The Last Exorcism

The Last Exorcism is an upcoming horror film directed by Daniel Stamm.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.The tagline and premise of the movie is "If you believe in God, then you must believe in the Devil. "The Last Exorcism" is one of the scariest movies to come along in a long time — until the last five minutes or so, when it completely falls apart.Evangelical Louisiana preacher Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) has been performing exorcisms for the past 25 years but he knows they're all a sham. He long ago lost his faith — if he ever had any, that is — and for a while has had no qualms about taking money from true believers in the name of supporting his own family. But now, with his conscience weighing on him, he decides to let a camera crew come behind the scenes to expose his tricks as he "performs" one last exorcism.There are moments in "The Last Exorcism" that will make you hold your breath, and others that will make you want to look away.

It's rated PG-13 but don't let that fool you into thinking it's soft. Actually, it's the vagueness, the unknown, that make "The Last Exorcism" so powerful — at least for a while.Director Daniel Stamm does a very nice job of slowly hiking up the tension. He eases us into the film's potentially cynical start, giving us the chance to mock the locals' superstition without meanly lingering on it. He's very good at making us feel uneasy about what's going on, as well as being able to make the most of the film's moments of savage violence."The Last Exorcism" makes first-rate use of religious doubt and religious extremism to concoct a novel horror-thriller clever enough to seduce unbelievers while satisfying the bloodlust of its congregation/fanbase.Even before things turn violent, though, Stamm capably creates a suspenseful mood through the naturalism of the film's look, the expert use of silence and pacing.