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* ] as Nell Sweetzer<ref></ref> * ] as Nell Sweetzer<ref></ref>
* Jamie Alyson Caudle as Satanic worshipper<ref></ref> * Jamie Alyson Caudle as Satanic worshipper<ref></ref>
* ]]] as Gerad<ref></ref> * ] as Gerad<ref></ref>
* Shanna Forrestall as Mrs. Cotton Marcus<ref></ref> * Shanna Forrestall as Mrs. Cotton Marcus<ref></ref>
* Allen Boudreaux as Satanic worshipper<ref></ref> * Allen Boudreaux as Satanic worshipper<ref></ref>

Revision as of 08:58, 13 December 2010

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2010 American film
The Last Exorcism
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDaniel Stamm
Written by
  • Huck Botko
  • Andrew Gurland
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyZoltan Honti
Edited byDaniel Stamm
Music byNathan Barr
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate
Release dates
  • August 27, 2010 (2010-08-27) (United States)
  • September 15, 2010 (2010-09-15) (France)
Running time87 minutes
CountriesUnited States
France
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.8 million
Box office$59,866,428

The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American mockumentary horror film directed and edited by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian, Iris Bahr and Louis Herthum.

The film is told from the perspective of a disillusioned evangelical minister, who after years of performing exorcisms decides to participate in a documentary chronicling his last exorcism while exposing the fraud of his ministry. After receiving a letter from a farmer asking for help in driving out the devil, he meets the farmer's afflicted daughter.

Plot

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The Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his wife and son. Marcus is accustomed to performing exorcisms on "possessed" individuals, but his faith has waned after reading of an autistic child being killed during an exorcism, reminding him of his own disabled son. He comes to realize that he attributes the healing of his son to science, and not to Jesus Christ. He agrees to take part in a documentary designed to expose exorcism as a fraud, working with a film crew consisting of producer/director Iris Reisen (Iris Bahr) and cameraman Daniel Moskowitz (Adam Grimes). At random, he chooses a plea letter from an individual seeking an exorcism leading him to the farmhouse of Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), a man who claims to have a possessed daughter named Nell (Ashley Bell). Prior to the exorcism, Marcus plants hidden speakers and electronic props so he can bamboozle the family into believing he is driving out a demon. After the ritual, Marcus and his film crew leave believing they have cured her of a mental state that was misdiagnosed as a possession by a powerful demon Abalam.

That night, Nell mysteriously appears in Marcus' hotel room. The team tries to contact Louis to get permission to film her, to no avail. Wishing to prove his point, Marcus admits Nell to the hospital for testing, hoping to receive a medical or psychological diagnosis proving demonic possession is not the cause of her illness. The doctor concludes that Nell is in perfect physical condition. In the morning, her father takes her home and chains her in her room for slicing her brother Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones) in the face. While Louis takes Caleb to the hospital, Marcus and the camera crew further investigate Nell and the home. They find Nell and release her. That night there is a disturbance in the house, and Marcus and the crew hear the cries of a baby. They find Nell standing in a hallway. As they try to confront her, she heads into a bathroom, where she is found submerging a baby doll in water. After she comes out of her trance, the crew finds a drawing of a dead and bloodied cat.

That night, while Marcus and the crew are asleep, Nell steals their camera and goes into her room, placing the camera on a dresser as she pulls and distorts her face. Nell goes into her father's barn where she corners a cat, beating it to death with the camera. She returns to the house and raises the camera over Marcus's head, ostensibly to beat him to death with it. The rest of the crew stops her, unaware of what transpired. They discover two more paintings of Nell's. The first depicts someone who appears to be Cotton standing before a large flame, holding up a crucifix. The second shows what appears to be the dead bodies of all three visitors to the Sweetzer farm: Cotton being consumed by the flame he was shown battling in the other picture, Iris hacked to pieces with an axe, and Dave decapitated.

