The Last Exorcism is an odd little horror film. Determined to break the exorcism genre mould, it's by turns refreshingly sardonic and genuinely unnerving. But like its protagonist, it can't decide whether the devil really exists. A charismatic preacher since childhood, Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) now doubts the existence of heaven or hell, but believes exorcism's catharsis is real, and better administered by a cynic than a fanatic. So he decides to cast out one final demon, inviting a documentary crew (Iris Reisen and Logan Winters) to watch him fake it.
Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) is a possessed chick from Central Casting, complete with white nightie, shotgun-totin' fundie dad (Louis Herthum) and creepy brother (Caleb Landry Jones). Yet the film shrinks from its confidently satirical opening; its pursuit of gothic scares left me uncertain whether it meant to be so deeply silly. And while the ending offers a certain closure, it's too flat to be either surprising or powerful. Confusion isn't ambiguity, but this film seemed to equate the two. Nonetheless, there's some subtlety in the morass, as when the camera finds Cotton in a private moment, praying in the rain... almost as if he's being rebaptised.
What:
The Last Exorcism
When:
In cinemas from November 25
Watch the trailer:
Here
Win:
Thanks to Hopscotch, we have 5 dbls to give away! To enter, email brisbane.win@rightanglestudio.com.au with the subject ‘possessed chick from Central Casting'
Australian Competitions Club
