Review of The Last Exorcism (2010) by Cameron J — 06 Oct 2012

I'd imagine quite a few yogis wish that this really was the "last exorcism" film, because with all of this portraying demons as obsessed with bizarre contortions, these films do kind of back up the theory by lazy people (including myself) that yoga is evil. Ironic how yoga is used to calm the spirit, yet it's just a couple of somehow more elaborate contortions away from being a tell-tell sign of the presence of the ultimate incarnation of pure evil, unless of course yogis really are trying to get you all good and demoned up, because they are, in fact, demons, and don't so much want these kind of exorcism films out of theaters because they give yoga a bad name, as much as they might blow the yogi demons' cover. It's ironic enough that Satan, as made clear through all of his bendery, is something of an "exercise" nut (Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk), but either way, what I'm getting at is that films like this do not make extreme flexibility look good by extreme flexibility standards, which is really saying something, yet quite frankly, I say boo-boo to all of you yogis (Get it?), because I for one was hoping that this would be the last found footage film, or at least for a while, not so much because these found footage films fall flat every time, - because as this film definately shows, there's hope for this genre yet - but because, come on, how many times can we drive this gimmick into the dirt? I don't know, how many more poor little girls have to be possessed by demons before people get the message from religious force itself that these cliche white sleeping gowns are out of style (I've heard of a "medium" gown, but this is ridiculous; nyuk-nyuk-nyuk and other such Curly Howardery)? White sleeping gown mediums for demons: giving "she was practically asking for it with what she was wearing" a much different and somehow more disturbing meaning since '73. Eh, whatever, these girls can be wearing a rainbow afro and dolphin costume when they get possessed for all I care, just as long as I get a good movie out of it. Still, as good as this film is, there's no denying that it goes a bit held back by its own demons that it has trouble exorcising.

I wouldn't exactly call this film's first act brilliant or anything like that, but this film does opens very strong, boasting an initial half-hour or so that truly is unique and striking enough to really power this film as a whole. However, after the first act, this film begins a downward spiral, kicking off its second act with an abandoning of certain nifty aspects presented in the beginning and plummeting into a bit of blandness, spawned from extended periods of nothingness that are far from dull, yet also a ways away from all that firm in their bite. It's not too long into the second act before this flaw of blandness dissipates, which is something of a relief, yet one that doesn't last terribly long, for in place of the blandness comes aspects that are just as faulty, yet much more prevalent, and made all the worse by their growing more and more intense as the film progresses. I am, of course, speaking of conventions, for although this film starts out reasonably unique and has quite a few moments even throughout its body that are relatively rather refreshing, as the film progresses, unique touches regress and go substituted by conventions of a story nature and even of a thrills nature, in that this film will commit acts of manipulativeness, from dead silence preceding jump scares, to even the gratuitous and brutal death of an innocent animal, which may admittedly only be problematic to me because I could care less about the dogs that everyone and their grandmother used to kill for cheap shocks and seriously hope that this recent trend of brutally slaughtering adorable cats doesn't stick. Of course, what might very well be the most disconcerting conventions are those of a filmmaking format nature, because before you know it, the found footage simulation goes off-puttingly contradicted by, albeit often rather effective, yet distinctly and inorganically cinematic score work by Nathan Barr, and even by more than a few questionable camera moments, from the keeping the camera on even during crazy moments that no sane person would sooner film than retreat from, to even the occasional shot or angle shift that couldn't have been suddenly pulled off with just one camera, especially when we come to the climactic ending, which goes quite overboard with its camera tricks and, for that matter, keeping the camera on to begin with. Speaking of the ending, while no moment in this film is beneath decent, quality dilutes little by little, until by the end, we're faced with an almost embarassingly forced, familiar cheap-out of a conventional ending - riddled with holes in its build-up and in its leaving many a loose end untied - that doesn't simply contradict and undercut this film's overall impact, but reminds you of how there's really not much punch to this premise to begin with, and that almost renders the film underwhelming. However, when it's all said and done, when you leave this film, with all of the faults, it's not hard to also remember the many strengths that ultimately make this film a rewarding one, even if it really does shine the most in its first act.

Though there's not a whole lot of bite to it, as made clear by quite a few missteps in its execution, Eli Roth's overall story concept is rather engagingly clever and, to a certain degree, unique, thus creating a kind of immediate intrigue that goes amplified by Huck Botko's and Andrew Gurland's screenplay, which is most certainly flawed, and grows more so as it unravels, yet remains generally strong in its structuring, characterization and set pieces. The strengths within Botko's and Gurland's writing go betrayed by the flaws, yet still stand, and firmly enough to stick with you, while some of your lesser strengths, such as cerain thrill set pieces during the film's body, have enough behind them to hit, especially when they go sharply executed by director Daniel Stamm. Stamm has a lot of strengths in the writing to play up, as well as quite a few faults in the writing to cover up, and while Stamm can't completely drown out the writing missteps, nor even a few of his own directorial mistakes (Seriously Danny boy, this is found footage, so why are there multiple camera angles and music?), he establishes a striking atmosphere that livens up this film's stronger moments, and makes strong many of this film's lesser moments of thrills through immense intrigue and even tension that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering just what is to happen next. The film has its off-putting and even rather frustrating moments, yet those occasions are outweighed by the many engaging moments, tense moments and overall compellingness that sticks with this film and raises it to strong, as a whole, and for the establishment of these outweighing strong moments, credit is not only due to the strengths in the direction of Daniel Stamm or in the writing of Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland, but in the performances, as everyone either charms or compels, with the our particularly key characters standing out the most. Leading man Patrick Fabian is thoroughly charismatic and engrossing, initially being convincing in his portrayal of a man of high religious status who begins losing his faith, and once the Reverend Cotton Marcus character finds himself faced to face with pure danger that both threatens his life and puts his faith to the test, Fabian gracefully dons a layered presence that defines Marcus, both as a character and compelling central focus. Of course, the biggest standout might very well have to be the about as pretty-eyed as sometimes pretty creepy (She's got some gorgeous eyes, so you know that's saying something) Ashley Bell, whose performance is a touch held back by there being only so much material, yet ultimately is something to behold, as Bell delivers on piercing emotional range and compelling layers in her atmospheric, profound and, of course, contortionist portayal of a good-hearted young girl haunted by disturbing dark depths that make her a danger to both others and herself, and whether she be haunted by disturbance or by true demonic evil, the Nell Sweetzer character draws you in, thanks to Bell's drawing you in. The film may not keep consistent in its overall quality, yet there are still plenty of aspects that stand strong through and through, while certain strengths that don't stand as consistent leave an impression that sticks with this final product, which may not bite as deepy as it should, yet still bites pretty firmly enough to reward, as a whole.

In conclusion, a strong first act goes betrayed by the film's growing weaker in its progression, with a second act that initially sometimes descends into blandness, and a whole body that goes plagued by story conventions, a few manipulative thrills and even a couple of off-puttingly filmmaking format contradictions, until we finally reach an underwhelmingly cheap climax that undercuts this film's impact and could have rendered the final product itself, as a whole, underwhelming, yet doesn't as the film battles back its missteps with intrigue spawned from Eli Roth's nifty and often still rather unique story concept, which is generally well-established by high points in Huck Botko's and Andrew Gurland's screenplay, and brought to life by Daniel Stamm's engrossing and, at times, pretty tense atmosphere, made all the stronger by engaging performances, - particularly those of the compelling Patrick Fabian and Ashley Bell - thus leaving "The Last Exorcism" to ultimately transcends its shortcomings just enough to stand as a rewarding thriller.

3/5 - Good.