Louis comes home and listens to an answering machine message from the hospital stating that Nell is pregnant. Marcus thinks Louis might have committed the act of incest, which he denies, insisting that Nell is a virgin and has been defiled by the demon possessing her. Tempers flare as Marcus insists that Nell needs psychotherapy instead of another exorcism. Louis orders the crew to vacate his property. While contemplating whether they should take Nell, noises are heard upstairs. They discover Nell has climbed atop her dresser. As they try calming her she slashes Marcus's hand with a knife and runs outside. The crew decides to leave; as they enter their van they see Nell sitting on her porch. While approaching her, Nell tackles Marcus, attempting to harm him. The struggle leads inside as Louis chases them with a shotgun. Attempting to keep Louis from killing Nell, Marcus agrees to attempt another exorcism.

They relocate to the barn where Nell killed the cat. The demon takes Nell again, making her bend backwards and break two of her fingers. She tells the crew that Nell is "in the fire", and that Louis will soon join her. "Nell" asks Marcus to let her give him a 'blowing' job. Marcus informs that this is not the correct term for such thing and therefore believes Nell is not possessed. Upon confronting Nell with this, she breaks down and admits to having sex with a boy named Logan and committing her violent acts out of shame of her pregnancy.

On their way home, Marcus and the film crew detour to the coffee shop where Logan works. Logan tells the crew that the only contact he had with Nell was a brief conversation six months ago; he insinuates that he is gay and, therefore, would never have had sex with her. Marcus and the film crew wonder why Nell would lie, and Marcus immediately realises one of the things the devil is known as is "The prince of lies". The film crew follows as he returns to the Sweetzer's farmhouse. They enter the house to find numerous pentagrams and demonic symbols scrawled on the walls, but Nell and her family are missing. Marcus and the film crew wander into the woods where they see a large fire and a congregation of hooded occultists led by Pastor Manley (Tony Bentley), the Sweetzer's estranged Protestant minister. Nell's father is bound and gagged on a pole while hooded figures pray around an altar, which Nell is tied on top of. Marcus and the film crew watch as Nell gives birth to something that is not of the human race. Manley throws it into the fire, which causes the fire to grow rapidly while demonic voices grow louder. At that moment Marcus' faith is resolved as he grabs his cross and rushes towards the fire in a frenzied attempt to combat the evil. Iris and Daniel are discovered and run away. Iris is tackled by a member of the occult congregation who murders her with an axe. When Daniel pauses to catch his breath, Caleb rises out of nowhere and decapitates him. The camera falls to the ground and the scene fades to black.

Cast

  • Patrick Fabian as Cotton Marcus
  • Iris Bahr as Iris
  • Louis Herthum as Louis Sweetzer
  • Ashley Bell as Nell Sweetzer
  • Jamie Alyson Caudle as Satanic worshipper
  • Tony Bentley as Gerad
  • Shanna Forrestall as Mrs. Cotton Marcus
  • Allen Boudreaux as Satanic worshipper
  • Caleb Landry Jones as Caleb Sweetzer
  • Denise Lee as Nurse
  • Becky Fly as Becky
  • Logan Craig Reid as Logan
  • Cy Fahrenholtz as Congregation
  • Geraldine Glenn as Church parishioner
  • Cynthia LeBlanc as Church parishioner
  • Elton LeBlanc as Church parishioner
  • Christine Standfill as Church parishioner
  • Sarah J. Thompson as Church goer
  • Justin Shafer as Justin Marcus

Production

The Last Exorcism was directed by the German independent filmmaker Daniel Stamm and produced by Eric Newman, Eli Roth, Marc Abraham and Thomas A. Bliss. The film was shot using shaky camera, it was also shot in 'found footage' (Daniel Stamm has previously directed A Necessary Death, another 'found footage' film). Strike Entertainment and StudioCanal hold the theatrical rights.

Release

The film was slated to be a part of the South by Southwest Film Festival 2010. However, on February 12, 2010, Lionsgate purchased the rights for the US Distribution and pulled the film from the SXSW fest and set the release of the film for 27 August 2010. The film had it's world premiere at the LA Film Festival on 24 June 2010 and was here introduced by Eli Roth and Daniel Stamm. Members of the cast were also introduced on stage, Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones, Iris Bahr, and Tony Bently. The Last Exorcism was the last screened film on August 30, 2010 on the Film4 FrightFest 2010.

