SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: THE LAST EXORCISM (2024)

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Horror: Upon setting out to prove that demonic possessions and the exorcisms he performs on them are fake, a fallen preacher and the film crew following him discover that he might actually be wrong about such matters.

PLOT:

Cotton Marcus (PATRICK FABIAN) is a married preacher and husband in Baton Rouge who comes from a long line of men of God and, more uniquely, those who practice exorcisms. Yet, Cotton has lost his belief and wants to expose exorcisms and exorcists for the frauds he believes them to be. Accordingly, he's hired a video crew -- the never seen Daniel on camera and Iris (IRIS BAHR) handling the audio -- to follow him on such a case.

He randomly picks a letter asking for his help and gets one from Louis Sweetzer (LOUIS HERTHUM) of Ivanwood, LA, who states demonic things are taking place on his farm, mostly notably the nighttime slaughter of farm animals. Cotton and his crew arrive at the remote location and, after a less than friendly meeting with Louis' son, Caleb (CALEB JONES), who isn't happy they're there, discover that Nell (ASHLEY BELL) is reportedly the one suffering from demonic possession.

She's Louis' 16-year-old daughter who's been home-schooled by her highly religious father following his wife's death from cancer two years earlier. Cotton knows she isn't possessed, but realizes he can help her by making her think she is and that his exorcism will stop the possession. Accordingly, he fakes the entire thing, collects his fee, and then heads out.

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But then Nell shows up at his motel room, miles away and without prior knowledge of his plans, and appears to be under a trance. Cotton and his team realize she needs psychological help, and thus accompany her back home from the hospital when Louis refuses to accept any outside help. From that point on, progressively odd, unsettling and then scary things start happening, all of which make Cotton reassess his opinion on possessions and exorcisms.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're into "you are there" type horror films, they'll probably be quite eager to see it.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13

For disturbing violent content and terror, some sexual references and thematic material.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

PATRICK FABIAN plays a minister who comes from a long line of such men of the cloth who've performed exorcisms over the years. But he's lost his belief in them and even God, freely admitting that he performs such rituals only to help those who incorrectly believe they're possessed, as well as for the cash. As the film begins, he's hired a video crew to follow him on one randomly chosen exorcism, all to prove that none of it's real. Yet, after he performs his fakery, he discovers there might be more to Nell's case than appears on the surface.

ASHLEY BELL plays a 16-year-old, home-schooled girl who might be possessed by some sort of demon or could just be a psychologically disturbed and possibly abused teen who turns out to be pregnant. She doesn't remember any of her brutal attacks on farm animals or even her family and seems quite distressed by that.

LOUIS HERTHUM plays her father, a deeply religious man who's withdrawn more into his secluded world following his wife's death from cancer. He wants Cotton to free his daughter from the possession, but is determined to do whatever it takes to stop that, no matter the costs for all involved.

IRIS BAHR plays the sound woman on Cotton's video crew who becomes increasingly unnerved by what she witnesses, both domestically and supernaturally.

CALEB JONES plays Nell's brother who doesn't try to hide his disdain for Cotton's presence and what he stands for.

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this horror film that's been rated PG-13. There's brief profanity and a few religious phrases are uttered, while brief sexually related dialogue is present. A 16-year-old girl is noted as being pregnant.

Violence consists of deadly and injurious attacks on people and animals (both seen and unseen), with bloody results. That, moments of peril and all sorts of supernatural material could be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to viewers.

Thematic elements are present, as is tense family material. Bad attitudes occur, as does potentially imitative behavior. A character is described as being a drunk, but no alcohol is present.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, handheld camera footage occurs throughout the film, with varying degrees of bounciness (sometimes a lot).

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

Caleb states his father is a superstitious drunk (but we never see any signs of drinking).

BLOOD/GORE

We briefly see views of a dead cow on the ground, with its belly sliced open and bloody entrails on the ground. Louis also shows Nell's bloody clothing from that attack.

