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The Last Exorcism
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Lions Gate Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (19th February 2011). |
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The Film
 I remember seeing “The Last Exorcism” (2010) in theaters and hating it. Well, maybe that isn’t entirely fair. Truth is, I got bored halfway through and fell asleep, waking up just in time to see the finale. I think the problem was that I was lured into seeing the film on a ruse. They sold this film under the guise of a horror movie full of demonic possession – the marketing materials showcased a young girl walking up walls like a spider (a la Regan in the extended cut of “The Exorcist” (1973). Even the trailer, which showed very little, made it look like someone had finally made an exorcism film worth watching. I’m in the camp that feels almost every post-“Exorcist” movie has been a pale imitation, rife with clichés and cop-out scares that never ever come close to reaching the levels of fright that seminal classic managed. But once I was sitting in a darkened theater and the film started, I realized I was sold on a premise of lies. For one thing, the film is a mockumentary; that fact was not made abundantly clear in the marketing. Secondly, the girl in the film never does any of these wall-clinging acrobatics seen in the promotional materials. The best we get is her bent over backwards, covered in blood. Effective? Somewhat, but it’s a far cry from what the film promised. I left the theater convinced I had just seen another piece of crap that wasn’t worth the $12 I’d paid. But something bizarre has been happening to me lately – I’ve been giving films I loathed a second chance and finding they aren’t as bad as I thought. The first example was “Piranha 3D” (2010). I saw that in theaters and thought it was horrendous, but then it came out on Blu-ray and a nagging feeling told me to buy it. I did, and I loved it for what it was. Then “The Last Exorcism” comes in the mail and the result after my second viewing was unexpected. I really dug it. Rev. Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) is a preacher… and a con man. It isn’t that he has a malicious streak in him that enjoys milking people for their hard-earned money. Even though he doesn’t believe in what he’s doing, he knows that some people get something out of it, and for that he’s gladly willing to accept a nominal fee. He receives hundreds of letters from people all over the country, many aware of the fact that he’s a trained exorcist with plenty of experience. When a documentary crew decides to follow the good reverend through his daily life, he opens a random letter from amongst his stack and learns of the plight affecting Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) and her family. Nell’s father, Louis (Louis Herthum) thinks she has been possessed by a demon. Rev. Marcus arrives with the crew, assesses the situation and, using some of his trickery, and cures Nell of her demon. But when the unexplained animal murders and curious behavior continue, Rev. Marcus begins to think that maybe this case is something he wasn’t prepared for. I give major props to Patrick Fabian for breathing life into Rev. Cotton Marcus. Here’s a man who puts on a smile and sings the song-and-dance routine of loving Jesus so that he can put bread on the table for his family. He’s lost his beliefs – maybe he never really had them – but that never stops him from performing at 110% to give the people what they need to fulfill their own lives. Once the realization that Nell’s possession might not be another case of hocus pocus enters his mind, you can almost see the wheels of faith turning in his head. All that he has abandoned before is now being brought into question, making him wonder if a preacher can find true faith within himself to help save the life of a little girl. Fabian delivers his opening monologue with such conviction that you could easily see him moonlighting as a touring road show attraction, healing the wicked and wounded at stops all across America. Once he begins to suspect something is seriously wrong with Nell, even going so far as to assume her father might be harming her, his change from showboating reverend to concerned confidant gives his character a well-defined arc that helps justify his actions during the climax. Though she’s done some minor work before, this is really the first feature film for Ashley Bell - and it’s impressive considering what Nell is put through. She starts off as an innocent young farm girl, but once her possession takes hold she has to twist and contort her body in ways intended to make audiences squirm. Bell said she watched numerous exorcism films to make sure she didn’t directly copy anyone else’s performance, but it’s hard to watch a young girl possessed by a demon and not think of Linda Blair. The only thing missing is a demonic voice, something I expected this film to feature and I was mildly disappointed that it doesn’t. I think that was intentional, however, since it’s easier to believe Nell is simply a young girl with mental instability when there isn’t some other-worldly voice emanating from her mouth. One thing that has divided viewers more than anything is the film’s finale. I’m not going to spoil anything, but the film veers into “Blair Witch Project” (1999) territory during the closing minutes and that pissed off a lot of people in the theater when I saw it. Then I read some online reviews and saw many of the same reactions. I don’t have any issue with how they wrap things up. In the context of where the story goes, and the information we learn near the finale, it makes perfect sense. But it does leave some questions unanswered. Not the kind that require some introspective thought; these are the kind of logical questions that make you wonder about how the film was completed and why. I like endings that are controversial, ones that sharply divide fans and critics alike. This film took many chances and I think it succeeds in the end because of them.
Video
The film’s 1.78:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image has all the trappings of a low-budget picture. But unlike many “found footage” horror films of the past, this one has a bit more spit-and-polish to it. Things start off strong during the opening sermons and interviews – the radiance of the church in broad daylight pops with such clarity that you feel like you’re in the audience. As the film progresses, however, and we near the arrival at the Sweetzer farm, things start to get dicey. The nighttime scenes exhibit far more noise and murky imagery than the earlier parts of the film, with a heavy layer of grain covering the picture. Detail is often lost to the shadows, leaving you wondering what you’re seeing at times. This is most likely intentional given the nature of the film, but I wish they’d take things one step further and shot it in 16mm, maybe even set it in the 70's. I thought the picture looked a little too much like 35mm film at times, compromising the documentary aesthetic that needs to be present to give the film a true cinema verite feeling. Once the image starts to become less impressive as the night goes on, it feels more genuine. But I found many of the earlier scenes, particularly the interviews, looked too much like actual film. It’s a perfectly sufficient transfer for something of this nature, and it was never intended to shine like a slick studio production, but I think that a different film stock should have been used to give the image some needed gravitas.
