The Last Exorcism

The Last Exorcism arrives as a horror film directed by Daniel Stamm, and its first strength is a clear sense of purpose. Patrick Fabian and Ashley Bell give The Last Exorcism a recognisable human centre before the larger mechanics take over. The central situation in The Last Exorcism comes into focus without a long explanation: A troubled evangelical minister agrees to let his last exorcism be filmed by a documentary crew. Across its 1h 27m running time, Daniel Stamm keeps The Last Exorcism alive in individual scenes and uncertain between them.

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Daniel Stamm shapes The Last Exorcism with an approach that feels alive in individual scenes and uncertain between them. The best directed passages in The Last Exorcism establish an objective, let the characters respond and then allow the pressure to change naturally. The cast and craft keep the experience watchable in The Last Exorcism, particularly when Daniel Stamm resists the urge to underline an already clear emotion. My main reservation about The Last Exorcism is that too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested, a limitation that interrupts rather than defines the experience.

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Beneath its plot, The Last Exorcism is most interested in fear, isolation and the moment familiar spaces stop feeling safe. That concern becomes visible through Patrick Fabian, whose choices allow The Last Exorcism to explore an idea without stopping for a speech. The central character gives the themes of The Last Exorcism a concrete dramatic form rather than leaving them abstract. The emotional value of The Last Exorcism grows whenever Daniel Stamm trusts the audience to connect behaviour with the larger question.

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The Last Exorcism is most involving when the screenplay allows the central character to complicate what initially appears to be a story about an important relationship. That shift gives Patrick Fabian a more specific problem to carry through The Last Exorcism. Working from material credited to Huck Botko, The Last Exorcism reveals a difficult choice at a measured pace instead of rushing toward its largest turn. The later pressure around the wider conflict shows why The Last Exorcism benefits whenever cause and consequence remain visibly connected.

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The craft of The Last Exorcism is defined by patiently built dread, supported by patiently built dread rather than overwhelmed by decoration. Strike Entertainment gives The Last Exorcism a production framework in which carefully rationed sound can remain connected to story. Made from a France production context, The Last Exorcism uses setting and design to clarify mood before dialogue has to explain it. The technical finish of The Last Exorcism works because image, sound and editing appear to be serving the same immediate purpose.

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Patrick Fabian gives The Last Exorcism its most dependable performance, finding a clear emotional intention beneath the plot. Opposite Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell brings The Last Exorcism a contrasting pace that prevents the central relationship from feeling flat. Iris Bahr widens the ensemble of The Last Exorcism through reactions that suggest a life beyond the immediate scene. Daniel Stamm serves the cast of The Last Exorcism best when a look or pause is allowed to finish before the story moves on.

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Taken as a whole, The Last Exorcism is an uneven film with enough personality to remain interesting for horror viewers who prefer atmosphere to constant shocks. The Last Exorcism leaves its strongest impression through patiently built dread, the work of Patrick Fabian and a clear understanding of tone. The limitations around how too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested should be acknowledged, but they do not erase what The Last Exorcism does well. I would return to The Last Exorcism for its personality and its willingness to connect genre pleasure with recognisable feeling.