Iris runs to Cotton's motel room in a hurry to find Nell sitting on his bed, and he has no idea how she got there or knew what motel he and the crew were staying in. Iris hugs her on the bed, but Nell is acting oddly, starts licking her shoulder, and then slowly vomits.

We see Caleb with a bad and very bloody cut on his face (from Nell attacking him with a knife -- the attack isn't seen, but the bloody knife on the floor is).

Cotton and his crew find a drawing of a dead and bloody cat that Nell's drawn.

Nell gets the video camera, and then goes out to the barn and approaches a scared looking cat and then pummels it with the camera (thus making it hard to see what's occurring, although it's obviously killed, and we briefly see the very bloody/gory results as well as some blood on the camera lens).

Cotton and his crew find a drawing Nell has made of all three of them being dead, including Cotton on fire, Daniel having been decapitated, and Iris having a severed leg.

We see a slightly bloody cut on Cotton's palm from where Nell sliced him.

We see blood on Nell's nightgown.

A woman is suddenly hit with an ax and then struck repeatedly with that (with bloody results).

A man in a robe pulls a bloody creature from between Nell's legs (Cotton states it isn't human) and then throws it into the raging fire that then grows larger from that.

We see the bouncy point of view camera shot of a man running in horror at night. When he stops, a young man is suddenly in front of him and slices him across the throat (all seen from the victim's point of view).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Cotton states (just to the camera as he's interviewed) that if he gets his congregation going, they end up not actually listening. To prove that, he throws in a brief bit about making banana bread during a fired up sermon and no one seems to notice.

Cotton admits that he doesn't believe in demons or exorcisms, but he conducts the latter (including faking the signs via mechanical work and audio recordings) to help those who need to believe they've been freed (when they really have other issues) and for the payment for his services.

To make himself seem more authentic, Cotton places a magnetic Ichthus ("Jesus fish") ") emblem onto his vehicle.

Cotton's comment that Ivanwood, with its many religions over the centuries as well as high illiteracy rate means it's a perfect breeding ground for supposed demonic possessions.

Caleb throws two rocks at Cotton's vehicle after trying to convince them to leave.

Caleb states his father is a superstitious drunk.

A demon possesses Nell and manipulates others, while there's a satanic (or related) ritual at the end of the film.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.

We see some old imagery of demons.

We see a drawing of a demon.

Cotton rigs Nell's room and himself to make it appear she's possessed and that his exorcism cleanses her. He then starts the exorcism with her lying on her bed that then starts to shake, with demonic growling being heard and her reacting in fear and agony.

Iris runs to Cotton's motel room in a hurry to find Nell sitting on his bed, and he has no idea how she got there or knew what motel he and the crew were staying in. Iris hugs her on the bed, but Nell is acting oddly, starts licking her shoulder, and then slowly vomits.

As Cotton and his crew hang out in the quiet house at night, they suddenly hear crying infant sounds. They then go to investigate and see Nell standing still in a room, silhouetted, and she slowly starts walking toward them, mumbling. They then follow her into the bathroom where she appears to be drowning a baby in the tub, but they discover it's just a doll. They then find a drawing of a dead and bloody cat that she's drawn.

Iris has Cotton listen to audio from their recording of Nell and the teen is talking in Latin.

As Cotton and his crew sleep, Nell gets the video camera, sets it down, and looks in the mirror as she cracks her neck in a creepy manner She then goes out to the barn and approaches a scared looking cat and then pummels it with the camera (thus making it hard to see what's occurring, although it's obviously killed, and we briefly see the very bloody/gory results as well as some blood on the camera lens). She then goes back into the house, approaches a sleeping Cotton and raises the camera up as if to pummel him as well, but Iris yells out Nell's name and she stops. During that, we heard creepy, demonic growling sounds.

Cotton and his crew find a drawing Nell has made of all three of them being dead, including Cotton on fire, Daniel having been decapitated, and Iris having a severed leg.

Cotton and his team hear two voices coming from Nell's room, but when Cotton opens the door, he only finds Nell sitting on the bed, alone, pretending to be innocent, but looking at the camera in a creepy way.

