Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Last Exorcism’

Written by Scott Edwards

​There are plenty of professions that you can do using only the gift of gab and a smile. While this is not for everyone, there are some that are able to make a living doing so and more power to them. Motivational speaking is one of the biggest circuits for this and while you might not become better at whatever you are hoping for, you at least feel better about yourself and that is what really matters. Be careful when paying people for their spoken words, they are just doing a job, same as you and most of the time, they are only looking to make a profit, rather than help those who are willing to hand over their hard-earned money.
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Being a high valued Reverend for his community for years, Cotton Marcus has come to the conclusion that it is all a show. With a persona that is able to draw people in, Cotton has lost his faith after he praised the doctors for saving his son rather than God. Wanting to get the word out that the enormous rise in exorcisms being performed by the church is a scam, Cotton agrees to have his story told and is looking for the next family that believes that they are being toyed with by the Devil, a chance to see the lie firsthand. Reading a letter from the Sweetzer family who believes that their daughter has been taken under the control of evil, Cotton packs up and makes a trip down to their farm to expose the sham that is exorcisms.

Dressing the part and doing some interviews along the way, everything that Cotton tells the camera comes true when asking people about possessions and alien landings in the area. But an interesting fact is brought to light when an old cult is brought up that used to operate around the farm, but Cotton gives it little credit at the time. Driving down a long road, Cotton and his crew finally get to the Sweetzer farm and meet Louis, the father of the household who needs help getting the Devil out of his daughter who seems to be acting out. With his livestock being killed during the night, his daughter Nell’s clothes are always covered in blood which leads him to believe that she is the one behind the killings, at least physically. 

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​When Nell meets the Reverend and his crew, she is excited beyond belief and seems to be a very happy and well-adjusted young woman, but all that is about to change when Cotton gets his hands on her. Getting up to his old tricks of showmanship, Cotton is able to make water seem to boil when asking God for a sign if the girl is in trouble. With the family watching on, Cotton is ready to perform the exorcism that night in the house and sets up speakers and shakers in the girl’s room for the great effect. Performing the exorcism, Cotton announces that Nell is clean and collects his fee from the struggling family.
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Thinking that everything went off without a hitch, Cotton returns to the hotel and is ready to get a good night’s sleep when he gets word that Nell has somehow located him and the crew. Taking her to the hospital to get the help she needs, Cotton begs for Louis to get the girl psychological help, but as the father refuses, Cotton might need to accept that he is trying to hide something from the world. Finding out that Nell is pregnant, Cotton is led to believe that it is incest related and tries to grill Louis about what is happening in the house. But Louis would never touch his daughter that way, besides the good reverend should know who caused it, as he read it from his book that the demon Abalam would try to give birth from the young woman. Believing that the family is beyond his reach, Cotton turns to the locals to get help for the Sweetzer family and decides to go home, but when he finds out an odd connection between the children of the town, Cotton will be forced to put his faith at full power to battle the evil that is about to be released upon the world.

I was very hesitant to give this movie a watch when it first came out, I mean what could come out of a PG-13 horror movie about possession? Even though you do not have the true Exorcist vibe, it still delivered a good story that most people are afraid of. I must admit that I liked the young Nell character and her interactions with the reverend and the film crew. She seemed to want to get help, even though she did not think that she was infected by anything. The drastic change that she underwent as the reverend awakened the demon inside of her was amazing and I would be afraid to see what happens to her in the following years, because, yikes. Seeing Cotton getting his eyes opened to what is really happening in the world may change his mind as to what his faith really should be, but sadly the movie could only explore so much of that since the old cult is alive and well and looking for souls of their own. With dead farm animals, a failing preacher, fun special effects, a possessed girl and a demon spawn, this movie keeps you intrigued as the story gets deeper into what the demon wants you to see. Stay Scared.

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