RATING: ** (2 stars)
The Last Exorcism is a documentary-style film (NOT BASED ON ACTUAL EVENTS) following an evangelical minister who allows his last exorcism to be filmed.
The Last Exorcism is a kind of movie that appeals to a particular niche audience that unfortunately I am not a part of. Films in a similar vein would include The Blair Witch Project, meant to frighten and scare less from special effects or monsters but more from the way the film is shot and the way in which the actors convey their emotions of fear to the audience. As such, the entirety of the film is shot using the jerky, sometimes out of focus lens of a hand-held camera--for better or worse.
Where I believe the film really fails is in two parts. First, not remotely scary; as a horror movie, that is the modus operandi--scare the viewer. The only way The Last Exorcism will scare you is if you watch The Exorcist (1973) and are still frightened by the very concept of possession. Plenty of foreshadowing and misdirection which are great for the story, but at no point was I ever really scared. The other failure, in my opinion, is the ending--which is also probably the only way it could actually end. It doesn't answer any questions, and does far more to lead to a starting point for another film than it does to bring closure to this one.
Again, unless you are a fan of this particular niche of the horror genre, I would steer away from The Last Exorcism. And even then, you can probably wait until it hits DVD.
Trailer
