The Last Exorcism
Encyclopedia
The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage horror film
directed and edited by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian
, Ashley Bell
, Iris Bahr
, and Louis Herthum.
The film is told from the perspective of a disillusioned evangelical
minister, who after years of performing exorcism
s decides to participate in a documentary chronicling his last exorcism while exposing the fraud of his ministry. After receiving a letter from a farmer asking for help in driving out the devil
, he meets the farmer's afflicted daughter.
) lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, with his wife (Shanna Forestall) and son. Marcus is accustomed to performing exorcisms on "possessed" individuals, but his faith wanes as he reads of an autistic
child being killed during an exorcism, reminding him of his own disabled son. He comes to realize that he attributes his son's healing to science, and not to Jesus Christ. He agrees to take part in a documentary designed to expose exorcism as a fraud, working with a film crew consisting of producer/director Iris Reisen (Iris Bahr
) and cameraman Daniel Moskowitz (Adam Grimes
). At random, he chooses an exorcism request sent by farmer Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), who claims his daughter Nell (Ashley Bell
) is possessed by a powerful demon named Abalam. Prior to the exorcism, Marcus plants hidden speakers and electronic props, so he can bamboozle the family into believing he is driving out a demon. After the ritual, Marcus and his film crew leave, believing they have cured her of a mental state that was misdiagnosed as a possession
.
That night, Nell mysteriously appears in Marcus' hotel room. The team tries to contact Louis to get permission to film her, to no avail. In an effort to prove his point, Marcus takes Nell to the hospital for testing, hoping for a medical or psychological diagnosis proving demonic possession is not the cause of her illness. The doctor concludes that Nell is in perfect physical condition. Marcus goes to see Louis' former pastor, Pastor Manley, and asks him questions regarding Nell and Louis. Pastor Manley informs Marcus that he has not had contact with the Sweetzers for a long time. In the morning, her father takes her home and chains her in her room for slicing her brother, Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones
), in the face. While Louis takes Caleb to the hospital, Marcus and the camera crew further investigate Nell and the home. They find Nell chained to her bed and release her. That night there is a disturbance in the house, and Marcus and the crew hear the cries of a baby. They find Nell standing in a hallway. When they try to confront her, she goes into a bathroom, where she is found submerging a baby doll in water. After she comes out of her trance, the crew finds a drawing of a dead and bloodied cat.
That night, while Marcus and the crew are asleep, Nell steals their camera and goes into her room, placing the camera on a dresser as she pulls and distorts her face. Nell goes into her father's barn where she corners a cat, beating it to death with the camera. She returns to the house and raises the camera over Marcus's head, ostensibly to beat him to death with it. The rest of the crew stops her, unaware of what has transpired. They discover two more paintings of Nell's. The first depicts someone who appears to be Cotton standing before a large flame, holding up a crucifix. The second shows what appears to be the dead bodies of all three visitors to the Sweetzer farm: Cotton being consumed by the flame he battled in the other picture, Iris hacked to pieces with an axe, and Dan decapitated. Louis comes home and hears an answering machine message from the hospital stating that Nell is pregnant
. Marcus thinks Louis might have committed the act of incest
, which he denies, insisting that Nell is a virgin and has been defiled by the demon possessing her. Tempers flare as Marcus insists that Nell needs psychotherapy
instead of another exorcism. Louis orders the crew to vacate his property. While contemplating whether they should take Nell, they hear noises upstairs. They discover that Nell has climbed atop her dresser. As they try to calm her, she slashes Marcus's hand with a knife and runs outside. The crew decides to leave; as they enter their van, they see Nell sitting on the porch. As Marcus approaches Nell, she tackles him and attempts to harm him. The struggle leads inside as Louis chases them with a shotgun. In order to keep Louis from killing Nell, Marcus agrees to attempt another exorcism.
