How would you go about telling a story on exorcism without immediately falling under the large shadow cast by the classic film The Exorcist?
That was the dilemma facing Daniel Stamm's The Last Exorcism, but he made his new film with enough subtle differences from the 1973 William Friedkin picture as to make it enticing. And for the most part quite unnerving.
The story revolves around Rev. Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), a man who has done his fair share of exorcisms but who has a rather jaded, cynical outlook on demonic possession. Opening a letter from Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum) from a pile asking for spiritual help for his sweet, innocent-looking daughter Nell (Ashley Bell), Marcus travels with a documentary crew from Baton Rouge to Ivanwood, La., to meet the Sweetzer family.
Louis takes Marcus around his farm, showing how some livestock were unexpectedly slaughtered. Meanwhile a crucifix necklace on Nell's chest burns her skin, something her dad believes is a nickel allergy. More inexplicably, a pan of cold water quickly boils after Nell soaks her feet in it.
After several discussions, our priest tells Louis the demon Abalam is inside Nell, and it needs to be exorcised or she will die. In the vein of "the film" which Marcus refers to early on, Nell is chained to the bed so the demon can be removed. Using small gadgets to emit sounds and screams during the exorcism, Marcus leaves Nell and Louis believing she has been saved.
From there, things get a bit odder as Nell appears at the Reverend's hotel room before being taken to hospital, where she is deemed to be fine. Slowly more things go awry, with Nell fighting with her brother Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones), drowning a baby doll and heavy-handedly caressing a cat.
Believing a second exorcism is needed, Marcus stages it in a barn with Nell lying down and Louis nearby. Here the gadgets aren't needed, with any skepticism Marcus originally had about the ritual quickly dissipating.
The first main strength of The Last Exorcism lies in the "less is more" idea, with the first half basically developing characters and storyline for an eerie second half. Both Fabian and Herthum are strong but Bell's almost back-breaking work is the real eye-opener, bringing to mind Sissy Spacek's Carrie portrayal in some respects.
The second strength has to be the handheld-camera, documentary-style of storytelling reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, with ample dark doorways and staircases to heighten the frights. Fortunately, the cameras don't jerk around much, making the audience feel part of the story.
Although the ramshackle closing moments leave something to be desired, overall The Last Exorcism has done a decent job of creating tension without becoming too telegraphed.
