Well, went and saw the movie The Last Exorcism tonight. Not a bad film. It was a little like a cross between Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield in terms of cinematography. Ostensibly the audience is watching a documentary rough cut about a Louisiana pastor who has been a bit of a huckster and has decided to give it all up. But before he does he has invited a documentary team to film him and learn the tricks. He’s decided to do this as a result of a few things. He’s losing or already lost his faith (what little there was) and has decided that the exorcisms he’s performed as a ‘for fee’ service are more damaging then helpful. He decides to bring along the documentary team to watch his last exorcism so they can see all the deception he’s used. He hopes the film will help people by revealing the false nature of the ministry.

 

I won’t go into the whole plot. The film has no foul language although I think I heard J and JC a few times shouted in fear. No nudity and the violence is fairly minimal as well. The scares come from the progression of the plot and the increasing sense that the girl he is "excorcising" is in fact really possessed and not simply suffering from psychological trauma like all of the other encounters he has had.

 

Frankly the entire movie right up until the last five minutes is good. It keeps you watching and draws you in effectively. The characters and story are all believable. The plotline about the pastor and his struggles with faith and his background are all realistic. I won’t tell you how it ends except to say it is hokey and lame and completely disconnected from everything that comes before.

 

It is not a hope filled message but this should be no surprise…as I have written before the American horror film has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. What once was primarily a vehicle to show God and/or humanity overcoming evil we now have films that leave the audience unsatisfied and without closure. All films (and by extention all art) attempt to present culture with a picture of itself from an angle it is not used to or not comfortable with looking at. The horror does this very well. The Last Exorcism is rather cynical in this. It presents religion as a fraud, it presents God as either non-existant, unconcerned or impotent in the face of human suffering. The most disconcerting part of the film is it presents humanity and evil in collusion with one-another. One cannot tell who is in control and who let who in first.

 

There is a small hope at the end of the film left to the imagination of the viewers. There is the sliver of a possibility for redemption and hope but this is completely dependent on the viewer. The trajectory of the film suggests otherwise.

 

I think the film is worth watching. I think it can raise some pretty interesting discussion. It is rated 14A.