THE LAST EXORCISM

Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) was raised by his preacher father for the pulpit.  As a child he learned the value of theatrics and showmanship in spreading the gospel.  These lessons were carried over when he began to perform exorcisms:  simple tricks could convince tortured souls that they were possessed by demons and that Marcus could, and would, drive those demons out. 

     Now married with a young son, Cotton's conscience is getting the better of him.  He's leaving the ministry and will be exposing the exorcism racket for the sham it is.   Iris (Iris Reisen) is a documentary film making who is going to chronicle this one last exocism.  Picking an appeal for help at random, Cotton selects young Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) as his last subject.

     Nell's father has become more fundamentalist since his wife's death several years ago.  His only other child, a son, has rejected religion and all it stands for.  After Cotton performed his tricks and "exorcises" the young girl, he is surprised when Nell appears at his hotel room in a fugue state.  It turns out that Nell, who has been virtually isolated since her mother's death, is pregnant.  The boy she points to as the father knows nothing about this and is, in fact, gay.

     Oh, by the way, the demon is back..

     The movie is filmed documentary-style, a la The Blair Witch Project, with all action being recorded by Iris's photographer.  A check on IMDB shows a very mixed reaction to the film, but I really enjoyed it.  I thought it gave an interesting twist to an old chestnut.

      (BTW, I watched this the same afternoon I watched Inception.  I much preferred The Last Exorcism, which may tell you something about my critical thinking.)