The Last Exorcism: Part 2

HORROR, SUSPENSE/THRILLER

God Asks, The Devil Commands

8.0 out of 10 | DVD or Rental

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Rated: PG-13 Horror violence, terror, and brief language.
Release Date: March 1, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 29 minutes

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Director: Ed Gass-Donnelly
Writers: Damien Chazelle, Ed Gass-Donnelly, based on characters by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland
Cast: Ashley Bell, Julia Garner, Spencer Treat Clark, David Jensen, Tarra Riggs, Louis Herthum, Muse Watson, Erica Michelle, Sharice A Williams

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SYNOPSIS: As Nell Sweetzer tries to build a new life after the events of an exorcism performed on her at her family's farm, the evil force that once possessed her returns with an even more horrific plan.

REVIEW: Small Town Murder Songs writer/director Ed Gass-Donnelly steps into the demonic space to see if he possesses the skills to carry on with the story of a farm girl named Nell who was the subject of an exorcism as a young girl, now trying to get her life back together in the wake of her adolescent trauma. Gass-Donnelly co-writes with Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench) based on the characters created by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland.

Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell, The Day) is the only survivor of a brutal cult-like ritualistic massacre in the Louisiana woods, leaving her without a father and brother and leaving behind many unanswered questions of her experience. Immediately after the event, Nell is found and taken to a hospital for treatment. Afterward she is sent to a halfway house for teenage girls looking to leave their past behind them and set out on a fresh path. The center is run by Frank Merle (Muse Watson, Meeting Evil) who looks to assist the girls in their recovery. At first, Nell seems to be getting better. She makes friends with the other girls in the house, especially her roommate Gwen (Julia Garner, The Perks of Being a Wallflower). Nell takes a job as part of the housekeeping staff in a local hotel. Her nightmares stop and after a few months, Nell seems to be ready to get her life together. When Nell starts to catch the attention of another worker at the hotel, Chris (Spencer Treat Clark, The Last House on the Left), she starts to open herself up to new experiences and sensations. Unfortunately, that is when she starts seeing strange persons loitering around and staring at her, she starts to hear voices, and she starts to see visions of her dead father Louis (Louis Herthum, The Last Exorcism) with warnings of her demise and her salvation. When Nell sees more and more signs of the demon Abalom returning to haunt her, Calder (David Jensen, Looper), Cecile (Tarra Riggs, The Help), and Jeffrey (E. Roger Mitchell, Flight), who have watched her since her stint in the hospital, try to perform one last exorcism to rid Nell of her demonic plague.

Picking up right where the first film left off, writer/director Ed Gass-Donnelly and writer Damien Chazelle take The Last Exorcism to the next level. The original film was shot in a mockumentary style in the tradition of The Devil Inside and any number of ghost hunter reality shows. In the original film, Patrick Fabian's preacher Cotton Marcus, Ashley Bell's Nell Sweetzer, and Louis Herthum's father Louis Sweetzer made for a surprisingly creepy and intriguing story. The curse of the "documentary' way of camera work is like that of a first person narrative novel. If something happens to the camera, the film is essentially over. Director Daniel Stamm did a phenomenal job of creating creepy tones and a satisfying horror film. Gass-Donnelly ditches the first person hand held camera work in favor of more traditional cinematography. I miss Stamm's work, but Gass-Donnelly make use of the stellar performance of Ashley Bell.

Ashley Bell's Nell is a bundle of twitchy nervousness. Every experience is brand new and daunting, every move a tentative fearful step. Even as a naive young woman home-schooled and given religious instruction by her father, the Nell that emerges bloody and amnesiac from the woods is as fragile as an eggshell. While not shot in the 'documentary' style, the camera is focused on Nell throughout the film. With Nell as the center of the story, Ashley Bell's performance is near mesmerizing. Julia Garner is also notable as Nell's house-sister Gwen, a rebellious city girl with alabaster skin and a perpetual devious smirk on her thin blood red lips. Watson's Frank Merle is the halfway house's supervisor and father figure to the girls, hopeful for their recovery and always willing to offer sage advice. The trio of exorcists, David Jensen's Calder, Tarra Riggs' Cecile, and E. Roger Mitchell's Jeffrey, prove that not rituals can be performed easily and satisfactory.

Being shot in the traditional horror cinematic way, we are treated to the typical long shots with characters creeping around hallways and around corners in search of something to jump out and scare them (and us, the audience). The use of music is more at work in this sequel, making the scares more reliant on booming horns or drawn out and shrieking strings to set the mood. There are a couple moments of surprising frights, but The Last Exorcism: Part 2 is more successful with suspense and the dread of what may become of Nell against the unseen, but felt, forces of Abalom.

