Review of The Last Exorcism (2010) by Filipeneto — 27 Jun 2018

In this film, an evangelical pastor performs his last exorcism, after a lifetime of lies in which he made false exorcisms and cures to make money. What Cotton Marcus did not expect is that his last exorcism was, in fact, the only one who would face a real evil that he did not even believe in.

From the beginning, the film makes clear that we are seeing a mockumentary, unfinished and with false image editing in the style of "found footage" movies so, when you see the camera shaking this is purposeful.

The film also makes great criticisms of evangelical churches, having the courage to say something we all know but rarely can we say out loud: many churches (not just evangelicals) exist only because of the money, transforming themselves into industries of fraud and extortion who treat God as if He were a lawyer or doctor with an office, where He only attends on prepayment.

On the other hand, many people with psychological problems or health disorders believe they are possessed or threatened by demons without this really being their problem. Based on these premises, the film shows how a false exorcist deals with a case of true possession, for which he is not minimally prepared because of his lack of faith and opportunism.

Although the film is slow at first, this delay is necessary to explain the whole context of what is going to happen next, and for the audience to be stuck with the two central characters. The exorcism was intense and realistic, much closer to a true exorcism than most horror films that approached the subject.

The open ending is purposeful, adapting to the film's style and leaving room for the sequel that was made, years later. However, it can leave many people disappointed because it's not very plausible in the way it ends.

Patrick Fabian did very well in the role of Pastor Marcus, being perfectly capable of showing his inner conflict, his doubts and his utter unpreparedness to deal with Nell, the possessed young woman, played by Ashley Bell.

Young but promising, she was both loving and adorable and perfectly terrifying, when possessed. In short, this is not a perfect movie and is far from having an exceptional quality, but it was a good effort, has merit and courage.

It's worth watching.