This 2010 Horror Film Might Be One of the Best Found Footage Movies Ever Made
This month on Hidden Horrors of Peacock, we're diving into 2010's The Last Exorcism.
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Ever since the arrival of The Exorcist more than five decades ago, filmmakers from all corners of the world have been trying to ride its awe-inspiring wave by crafting their own version of the demonic possession story. Every film of this kind after The Exorcist has either been a response or a reaction to William Friedkin's film, at least in America, and that means that so many possession films feel derivative and stale by comparison.
But then there are those possession movies that truly manage to do something, if not new, then at least refreshing with the form, those films that put their own bold stamp on a subgenre whose stakes have been so clearly set by the films that came before. The Last Exorcism, now streaming on Peacock, is one of those films, and while it's not always a big part of possession movie discussions among more casual horror fans, it deserves your attention.
Why The Last Exorcism is a must-see possession film
Set in rural Louisiana, The Last Exorcism takes a found footage form as a documentary crew follows Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), an evangelical preacher who comes from a long line of exorcists. Cotton was raised in the church by his pastor father, and was well-schooled in the ways of making preaching and praying a show, not just a solemn ritual. He knows how to capture his audience's attention, knows how to keep it, and knows how to squeeze them for money when he needs it.
But when we meet him, Cotton's faith has been shaken. The world he was raised in no longer makes sense to him, particularly when it comes to demonic possession. He no longer believes in demons, and in fact has become concerned that extreme exorcism methods are hurting, and in some cases killing, young people who would be better served by mental health professionals. He's agreed to let the documentary crew follow him on what will be his "last exorcism" because he hopes, by exposing the tricks of hoax exorcists, he can help some people, and use all that he's learned for good.
The twist, of course, is that Cotton and his crew, including director Iris (Iris Bahr) and cameraman Daniel (Adam Grimes), are heading into a place of real evil when they meet Nell (Ashley Bell), the daughter of a secretive and ultra-conservative farmer (Louis Herthum) who is supposedly possessed by a demon. Caleb thinks he's going to do an "exorcism," show the documentarians his tricks, and be done with it, but when Nell suddenly reappears in his life, he's thrust into a dark world that he might not be able to escape.
Directed by Daniel Stamm from a script by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland, the film sets out in the very basic direction of "Be Careful What You Wish For" horror, revealing real evil is lurking in a world that, Cotton has convinced himself, is more about banal lies than actual, malevolent presences. What makes the movie special is in the way it chooses to unfold that narrative. It doesn't happen in a straight line, nor does it dive right into the typical conventions of a demonic possession film. It might be a mildly pleasing story if Cotton found himself walked into a real possession for which he'd planned to hold a fake exorcism, but The Last Exorcism doesn't take that route. Instead it goes somewhere much more insidious, slowly burning until the flames are higher than you realized.
The key to this, beyond the found footage conventions that work quite well for this film, is character work, especially where Fabian and Bell are concerned. As a conflicted pastor who's trying to balance his own hope for his family's future with the well-earned cynicism of his working life, Fabian is terrific in the leading role, and Bell's blend of innocence and savagery complements him perfectly. Possession movies are so often about tests of faith, about the idea that you must believe strongly enough to make a difference. In The Last Exorcism, the most powerful beliefs turn out to be not in God or the devil, but in each other, and Fabian and Bell make that aspect of the film shine.
So, if you're looking for a possession movie that doesn't trod the conventional path, but still delivers all the darkness you'd hope, give The Last Exorcism a watch. It's one of the best the subgenre has to offer.
The Last Exorcism is now streaming on Peacock.