Bloody Disgusting hosted the screening of the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International and the second screening on 24 July 2010 is narrated by Eli Roth.

It was announced that a poster for the film was banned in public UK places, due to the nature of the poster (described as "offensive", "distressing" and "unsuitable for public viewing") which received 77 complaints, of which two people claimed the girl in the poster seemed to have "suffered a sexual assault". It was then decided the advert was not allowed to be seen again in that format.

Viral campaign

The Last Exorcism uses Chatroulette as the medium of its viral campaign involving a girl who pretends to unbutton her top seductively, then stops and turns into a monster. At the end, the URL of the film's official website is flashed on screen.

Home media

The Last Exorcism has been announced to be slated for release on DVD and Blu-ray on January 4, 2011.

Reception

Critical

The Last Exorcism has received generally positive reviews from critics, garnering a 72% "Fresh" rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus being "It doesn't fully deliver on the chilly promise of its Blair Witch-style premise, but The Last Exorcism offers a surprising number of clever thrills." The film received a 63 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". At Yahoo! Movies the film currently holds a B- based on twelve reviews.

Box office

The Last Exorcism opened at number two at the U.S. box office the weekend of August 27, 2010. It grossed $20,366,613 from 2,874 theaters in its first three days. The Last Exorcism had a budget of $1,800,000. The film remained in the top five, falling to number four in its second weekend.

References

  1. Fritz, Ben (August 26, 2010). "Movie projector: 'Avatar' re-release a wild card as 'Takers' and 'Last Exorcism' debut". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  2. ^ The Last Exorcism (2010). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  3. Lionsgate Plans 'The Last Exorcism' for August. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  4. Lionsgate's 'The Last Exorcism' to Premiere at the LA Film Festival. DreadCentral.com. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  5. Bloody Girl is Having a Bad Day in the Eli Roth Produced ‘Cotton’. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  6. Late Summer Debut for Last Exorcism
  7. Hi-Res Look at Creepy Possessed Girl in Eli Roth's 'Cotton'!
  8. First Look: First Photo from Eli Roth's Exorcism Film Cotton
  9. Afm '09: First Ever Images From Eli Roth's 'Cotton'!!
  10. 'Cotton' to Be Shown to Sundance, Full Casting Released
  11. Back-breaking One Sheet Debut For 'The Last Exorcism'!
  12. Two New Images: The Last Exorcism
  13. Wicked New One-Sheet: The Last Exorcism
  14. Trailer Debut: Lionsgate's The Last Exorcism
  15. The Devil Finds New Host in 'The Last Exorcism' Trailer Debut!
  16. The Last Exorcism Goes Viral – Visit the Church of St. Marks Online
  17. Viral Marketing Campaign Begins For 'The Last Exorcism'
  18. Eli Roth talks “Cabin Fever” Blu-ray, “Last Exorcism,” “Funhouse” remake and more!. Fangoria.com. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  19. Prepare Yourself for 'The Last Exorcism'. FearNet.com. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  20. Two New Stills: The Last Exorcism. DreadCentral.com. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  21. Possession at Full Mass in New Hi-Res 'Last Exorcism' Images
  22. Lionsgate Acquires Us Rights for The Last Exorcism
  23. Lionsgate Attends The Last Exorcism This August
  24. LA Film Festival Premieres 'The Last Exorcism', Other Genre Fare
  25. BC Catches Up With 'Producer' Eli Roth at the 'Last Exorcism' Premiere
  26. 'Hatchet II' Opens, 'Last Exorcism' Closes Film 4 FrightFest Film Festival!
  27. Bloody Disgusting Hosts Special San Diego Comic-Con Screening of 'The Last Exorcism'!
  28. SDCC '10: BD Hosts Special Comic-Con Screening of 'The Last Exorcism'!
  29. The Last Exorcism poster banned. Movies.UK.MSN.com. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  30. "The Last Exorcism Blu-ray Announced". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 2010-10-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. The Last Exorcism Movie Reviews, Pictures. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  32. The Last Exorcism Reviews, Ratings, Credits. Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  33. The Last Exorcism (2010). Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  34. Weekend Box Office Results for August 27-29, 2010. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-12-02.

External links

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