Iris is concerned about the number of guns in the house, and just then the lights go out. They then hear loud thumping from the floor above them, and when they get to Nell's door, they see that something is slamming against that from the inside. They slowly go in -- with the only light being from the video camera -- look around, and see Nell sitting high atop some tall furniture starring down at them. Cotton gets her down, but she slices his palm and then bolts out of the room.

Cotton and his crew then slowly walk through the dark house looking for Nell, and then spot her outside, standing still with her arms straight out to her sides. After another spooky stare, she walks off, with Louis showing up and telling them they have 5 minutes to leave or he'll consider them trespassers. He then goes out to his wife's grave and the team exits the house. When they spot Nell on the stairs, however, Cotton approaches her. She then suddenly jumps at him and struggles with him on the ground, while we hear a gunshot from Louis' rifle, and Cotton carries Nell inside. Louise then finds them inside and aims his gun at them until Cotton agrees he'll do another exorcism.

We see that Louis still has his gun, while Nell is chained by the feet in a barn. Cotton then starts a real exorcism, and Nell turns her head and cracks her neck in an unrealistic and thus unsettling fashion. We then hear the demon talking through her, followed by her standing, but bending backwards in an extreme and unrealistic fashion. When the demon says it will let Nell go if Cotton can be silent for 10 seconds, Cotton agrees, but then has to intervene when the demon causes Nell to start breaking her fingers one by one (two total).

Cotton and his team return to the house at night and find the house dark. They go inside and find pentagrams and other symbols drawn all over the walls and ceiling. They then hear screaming off in the distance and head in that direction, although Cotton's crew thinks that's a bad idea. They then find a ritualistic ceremony with a large fire where Louis is gagged and bound, while a man in a robe pulls a bloody creature from between Nell's legs (Cotton states it isn't human) and then throws it into the raging fire that then grows larger from that. Cotton then goes toward that, Bible in hand, and the fire roars upward directly in front of him.

A woman is suddenly hit with an ax and then struck repeatedly with that (with bloody results).

We see the bouncy point of view camera shot of a man running in horror at night. When he stops, a young man is suddenly in front of him and slices him across the throat (all seen from the victim's point of view).

GUNS/WEAPONS

We see some Bible related cutouts that Nell has made, including a figure holding a spear and another with a sword.

We see Caleb with a bad and very bloody cut on his face (from Nell attacking him with a knife -- the attack isn't seen, but the bloody knife on the floor is).

Louis carries a rifle and threatens others with it in several scenes. See "Frightening Scenes" for more details.

We see Cotton putting a handgun into the waistband of his pants.

A woman is suddenly hit with an ax and then struck repeatedly with that (with bloody results).

We see the bouncy point of view camera shot of a man running in horror at night. When he stops, a young man is suddenly in front of him and slices him across the throat (all seen from the victim's point of view).

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Get that damn camera off" and "Are you kidding me?"

Some kids might be enticed to copy some of the scares present in the film in order to frighten others.

We see Cotton doing some sort of magic related fire trick with his son.

To make himself seem more authentic, Cotton places a magnetic Ichthus ("Jesus fish") " emblem onto his vehicle.

Caleb throws two rocks at Cotton's vehicle after trying to convince them to leave.

While getting Nell's family to pray with their eyes closed, Cotton puts something into a tray of water in which Nell's feet are placed, all to make the water appear to boil.

Cotton rigs Nell's room and himself to make it appear she's possessed and that his exorcism cleanses her. He then starts the exorcism with her lying on her bed that then starts to shake, with demonic growling being heard and her reacting in fear and agony.

We see that Louis has chained Nell to her bed (for attacking Caleb).

JUMP SCENES

Nell suddenly attacks Cotton and then bolts from the room.

Cotton approaches Nell who's sitting on some steps. She then suddenly jumps at him and struggles with him on the ground, while we hear a gunshot from Louis' rifle.

A woman is suddenly hit with an ax and then struck repeatedly with that (with bloody results).

