THE LAST EXORCISM IS THE EXORCIST OF THE NEW GENERATION

The Last Exorcism follows the exploits of conflicted preacher; Cotton Marcus; as he films a documentary created to disprove the practice of exorcism. Of course, what they originally set out to do and what ends up happenning are two very different things. The struggles of a southern family (Anger-infused Caleb, God-fearing father louis, and helpless innocent Nell) eventually interfere with the filming as the whole crew suddenly find themselves in serious danger.

The Last Exorcism sports a well-rounded cast of unknowns. Ashley Bell is sympathetic and terrifying as the abused daughter turned victim, Louis Hertham is chilling as the over-devout father who may unwittingly have harmed his daughters psyche, Caleb Landry Jones is unsettling as the caring brother of Nell who has anger issues, and Patrick Fabian is perfect as the troubled priest/exorcist who is struggling to protect Nell from her dysfunctional family while at the same time trying to come to terms with her quickly deteriorating mental health and sudden psychotic outbursts, throughout all this he also must keep him and his crew safe from the danger that surrounds them...an increasingly difficult task that only grows harder when he finds himself forming a bond with Nell.

The Last Exorcism is gritty and ultra-real, acting as an interesting blend of Blair Witch and Exorcist. Within the first 15 minutes I found myself believing that all this was really happenning (I half suspect alot of the quick interviews done with locals were real). What's best is that the film attempts to make no explanations for what is viewed here or how it got to us in the first place...we are simply asked to sit and attempt to make sense of this quickly unraveling mystery.

The Last Exorcism is a film made for skeptics, it's greatest feat lying in its intent to challenge their pre-conceived notions about Religion. It's scariest question: Could the religious fanatics actually be right??? The Last Exorcism is a film to be remembered, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's the scariest PG-13 film that has been released in recent years. Despite it's somewhat unrealistic ending that doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the film, it's still an instant classic that is not to be missed.

4.5/5