During the exorcism, Nell's body contorts and bends in ways that don't appear to be humanly possible. Marcus confronts the entity that has possessed Nell, which introduces itself as Abalam, the same demon Marcus had spoken to Louis about. Abalam agrees to release Nell from the possession but only if Marcus can remain silent for ten seconds and begins breaking Nell's fingers as it counts out loud. After counting to three and breaking three of her fingers Marcus yells for Abalam to stop. During this time, Abalam tells Louis that Marcus wants a "blowing job." Marcus realizes that a demon would know the actual name of the sex act and concludes that Nell is actually a very disturbed girl pretending to be possessed. Nell then tells them of Logan, the boy who supposedly impregnated her. Marcus arranges for Pastor Manley to come to the house to provide solace to the Sweetzers as Marcus prepares to leave. On their way home, Marcus and the film crew detour to the coffee shop where Logan works. Logan tells the crew that the only contact he had with Nell was a brief conversation six months ago at a party that was held at Pastor Manley's home. Logan insinuates that he is gay and, therefore, would never have had sex with her. Marcus and the film crew leave the cafe and are driving out of town. They begin to question Nell's story, and Marcus realizes that Pastor Manley was not truthful with him previously when he had said he had not seen Nell in an extended period of time. Marcus turns the van around and returns to the Sweetzer farmhouse. They enter the house to find numerous pentagram
s and demonic symbols scrawled on the walls, but Nell and Louis are missing.
Marcus and the film crew wander into the woods, where they see a large fire and a congregation of hooded occultists led by Pastor Manley (Tony Bentley), the Sweetzers' estranged Protestant minister. Louis is bound and gagged on a pole while hooded figures pray around an altar, which Nell is tied on top of. Marcus and the film crew watch as Nell gives birth to something that is not of the human race. Manley throws it into the fire, which causes the fire to grow rapidly while demonic roars emanate from within. At that moment, Marcus' faith is resolved as he grabs his cross and rushes towards the fire in a frenzied attempt to combat the evil. Iris and Daniel are discovered and run away. Iris is tackled by a member of the occult congregation, who kills and dismembers her with an axe. Daniel tries to escape through the woods, but when he pauses to catch his breath, Caleb rises out of nowhere and decapitates
him. The camera collapses to the ground, and the scene fades to black.
maker Daniel Stamm and produced by Eric Newman, Eli Roth
, Marc Abraham
, and Thomas A. Bliss. The film was shot using shaky camera
, it was also shot in 'found footage
' (Stamm has previously directed A Necessary Death, another 'found footage' film). Strike Entertainment
and StudioCanal
hold the theatrical rights.
Film Festival 2010. However, on February 12, 2010, Lionsgate purchased the rights for the US Distribution and pulled the film from the SXSW fest and set the release of the film for August 27, 2010.
The film had its world premiere at the LA Film Festival on June 24, 2010 and was here introduced by Eli Roth
and Daniel Stamm. Members of the cast were also introduced on stage, Patrick Fabian
, Ashley Bell
, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones
, Iris Bahr
, and Tony Bentley. The Last Exorcism was the last screened film on August 30, 2010 on the Film4 FrightFest
2010.
Bloody Disgusting
hosted the screening of the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International and the second screening on 24 July 2010 is narrated by Eli Roth
.
". It was then decided the advert was not allowed to be seen again in that format.
as the medium of its viral campaign involving a girl who pretends to unbutton her top seductively, then stops and turns into a monster. At the end, the URL of the film's official website is flashed on screen.
and Blu-ray
on January 4, 2011. The Blu-ray includes the DVD of the film and a digital copy
as well.
Rotten Tomatoes
based on 142 reviews, with the site's consensus being "It doesn't fully deliver on the chilly promise of its Blair Witch-style premise, but The Last Exorcism offers a surprising number of clever thrills. " The film received a 63 out of 100 on Metacritic
, indicating "generally favorable reviews". At Yahoo! Movies
the film currently holds a B- based on twelve reviews.
. It grossed $20,366,613 from 2,874 theaters in its first three days. The Last Exorcism had a budget of $1.8 million. The film remained in the top five, falling to number four in its second weekend. The film went on to gross $41 million domestically and $26.7 million foreign to total $67.7 million worldwide.
announced that a sequel
is in the works. Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
) has just boarded the project to provide a screenplay.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed and edited by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian
Patrick Fabian
Patrick Fabian is an American actor. He has played numerous roles in TV shows , and after twenty years of acting achieved a breakthrough of sorts in the 2010 movie The Last Exorcism.-Life:...
