Directed by Daniel Stamm. Starring Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr and Louis Herthum. 2010. USA. Horror/Drama. 83 mins.

Reverend Marcus, a success in the field of exorcism, hires a film crew to document him and the revelation that he is a fraud. His faith, or lack thereof, is soon put to the ultimate test as he embarks on one final exorcism. But all is not what he expected as he finally comes face to face with true evil.

‘The Last Exorcism’ is a big deal. With a name like Eli Roth attached to it the project is instantly elevated above the status of most horror films. Anyone who knows me well will know about my long-standing obsession with ‘The Blair Witch Project’ but also my distaste for the ever-increasing amount of ‘hand-held’ horror films. When I first heard about the film I became very excited and also very scared at the same time. You see, Demonic Possession films are the only type of horror that really upset and disturb me, but being a huge fan of Roth I was very interested to see what the film had to offer. As I mentally prepared myself to watch the film for the first time (along with many of you fellow fans on the final night of this years big event) I wondered just how mentally scarred I was going to be on the way home.

As the film unfolded I found myself engrossed and intrigued. To me the film never reached the frightening sense of reality that ‘The Blair Witch Project’ captured, but it did however draw me in and give me a huge slap around the face as the end drew closer and closer. My point is this… ‘The Last Exorcism’ is a disturbing film, but not on the level you might expect. Posters with a young girl supernaturally gripping a wall and scenes in a trailer of her crawling along the ceiling towards us (which incidentally don’t appear in the final film) make the film seem like a scary demon film. That is one thing that the film certainly isn’t. It is however scary as hell (excuse the pun) because it focuses on a more disturbing element – human nature and religious belief.

Days after watching the film I began to feel shortchanged and disappointed by what I had seen. This is partially down to the poor attempt to advertise the film as the horror film that I was then expecting to see. I began to question the film and its contents. However, watching it again on DVD my faith has been restored (again, with the bad puns!) and I can understand and appreciate the film in the way the filmmakers had originally wanted. Looking at it on so many different levels you can really see what a great little film this is.

I haven’t really mentioned much about the content of the film. On watching again I realised it’s not the kind of film you can just write a lot about. Being portrayed as a real documentary the look of the film is as you would expect. It is very well constructed and executed. It looks and feels real but at the same time it has the ability to be visually creative. The sound work on the film is fantastic. The score becomes increasingly more unsettling towards the end of the film and creates a real sense of tension and dread. Very disturbing. The sound design really helps to keep the film based in reality while also keeping us on the edge of our seats. The acting is outstanding. Every role is perfectly cast and every character really grabs your attention. There are a lot of interesting scenes in the film which stand out the more you watch it. You are left with many thoughts about the reality of the situation and also the naivety of people. There are very deep messages and concerns here.

So if you haven’t seen ‘The Last Exorcism’ already then I strongly suggest you do. But look at it without any preconceptions. Enjoy the film for what it really is and what it really gives us. If you have seen it then you probably don’t need me to tell you to go see it again, no doubt you will have already decided that for yourself.

The DVD (and Blu-Ray) release of this film is very good. There are lots of nice extras to dig deep into. You can even watch the film with a very short but lovable intro with Roth. First up we have three audio commentaries (Producer/Director & Actor/Exorcism witness & survivor) The commentaries are fun and informative (and slightly creepy when listening to the real psychological commentary). Next we have a quite comprehensive making of, also plenty of interviews and audition footage and a great early teaser trailer that was shot to help secure funding for the film. You will also notice in the menu a protection prayer that makes sense when you visit the final feature on the disc – Real stories of Exorcism. I have to admit here that I didn’t get so far as watching this as it comes with the warning that it could result in adverse or unwanted contact with demonic forces!!! We are told to recite the prayer before viewing for our safety. Knowing the sick sense of humour Eli Roth has it’s no doubt a great bit of fun, but seriously, I’m not taking the risk!!!

Russ Gomm.

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