JasonBlevins.com

The Last Exorcism is another forgettable entry in the growing list of faux documentary horror films, including slightly more memorable titles like:

Paranormal Activity and Paranormal Activity 2
The Fourth Kind
[•REC] and [•REC] 2
Quarantine (the American remake of [•REC])
Cloverfield
The Blair Witch Project
The Last Broadcast

In this particular outing, a deceitful evangelical preacher invites a film crew to document his final phony exorcism before he quits the phony exorcism business forever. Naturally, the gang gets more than they bargained for when they realize that they might have stumbled upon a genuine case of demonic possession. Madcap supernatural hijinks ensue.

In order for the fake documentary gimmick to work, you need to believe that you are watching footage of actual events. Unfortunately, familiar faces in the cast make it impossible to entirely suspend disbelief. They may not be world famous superstars, but you've probably seen some of these actors guest starring on CSI or The Mentalist or both. Actress Ashley Bell literally bends over backwards to convince us that she really is possessed by the devil, but her efforts are in vain, because we already know that the proceedings are as contrived as the reverend's sideshow exorcisms. That's why the cameraman keeps shooting when he should probably be running for his life.

The Last Exorcism appears to be a homegrown production shot on a shoestring budget. If you look at the credits, you will get the distinct impression that this project probably started out as a feature-length demo reel designed to promote the careers of everyone involved. Many of the characters' names match the names of the actors who portray them, and one of the actors even contributed music to the production.

This movie is short on scares, but the twist ending almost justifies its brief 89-minute run time. It wasn't a total disaster, but I'm glad that I didn't pay good money to see it. I watched it on Epix HD.