequels, what I saw of Requiem and Emily Rose coupled with the mixed reviews of this film I wasn't sure what to expect. At the beginning I was concerned that the short length would negate the great buildup the film was achieving so well. Thankfully we managed to get a film that while slow, is smartly paced/organized so that enough time is spent on fleshing things out, providing scares and attending to plot itself. Still I did think that the ending felt very abrupt and the movie would have benefited from being longer. Some convincing acting and the presentation allow the realistic atmosphere to work but the movie only every now and then actually delivers on its scare factor. I did particularly like though how the film raised questions and thought into how some religious people think as well as casting don't on supernatural involvement making things possibly more disturbing if you take the time to consider it. The documentary approach is not an often seen technique and when it is used it can often fall flat on its face more than actually get the reactions it wants from viewers but it works really well here and adds to the earlier mentioned atmosphere.
The faults likely lie in the budget but more so the limited appeal , the films I mentioned at the beginning of the review blow this one out of the water and the way The last exorcism is setup/structured will alienate many.
Still this turn out much much better than I had thought it would.

Verdict: ***

Review published on the 17 September 2010 20:05