Audio
I can’t think of a single complaint about the English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. This is intended to be a documentary, so almost everything you’re listening to is front-loaded dialogue. The rear speakers are put to suitable use during the scare scenes, with the loud thumps and clangs echoing from Nell’s room pounding from every direction. If there’s one misstep, it’s that they included some sporadic score cues throughout the film. It instantly pulled me out of viewing the movie as a documentary and turned it into a standard horror flick. Also, if this is supposed to be found footage, I don’t know why someone would cut in ominous music during some of the more chilling scenes. Everything is clear and concise here, so don’t worry about missing any lines. I only wish they’d dropped the occasional music so as to maintain the illusion of a real life movie. Subtitles are available in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
“The Last Exorcism” did moderately well in theaters, and that’s almost always reason enough for Lionsgate to pack the home video release to the gills. We get three audio commentaries, featurettes, audition footage, trailers and loads of absolutely pointless interactive features. The film runs a scant 85 minutes, so I’m surprised there wasn’t any deleted footage they trimmed to tighten it up, but this is a stacked disc otherwise. There’s also a second disc with a DVD copy of the film included, as well as a digital copy for use with iTunes. Note on the digital copy: there is no physical disc, just an insert with a code to use on iTunes. Since 99% of digital copies only require a code, and the file is rarely on the disc itself, I wish more studios would stop including a useless third disc in their combo packs. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY The first audio commentary is with producers Eli Roth, Eric Newman and Thomas A. Bliss. The track spends a lot of time focusing on how they came across Stamm’s script, what they liked about him as a director and how Roth was able to sell investors of getting the film made. They note that this was shot in February of 2009, 7 months before “Paranormal Activity” (2009) was released, and they didn’t want to be seen as another imitator in its wake. They swap plenty of producing stories, and it tends to get a little repetitive. You feel like you’ve wandered into an industry meeting, and the track loses focus (if it had any) often. The audio commentary by director Daniel Stamm and actors Ashley Bell, Patrick Fabian and Louis Herthum is much more fun. Seeing as how these actors are all relative newcomers, they’ve probably never recorded a track before and I think that makes it much more fun. They’re all loose, laughing and cutting jokes while touching upon some of the work they put in to make their characters work so well. If you’re going to listen to only one track here, this is it. The final audio commentary, dubbed “Witness to an Exorcism”, features a haunting victim, a deliverance minister and a clinical psychologist. This track is made up of many historical facts about exorcism, how women are most commonly afflicted and the origins of the practice. Things start getting a little too campy as it goes on, but there’s some good information buried in here, even though it’s the least interesting track of the three. A text-based “Protection Prayer” is included in both English & Latin, apparently as recommended reading before watching the demonic bonus features. “Real Stories of Exorcism: Interviews with Actual Victims and Participants” (1080p) featurette runs for 14 minutes and 38 seconds. This brief historical piece features interviews with exorcism experts who shed some light on the origins of the practice and how it’s currently handled today. There is also an interview included with a woman who claims to have been the victim of demons, and some audio recordings are included to back up her claims. Only problem is that I felt it was obvious this portion of the piece was staged. Otherwise, it provides a decent amount on information on the subject. “The Devil You Know: The Making of The Last Exorcism” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 20 minutes and 24 seconds. This behind-the-scenes piece features numerous interviews with the film’s cast & crew. Director Stamm talks about why he likes to shoot documentary-style films, and we learn a great deal about the work cast members put into researching their respective roles. The passion and thought that was put into making the film gave me a new appreciation for it. “Ashley Bell Audition Footage” (480p) runs for 2 minutes and 32 seconds. “Patrick Fabian Audition Footage” (480p) runs for 9 minutes and 30 seconds. “Caleb Landry Jones Audition Footage” (480p) runs for 1 minute and 40 seconds. “Louis Herthum Audition Footage” (480p) runs for 1 minute and 27 seconds. A “2009 Cannes Film Festival” teaser trailer (1080p) runs for 2 minutes and 27 seconds. The film’s theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 2 minutes and 13 seconds. The disc features Lionsgate’s Metamenu and BD Touch features, something that allows you to use a wi-fi-enabled iPad/iPhone/iPod as your remote or to gain access to exclusive features (none specific to the film are available). Features like this are a big waste of time, and I think they only serve to weaken the Blu-ray format in the eyes of average consumers. bonus trailers (1080p) are included for the following: - “The Haunting in Connecticut” runs for 2 minutes and 38 seconds. - “My Bloody Valentine 3D” runs for 1 minute and 47 seconds. - “Cabin Fever” runs for 1 minute and 17 seconds. - “Lionsgate Horror on Blu-ray promo” runs for 53 seconds. A bookmarks feature is also included for marking your favorite scenes. Finally, the disc is Lionsgate Live enabled (their fancy name for BD-Live), though no content related to the film is available. DISC TWO: DVD This contains a standard-definition version of the film on DVD. The only features included are the same trailers listed above which precede the main menu.
Packaging
The 2-disc set comes in a standard amaray keepcase with each disc housed on a hub opposite the other. A cardboard stock slip-cover with matching cover art is included.
Overall
I didn’t like this film when I first saw it, but knowing how things wrap up gave me a new perspective when viewing it a second time and I think that worked in my favor. Once you know the truth about Nell, it makes watching the earlier scenes more impactful because one major question has already been answered. Patrick Fabian delivers a solid performance which firmly anchors the film; I only wish they’d shot in 16 mm and given it a dated feel. This is a horror film which operates outside of conventions, so those looking for something with a different take on well-tread material might find this refreshing.
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