Film Review: The Last Exorcism

THE Last Exorcism (cert 15), featuring a troubling case for a doubting man of the cloth, is shot in mock-documentary, hand-held style and has already been dubbed the “Linda Blair Witch Project”.

Directed by Daniel Stamm and produced by Eli (Hostel) Roth, it’s an effective, attention grabbing movie that more or less maintains its grip until a “what the...?” finale that’s more Rosemary’s Baby and The Wicker Man than The Exorcist.

In fact, the ending is so loopy, it’s more The Ewok Adventure than The Exorcist.

Until then, the Cloverfield-type “you only see what the camera sees” format pays off as The Last Exorcism proves adept at walking a fine line between genre staples and some genuinely thought-provoking ideas.

Patrick Fabian is particularly well cast and watchable as the young preacher going through a crisis of faith.

And Ashley Bell, as the possessed (or is she?) young farmer’s daughter, is up to the physical demands of the role, even if she’s no Linda Blair.

There are a few risible moments which should bring chuckles to pierce the general sense of foreboding before THAT ending damns The Last Exorcism as just another exorcist movie, destined to be forgotten, rather than THE Exorcist, which film fans will, of course, always remember.