, Ashley Bell
Ashley Bell
-Personal life:Ashley Bell was born in Santa Monica, California, daughter of Victoria Carroll, an actress, and Michael Bell, an actor.She attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree....
, Iris Bahr
Iris Bahr
Iris Bahr is an American-born Israeli actress, comedian, director, writer and producer. She has appeared on television programs such as Friends , Curb Your Enthusiasm as Rachel Heinemann , and The King of Queens...
, and Louis Herthum.
The film is told from the perspective of a disillusioned evangelical
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
minister, who after years of performing exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
s decides to participate in a documentary chronicling his last exorcism while exposing the fraud of his ministry. After receiving a letter from a farmer asking for help in driving out the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, he meets the farmer's afflicted daughter.
Plot
The Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick FabianPatrick Fabian
Patrick Fabian is an American actor. He has played numerous roles in TV shows , and after twenty years of acting achieved a breakthrough of sorts in the 2010 movie The Last Exorcism.-Life:...
) lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, with his wife (Shanna Forestall) and son. Marcus is accustomed to performing exorcisms on "possessed" individuals, but his faith wanes as he reads of an autistic
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
child being killed during an exorcism, reminding him of his own disabled son. He comes to realize that he attributes his son's healing to science, and not to Jesus Christ. He agrees to take part in a documentary designed to expose exorcism as a fraud, working with a film crew consisting of producer/director Iris Reisen (Iris Bahr
Iris Bahr
Iris Bahr is an American-born Israeli actress, comedian, director, writer and producer. She has appeared on television programs such as Friends , Curb Your Enthusiasm as Rachel Heinemann , and The King of Queens...
) and cameraman Daniel Moskowitz (Adam Grimes
Adam Grimes
Adam Grimes is an American actor. He was born in Burlington, Vermont.Grimes is best known for his portrayal of Kyle Julian on the American soap opera General Hospital: Night Shift. He joined the cast for the second season as the younger brother of Dr. Leo Julian...
). At random, he chooses an exorcism request sent by farmer Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), who claims his daughter Nell (Ashley Bell
Ashley Bell
-Personal life:Ashley Bell was born in Santa Monica, California, daughter of Victoria Carroll, an actress, and Michael Bell, an actor.She attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree....
) is possessed by a powerful demon named Abalam. Prior to the exorcism, Marcus plants hidden speakers and electronic props, so he can bamboozle the family into believing he is driving out a demon. After the ritual, Marcus and his film crew leave, believing they have cured her of a mental state that was misdiagnosed as a possession
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
.
That night, Nell mysteriously appears in Marcus' hotel room. The team tries to contact Louis to get permission to film her, to no avail. In an effort to prove his point, Marcus takes Nell to the hospital for testing, hoping for a medical or psychological diagnosis proving demonic possession is not the cause of her illness. The doctor concludes that Nell is in perfect physical condition. Marcus goes to see Louis' former pastor, Pastor Manley, and asks him questions regarding Nell and Louis. Pastor Manley informs Marcus that he has not had contact with the Sweetzers for a long time. In the morning, her father takes her home and chains her in her room for slicing her brother, Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones
Caleb Landry Jones
Caleb Landry Jones is an American actor and musician.Jones was born in Garland, Texas and raised in Richardson, Texas. He is best known for his performances in The Last Exorcism and as Banshee in X-Men: First Class...
), in the face. While Louis takes Caleb to the hospital, Marcus and the camera crew further investigate Nell and the home. They find Nell chained to her bed and release her. That night there is a disturbance in the house, and Marcus and the crew hear the cries of a baby. They find Nell standing in a hallway. When they try to confront her, she goes into a bathroom, where she is found submerging a baby doll in water. After she comes out of her trance, the crew finds a drawing of a dead and bloodied cat.
