Con-man minister seeks redemption in 'Last Exorcism'

Frankly, I am getting really weary of horror movies mounted as first-person pseudo-documentaries shot with nausea-inducing hand-held cameras.

Still, if there absolutely must be another one to join the ranks of "Cloverfield," "The Blair Witch Project," "Paranormal Activity," the two "REC" movies and the granddaddy of them all "Cannibal Holocaust," it might as well be Daniel Stamm's earnest, surprising and well-acted entry "The Last Exorcism."

It begins as a documentary about a con artist minister who seeks redemption by coming clean about his sham practice of pretending to exorcise demons -- for a fee.

Then, the movie abruptly changes direction. And in the final reel, it changes direction again, and reveals what it's really been about all along.

I did find the ending to be a slight disappointment, not just because it felt too abrupt and dramatically blunt. But because it duplicates the closing shot of another highly popular horror pseudo doc. (It's OK to read further, there are no spoilers here.)

The Rev. Cotton Marcus (a spot-on performance by mostly TV actor Patrick Fabian) is apparently in bad need of redemption for his career of trickery that he gladly tells every secret to filmmaker Iris (Iris Bahr) and her ubiquitous cameraman.

He expresses disdain not only for himself, but for the ignorant churchgoers who fall for his dramatic incantations and carnival-show shenanigans, such as the spooky noises generated by his hidden sound system.

Then he gets a letter from a Bible-belt farmer, Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), desperately imploring Marcus to exorcise his teen daughter Nell (Ashley Bell).

"The devil is inside my daughter!" Sweetzer proclaims.

So Marcus and the documentary team head to New Orleans where the minister intends to show just how he cons the flock into believing he's accomplished God's work. Once he arrives and meets the Sweetzers at their isolated old farm, well, do we really need to say anything more about the plot?

Bell is the real find in "The Last Exorcism." Her doe-eyed innocence slowly and seamlessly gives way to a sallow-eyed, crazed, possessed state (without makeup or special effects!) which sets the stage for a frightening trip into Marcus' personal nightmare.

Caleb Landry Jones' quietly angry portrait of Nell's creepy little brother, Caleb, adds another unsettling element to the story.

Stamm, who also directed "A Necessary Death" (a pseudo doc following a person intent on committing suicide), wisely keeps the camera work from inducing motion sickness, although his use of Mychael Dana's ominous music detracts from the documentary feel the movie constantly strives to maintain.

Note: If you've seen the publicity photo or poster art of Bell magically levitating on the ceiling in the corner of a bedroom, it's a cheat. She never does this in the movie. The publicity department at Lionsgate should be pilloried.

'The Last Exorcism'Rating: #9733; #9733; #9733;Starring: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Caleb Landry Jones, Louis Herthum, Tony Bentley Directed by: Daniel StammOther: A Lionsgate Films release. Rated PG-13 for violence and sexual references. 88 minutes