We see the bouncy point of view camera shot of a man running in horror at night. When he stops, a young man is suddenly in front of him and slices him across the throat (all seen from the victim's point of view).

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

An extreme amount of scary, suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None.

PROFANITY

At least 1 damn, 5 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "Jesus" and "Jesus Christ."

SEX/NUDITY

Cotton and his crew hear a doctor's message on the answering machine indicating that Nell is pregnant. Iris automatically thinks the worst - incest from Louis raping her.

Nell is apparently nude or at least topless during an attack on a barn cat and then nearly Cotton, but we don't see anything (beyond the motion of her removing her top).

With the demon speaking through her, Nell asks Cotton, "How about a blowing job?" Cotton then realizes it can't be the demon speaking, saying such an incorrect term would come from a naive girl. Nell then speaks about herself in the third person, saying she was with a boy named Logan who asked if "they" (Nell) wanted to have sex and they said yes. Nell then says, "She said yes and she liked it."

Cotton and his team meet Logan and he states he didn't get Nell pregnant, adding, "I'm not exactly interested in girls."

SMOKING

None.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

We hear that Louis's wife died two years from breast cancer, when Nell was 14 years old. We later see him praying by her gravesite when Nell's possession gets worse.

Caleb states his father is a superstitious drunk.

We see Caleb with a bad and very bloody cut on his face (from Nell attacking him with a knife -- the attack isn't seen, but the bloody knife on the floor is).

We see that Louis has chained Nell to her bed (and then later in a barn) and he's prepared to kill her in order to stop the demonic possession.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Possession and exorcisms.

Cotton states he lost faith in God when he thanked the doctors rather than God first for helping his prematurely born son survive.

Cotton states (just to the camera as he's interviewed) that if he gets his congregation going, they end up not actually listening. To prove that, he throws in a brief bit about making banana bread during a fired up sermon and no one seems to notice.

There's talk of a boy who was suffocated during an exorcism, and Cotton is driven by that to debunk exorcisms in order to save others from a similar fate.

Cotton's comment that Ivanwood, with its many religions over the centuries as well as high illiteracy rate means it's a perfect breeding ground for supposed demonic possessions.

We hear that Nell is being homeschooled after Louis didn't like the teaching at the religious school she formerly attended.

Louis says that a crucifix burns Nell if she wears it (but Cotton explains that's an allergy to the metal).

Louis not believing in doctors due to him believing they didn't save his wife from dying from cancer.

Cotton and his crew hear a doctor's message on the answering machine indicating that Nell is pregnant. Iris automatically thinks the worst - incest from Louis raping her.

VIOLENCE

Caleb throws two rocks at Cotton's vehicle after trying to convince them to leave.

We briefly see views of a dead cow on the ground, with its belly sliced open and bloody entrails on the ground (from unseen violence).

We see Caleb with a bad and very bloody cut on his face (from Nell attacking him with a knife -- the attack isn't seen, but the bloody knife on the floor is).

Nell gets the video camera, and then goes out to the barn and approaches a scared looking cat and then pummels it with the camera (thus making it hard to see what's occurring, although it's obviously killed, and we briefly see the very bloody/gory results as well as some blood on the camera lens).

Cotton and his crew find a drawing Nell has made of all three of them being dead, including Cotton on fire, Daniel having been decapitated, and Iris having a severed leg.

Cotton gets Nell down from some furniture, but she slices his palm and then bolts out of the room.

Cotton approaches Nell who's sitting on some steps. She then suddenly jumps at him and struggles with him on the ground, while we hear a gunshot from Louis' rifle.

When the demon says it will let Nell go if Cotton can be silent for 10 seconds, Cotton agrees, but then has to intervene when the demon causes Nell to start breaking her fingers one by one (two total).

A woman is suddenly hit with an ax and then struck repeatedly with that (with bloody results).

We see the bouncy point of view camera shot of a man running in horror at night. When he stops, a young man is suddenly in front of him and slices him across the throat (all seen from the victim's point of view).

Reviewed August 11, 2010 / Posted August 27, 2010<! -- End Review Content -- >