That night, while Marcus and the crew are asleep, Nell steals their camera and goes into her room, placing the camera on a dresser as she pulls and distorts her face. Nell goes into her father's barn where she corners a cat, beating it to death with the camera. She returns to the house and raises the camera over Marcus's head, ostensibly to beat him to death with it. The rest of the crew stops her, unaware of what has transpired. They discover two more paintings of Nell's. The first depicts someone who appears to be Cotton standing before a large flame, holding up a crucifix. The second shows what appears to be the dead bodies of all three visitors to the Sweetzer farm: Cotton being consumed by the flame he battled in the other picture, Iris hacked to pieces with an axe, and Dan decapitated. Louis comes home and hears an answering machine message from the hospital stating that Nell is pregnant
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. Marcus thinks Louis might have committed the act of incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, which he denies, insisting that Nell is a virgin and has been defiled by the demon possessing her. Tempers flare as Marcus insists that Nell needs psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
instead of another exorcism. Louis orders the crew to vacate his property. While contemplating whether they should take Nell, they hear noises upstairs. They discover that Nell has climbed atop her dresser. As they try to calm her, she slashes Marcus's hand with a knife and runs outside. The crew decides to leave; as they enter their van, they see Nell sitting on the porch. As Marcus approaches Nell, she tackles him and attempts to harm him. The struggle leads inside as Louis chases them with a shotgun. In order to keep Louis from killing Nell, Marcus agrees to attempt another exorcism.
During the exorcism, Nell's body contorts and bends in ways that don't appear to be humanly possible. Marcus confronts the entity that has possessed Nell, which introduces itself as Abalam, the same demon Marcus had spoken to Louis about. Abalam agrees to release Nell from the possession but only if Marcus can remain silent for ten seconds and begins breaking Nell's fingers as it counts out loud. After counting to three and breaking three of her fingers Marcus yells for Abalam to stop. During this time, Abalam tells Louis that Marcus wants a "blowing job." Marcus realizes that a demon would know the actual name of the sex act and concludes that Nell is actually a very disturbed girl pretending to be possessed. Nell then tells them of Logan, the boy who supposedly impregnated her. Marcus arranges for Pastor Manley to come to the house to provide solace to the Sweetzers as Marcus prepares to leave. On their way home, Marcus and the film crew detour to the coffee shop where Logan works. Logan tells the crew that the only contact he had with Nell was a brief conversation six months ago at a party that was held at Pastor Manley's home. Logan insinuates that he is gay and, therefore, would never have had sex with her. Marcus and the film crew leave the cafe and are driving out of town. They begin to question Nell's story, and Marcus realizes that Pastor Manley was not truthful with him previously when he had said he had not seen Nell in an extended period of time. Marcus turns the van around and returns to the Sweetzer farmhouse. They enter the house to find numerous pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
s and demonic symbols scrawled on the walls, but Nell and Louis are missing.
Marcus and the film crew wander into the woods, where they see a large fire and a congregation of hooded occultists led by Pastor Manley (Tony Bentley), the Sweetzers' estranged Protestant minister. Louis is bound and gagged on a pole while hooded figures pray around an altar, which Nell is tied on top of. Marcus and the film crew watch as Nell gives birth to something that is not of the human race. Manley throws it into the fire, which causes the fire to grow rapidly while demonic roars emanate from within. At that moment, Marcus' faith is resolved as he grabs his cross and rushes towards the fire in a frenzied attempt to combat the evil. Iris and Daniel are discovered and run away. Iris is tackled by a member of the occult congregation, who kills and dismembers her with an axe. Daniel tries to escape through the woods, but when he pauses to catch his breath, Caleb rises out of nowhere and decapitates
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
him. The camera collapses to the ground, and the scene fades to black.
