Over the past decade or so there have been a number of films that have gone the fake documentary route. The first film to do this effectively was THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT which when coupled with a fantastic online viral campaign stirred up enough interest to make it a hugely successful independent film. It had people wondering if this were really a lost documentary that was found or a feature film. With the exception of the fact it stars actors, the same could be said of the just released THE LAST EXORCISM.
All the hints were there. The “based on a true story” line that got around when the film was released. The film is shot like a documentary. But the question of did it really happen or not will stick with viewers once the film ends.
The story revolves around Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), a Holy Roller revivalist style preacher who’s been at it since he was a child. His father groomed him to take over the family business one day and he’s done well with it. He preaches to a receiving crowd and gets them on their feet with amen’s and halleluiahs. But Cotton not only deals with a regular Sunday service, he also performs exorcisms.
Having done so for years, he read about a young boy who was killed during one such exorcism and now, with a son of his own, he fears that people might be taking advantage of situations where a psychological problem is going on to make money. Not wanting to be responsible for such an act, he has a consented to a film crew following him in the hopes that this film will prevent people from what he feels are un-needed exorcisms.
Cotton doesn’t believe in demons. One is left not being certain that he believes in the Devil himself. But he does know how to get a crowd on their feet and how to convince someone that possession does take place.
Opening the first letter on his desk, Cotton and his film crew go to a remote Louisiana farmhouse where the owner says his daughter is possessed and has killed some of his livestock. After the owner’s son Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones) tries to scare them off, they end up at the farmhouse and visit Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum) and his daughter Nell (Ashley Bell). While everything seems fine, Cotton pretends that the girl is indeed possessed and suggests and exorcism.
From here we witness Cotton setting the stage with fishing line attached to paintings, speakers with eerie recordings placed in the room and even a smoking cross he uses batteries for. Cotton lays the girl down and performs the exorcism to his “satisfaction” and once paid heads to town to stay in the local motel.
But during the night the girl shows up in his room. They take her to a hospital and she is treated and then released to her father. But her behavior doesn’t improve and he insists that Cotton do another exorcism.
Arriving at the farm they find Caleb’s face slashed by Nell. Convincing Louis to take him to the hospital, they try and calm down Nell and stay with her. And it is at this point that the strange things begin to happen. Is Nell truly possessed? Or is she simply suffering from severe psychological problems that began when her mother died of cancer two years earlier?
A few other mysterious plot twists are played out (though I won’t spoil them by revealing them here) and eventually a final revelation is brought about that offers some truly skin crawling moments. While there isn’t a lot of gore involved in the film, it is definitely something not for the kids to see.
The true story throughout this film is less about exorcism and more about the journey Cotton Marcus goes through in restoring his faith. He’s all about trickery and deceit to make a buck in God’s name and he denies that demons even exist. But before this exorcism is through Cotton will have to decide if his beliefs are based on the almighty dollar or in his belief in God.
The acting here is great with everyone performing as if these are not film roles but the emotions, actions and thoughts of real people witnessed as things happen. Not one can be singled out with perhaps the exception of Fabian as Cotton. His slick con man act gets turned topsy turvy as he performs only to find himself questioning the reality of the situation.
While I found BLAIR WITCH to be too drawn out and boring getting to the final scene (which to this day gives me the creeps) this film isn’t that way. It holds your interests and makes you wonder as Cotton does what is really going on. And by the end you’ll find yourself turning on the lights in the house rather than sit afraid in the dark.
The best horror films are ones that make you think and deliver the scares in a subtle manner. THE LAST EXORCISM delivers on the promise of a scary film.
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