A fan of the first film, I looked forward to seeing what becomes of Nell. In that sense, the film is a success. To see the aftermath of a character set against such insurmountable odds and facing a crisis of faith against unnatural demonic forces is appealing. Ashley Bell does not disappoint! The story is not as creepy as the first film. It also does not have the strength of Fabian's Cotton Marcus interplay and dynamic with Nell and the Sweetzer family. In this sequel, Nell is all alone against her enemy, with the other characters standing as backdrop while she struggles with her identity, her faith, and her place in the world.

The Last Exorcism: Part 2 is a decent continuation of the original tale of men and woman against the atrocities of hell. If you are a fan of the genre, have faith that Nell will not disappoint. The story may not be all it could be, but Ashley Bell makes the sequel worth watching.

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The Last Exorcism

Struggles Of Faith And Evil

[Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones]

image from boston.com

RANT: My Friday days off from work dwindle as the Summer comes to a close, but the movies keep on coming. As the Autumn approaches, my second favorite season of moviegoing comes. Where the end of Spring and beginning of Summer brings the super hero blockbusters, the Fall brings the creepiness and scares. But some of the best anticipated horror (and comics to screen) is not at the theater, but on basic cable's AMC."Mad Men" move over, there is a new sheriff in town (literally!). For proof, go see "The Walking Dead" trailer at www.amctv.com.

SYNOPSIS: A preacher since a child, Cotton Marcus also comes from a family of exorcists. When tragedy nearing strikes his family, he realizes that his religious faith in God and in exorcism as a righteous ceremony is in question. To show exorcism for the sham it is, he brings a documentary team together to capture one on film. As they follow an urgent letter from a concerned father of his daughter's possible possession and the killing of his livestock, every one's individual faith is tested.

Whenever there is Exorcist or Exorcism in a movie title, you know that I will be at the box office to get my ticket for admission. I have never shook the goose bumps that came along with arguably the most scary movie of all time, "The Exorcist". It was a movie that gnawed at the corners of our actual religious beliefs. And, of course, "The Exorcist: The version You've Never Seen" did little to quench the fears that I never seen, but already felt. While there have been other possession films, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and "Paranormal Activity", "The Last Exorcism" brings more.

What else does it bring, you ask? I thought it is a straight exorcism tale, you say. It's right there in the title, you point out! Oh, constant reader, this film is perfect tale of possession, evil, struggles of religious faith, southern superstition, and more. I can't really talk about the "more" without giving too much away. Fans of the sub genre of religious horror flicks will equate "The Last Exorcism" to elements of "The Omen", "Rosemary's Baby" and, if I can be so bold, "The Devil's Rain".

Patrick Fabian stars as Cotton Marcus, a family man who grew up preaching in his preacher father's church. He becomes somewhat of a showman and entertainer, as well as a man of faith. But because he has been preaching since he was a kid, he never had time to doubt his chosen path in life. But when his wife's pregnancy runs into complications, Cotton finds himself looking to science instead of his faith for the answers. It is then that he realizes that he is not sure of what his faith is, but in spite of his realizations, he continues preaching because "the show must go on". Marcus also realizes when he reads a newspaper article that another preacher accidentally killed a 10 year boy during an exorcism, that the charade of the exorcism ceremony must be exposed. It is then that Marcus decides to film a documentary to show the craft as a sham.

The family chosen to be involved in the documentary was based on the first letter that Marcus receives once the documentary starts shooting. The Sweetzer family father, Louis, writes that his daughter Nell may is responsible for the slaughter of some of his livestock. Cotton responds and drives out to the farm to prove that the superstitious family simply needs to believe that a make believe demon has been purged, since the issue is more psychological than physical.

I can't give more away for the plot, but the acting is excellent. Patrick Fabian, more of a small screen player, does his character justice. Louis Herthum as the Sweetzer patriarch channels the uneducated facet of religious fanaticism. Ashley Bell as Nell Sweetzer is both charmingly innocent and chillingly menacing and scary. But not to be outdone is Caleb Landry Jones as the Sweetzer brother who shows scorn for the outsiders, love for his sister, and contempt for his father. Iris Bahr Adam Grimes round out the primary cast as the documenting director and the mostly unseen cameraman.

So if you like elements of "The Blair Witch Project", "Paranormal Activity" and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", you should see this film. But as I have written earlier, this is not just a demon possession film. It looks at our own religious belief systems. Can you believe in Heaven and the angels without acknowledging Hell, the Devil and demons? Does a shaken faith in God preclude the desire to do good work? Can absolute faith be blinding and damaging? Can good exist without tangible evil? Can you afford to miss this movie? All of these questions can only be answered by the individual.

Worth: Matinee and DVD

As an interesting note, I noticed that most of the cast names reflect the actor's names. Something to wonder about when viewing the director's commentary on the DVD.

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!