The Last Exorcism (2010)

Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) has made a rather lucrative living performing fraudulent exorcisms on people who believe they have been possessed. His view is that merely the power of suggestion is enough to cure people of their 'ailment'.

He has been contacted by a documentary crew, hoping to follow him on one last job. The director of the documentary, Iris (Iris Bahr) along with her cameraman, accompany him to the outskirts of New Orleans, to a farmhouse where a young girl is believed to be possessed.

When they get there, they meet farmer Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), his son Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones) and the girl in question, sixteen-year-old Nell (Ashley Bell), who at first, seems like a perfectly normal teenage girl.

Cotton performs the fake exorcism, having set up the room beforehand so that the bed will shake, pictures will fall off the walls, his crucifix will emit smoke, and other such things. It's all in the effect, he says, and the suggestion of dark forces will be enough to help the girl and her family.

Rev. Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) meets Nell (Ashley Bell) and her father
Louis (Louis Herthum).

But after the fake exorcism, things continue to go wrong for not only the family, but now also for Cotton and the documentarians, meaning that he now must perform a real exorcism - despite the fact he doesn't really believe in any of that stuff.

And the terror doesn't stop there. There is a lot more to Nell, and to this small town, than first meets the eye.

This film is actually shot in the style of a documentary, with the audience seeing through the documentary maker's camera the entire time. This has the effect of bringing the viewer right into the action, and raising the level of intensity to breaking point.

I wouldn't call this film a horror film (well, at least not until the last fifteen minutes or so), but rather a mystery thriller, as most of the action is incredibly tame and clinical, as Cotton and the crew discover more about what is going on as the film progresses.

Cotton (Patrick Fabian) performing the fake exorcism on Nell (Ashley Bell)
while Louis (Louis Herthum) and Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones) look on.

The script for the film was written by Huck Botko & Andrew Gurland, however most of the dialogue was improvised by the cast. The script consisted only of scenes, and description of the action, and what needed to be conveyed at each point. This shows incredible talent on the part of the entire cast, as they would not have known exactly what direction a scene would take until it was over. It also raises the intensity level somewhat for the audience, and most definitely creates a stronger sense of realism.

There is limited music underscoring particular parts of the film, composed by Nathan Barr. It is not traditional film music in any sense, but more a soundscape consisting of recorded sounds and experimental instruments. This works well for the film as a whole, in terms of conveying the emotions and psychological feel of each scene.

As I have already mentioned, the performances of the cast are quite good, as is shown by the fact that the majority of the film was improvised, or at least the dialogue and large chunks of the action were created on the spot. Particular credit should go to Ashley Bell, who does such an amazing job of playing young Nell. She has the perfect balance of sweet teenager and over-the-top intensity - in equal balance throughout - that allow for the other cast members to react appropriately in the moment.

When things keep going wrong, Cotton (Patrick Fabian) must perform a real
exorcism on Nell (Ashley Bell).

Director Daniel Stamm has done well in creating a heightened sense of realism in this film by shooting it as a fake documentary. I mostly enjoyed watching the film for the purposes of writing this review, and I would probably watch it again at some point.

6 out of 10.