Cast
- Patrick FabianPatrick FabianPatrick Fabian is an American actor. He has played numerous roles in TV shows , and after twenty years of acting achieved a breakthrough of sorts in the 2010 movie The Last Exorcism.-Life:...
as Cotton Marcus - Ashley BellAshley Bell-Personal life:Ashley Bell was born in Santa Monica, California, daughter of Victoria Carroll, an actress, and Michael Bell, an actor.She attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree....
as Nell Sweetzer - Iris BahrIris BahrIris Bahr is an American-born Israeli actress, comedian, director, writer and producer. She has appeared on television programs such as Friends , Curb Your Enthusiasm as Rachel Heinemann , and The King of Queens...
as Iris Reisen - Adam GrimesAdam GrimesAdam Grimes is an American actor. He was born in Burlington, Vermont.Grimes is best known for his portrayal of Kyle Julian on the American soap opera General Hospital: Night Shift. He joined the cast for the second season as the younger brother of Dr. Leo Julian...
as Daniel Moskowitz - Louis Herthum as Louis Sweetzer
- Caleb Landry JonesCaleb Landry JonesCaleb Landry Jones is an American actor and musician.Jones was born in Garland, Texas and raised in Richardson, Texas. He is best known for his performances in The Last Exorcism and as Banshee in X-Men: First Class...
as Caleb Sweetzer - Tony Bentley as Pastor Manley
- Shanna Forrestall as Mrs. Marcus
- Becky Fly as Becky
- Denise Lee as Nurse
- Logan Craig Reid as Logan
- Jamie Alyson Caudle as Satanic worshipper
- Allen Boudreaux as Satanic worshipper
Production
The Last Exorcism was directed by German independent filmIndependent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
maker Daniel Stamm and produced by Eric Newman, Eli Roth
Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...
, Marc Abraham
Marc Abraham
Marc Abraham is an American film producer, and president of Strike Entertainment, a production company he launched in early 2002 with a multi-year, first look arrangement with Universal Pictures.-Biography:...
, and Thomas A. Bliss. The film was shot using shaky camera
Shaky camera
Shaky camera, shaky cam, hand-held camera or free camera is a cinematographic technique where stable-image techniques are purposely dispensed with. The camera is held in the hand, or given the appearance of being hand-held, and in many cases shots are limited to what one photographer could have...
, it was also shot in 'found footage
Found footage (genre)
Found footage is a genre of filmmaking, especially horror, in which all or a substantial part of a film is presented as discovered film or video recordings, often left behind by missing or dead protagonists. The events onscreen are seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved,...
' (Stamm has previously directed A Necessary Death, another 'found footage' film). Strike Entertainment
Strike Entertainment
Strike Entertainment is an American production company founded in 2002 by Marc Abraham, Thomas Bliss and Eric Newman. Strike's films are distributed through Universal Studios...
and StudioCanal
StudioCanal
StudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...
hold the theatrical rights.
Release
The film was slated to be a part of the South by SouthwestSouth by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
Film Festival 2010. However, on February 12, 2010, Lionsgate purchased the rights for the US Distribution and pulled the film from the SXSW fest and set the release of the film for August 27, 2010.
The film had its world premiere at the LA Film Festival on June 24, 2010 and was here introduced by Eli Roth
Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...
and Daniel Stamm. Members of the cast were also introduced on stage, Patrick Fabian
Patrick Fabian
Patrick Fabian is an American actor. He has played numerous roles in TV shows , and after twenty years of acting achieved a breakthrough of sorts in the 2010 movie The Last Exorcism.-Life:...
, Ashley Bell
Ashley Bell
-Personal life:Ashley Bell was born in Santa Monica, California, daughter of Victoria Carroll, an actress, and Michael Bell, an actor.She attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree....
, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones
Caleb Landry Jones
Caleb Landry Jones is an American actor and musician.Jones was born in Garland, Texas and raised in Richardson, Texas. He is best known for his performances in The Last Exorcism and as Banshee in X-Men: First Class...
, Iris Bahr
Iris Bahr
Iris Bahr is an American-born Israeli actress, comedian, director, writer and producer. She has appeared on television programs such as Friends , Curb Your Enthusiasm as Rachel Heinemann , and The King of Queens...
