Review of The Last Exorcism Part II (2013) by Mary G — 06 Jul 2013

The Last Exorcism Part II // CBS Films // Horror.

A hot garbage third rate horror film with very little going for it, The Last Exorcism Part II is a sequel to the surprising 2010 found footage breakout hit that makes no attempt to emulate what it was that made that film successful in the first place. Abandoning the found footage formula, Part II picks up where its predecessor left off, with Ashley Bell's Nell Sweetzer found acting batshit crazy in someone's kitchen. Soon she's in a mental hospital and soon after in a "girl's home" where she seems to be pulling it together. Just when things start to be getting better Nell starts seeing cheesy images and receiving not-so-creepy phone calls. Things escalate at a snails pace as we all wonder if these lame scares are the best we're going to get before Nell ultimately attempts to rid herself of the demon with another exorcism.

Simply put, this is a bad, uninteresting movie with bland characters and blander scares. Ashley Bell actually gives a good performance in the main role but there isn't another one to be found in a film without a single other memorable character or moment. Everything is obvious and paint by numbers with a boring and unscary slow build ultimately arriving at an unsatisfying conclusion. Goofy and or stupid moments? Check. There's a sequence where they try to transfer the demon into a sacrificial chicken.

Made because the micro budget original turned a big profit, this is a film with no reason to exist, and it shows. There simply isn't a story worth telling and the execution is lacking enough that what we're left with is a turd that looks and smells like a turd. There have been many better horror options recently (and I suspect there will continue to be) so there's no reason to check this out unless you're a horror completist.

*1/4 out of 5.