, and Tony Bentley. The Last Exorcism was the last screened film on August 30, 2010 on the Film4 FrightFest
Fright Fest
Fright Fest or FrightFest is a Halloween-oriented event that takes place at some theme parks, notably Six Flags parks, called "Six Flags Fright Fest", and PARC Management-owned parks, called "FrightFest".-General information:...
2010.
Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting is a website that covers horror movies with reviews, interviews and news. It is currently run by Brad Miska, and Tom Owen. According to one source, the site has 1.5 million unique visitors and 20 million page views each month. It is widely considered to be the "world's most...
hosted the screening of the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International and the second screening on 24 July 2010 is narrated by Eli Roth
Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...
.
Poster controversy
It was announced that a poster for the film was banned in public UK places, due to the nature of the poster (described as "offensive", "distressing", and "unsuitable for public viewing") which received 77 complaints, of which two people claimed the girl in the poster seemed to have "suffered a sexual assaultSexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
". It was then decided the advert was not allowed to be seen again in that format.
Viral campaign
The Last Exorcism used ChatrouletteChatroulette
Chatroulette is a website that pairs strangers from around the world together for webcam-based conversations. Visitors to the website begin an online chat with another visitor who is chosen at random...
as the medium of its viral campaign involving a girl who pretends to unbutton her top seductively, then stops and turns into a monster. At the end, the URL of the film's official website is flashed on screen.
Home media
The Last Exorcism was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on January 4, 2011. The Blu-ray includes the DVD of the film and a digital copy
Digital copy
Digital Copy provides consumers who purchase a film on DVD or Blu-ray Disc with an additional, digital copy of the movie for devices capable of operating with a file in contrast to a DVD.-Features:...
as well.
Critical
The Last Exorcism has received generally positive reviews from critics, garnering a 73% "Fresh" rating on review aggregatorReview aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 142 reviews, with the site's consensus being "It doesn't fully deliver on the chilly promise of its Blair Witch-style premise, but The Last Exorcism offers a surprising number of clever thrills. " The film received a 63 out of 100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, indicating "generally favorable reviews". At Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies , provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yahoo! Movies also includes red carpet photos, actor galleries, and production...
the film currently holds a B- based on twelve reviews.
Box office
The Last Exorcism opened at #2 at the U.S. box office the weekend of August 27, 2010 behind TakersTakers
Takers is a 2010 crime film directed by John Luessenhop from a story and screenplay written by Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen, John Rogers, and Avery Duff. It features an ensemble cast that includes Matt Dillon, Chris Brown, Idris Elba, T.I., Jay Hernandez, Paul Walker, Hayden...
. It grossed $20,366,613 from 2,874 theaters in its first three days. The Last Exorcism had a budget of $1.8 million. The film remained in the top five, falling to number four in its second weekend. The film went on to gross $41 million domestically and $26.7 million foreign to total $67.7 million worldwide.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | People's Choice Award | Favorite Horror Movie | Nominated | |
| Independent Spirit Award | Best First Feature | Daniel Stamm | ||
| MTV Movie Award | Best Scared-As-Shit Performance MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened Performance This is a following list for the MTV Movie Award winners for Best Frightened Performance. The award was firstgiven out in 2005 and then 2006. In 2010 this award was renamed Best Scared-As-S**t Performance.-References:... |
Ashley Bell Ashley Bell -Personal life:Ashley Bell was born in Santa Monica, California, daughter of Victoria Carroll, an actress, and Michael Bell, an actor.She attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.... |
||
| Empire Awards Empire Awards 2011 The 16th Empire Awards , honoring the best in film in 2010, were held on March 27, 2011 at the Grosvenor House Hotel and hosted by Dara Ó Briain. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.-Best Film:Inception* Kick-Ass* Scott Pilgrim vs... |
Best Horror | Won |
Sequel
On August 23, 2011, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
announced that a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
is in the works. Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench is a 2009 American jazz musical film directed by Damien Chazelle, that recasts the MGM musical tradition in a gritty, vérité style...
) has just boarded the project to provide a screenplay.
External links
- The Last Exorcism on StudioCanalStudioCanalStudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...