Creeptober Day 7: The Last Exorcism

The Last Exorcism is a favorite of ours at Creepy Catalog, and it is our pick for day seven of Creeptober!

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Check the Creeptober announcement article to find out where to stream The Last Exorcism.

After yesterday’s Creeptober selection, how do you follow one of the greatest horror movies ever made? Why not with one of the most underrated horror movies of the 2010s? The Last Exorcism has mixed reviews from viewers, but it’s a favorite of ours at Creepy Catalog. We hope you enjoy it too as we continue with day seven of our Creeptober month-long horror movie marathon!

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Read on for our thoughts on The Last Exorcism as well as a recap of the movie, and join the conversation on our Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.

Reacting to The Last Exorcism

Nell bends backwards in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Bending backwards like this is something that actor Ashley Bell told director Daniel Stamm she could do the night before this scene was filmed.

The Last Exorcism is one of my favorite found footage movies. It’s one that I always recommend to people, and it’s one that I’ve seen a decent number of times. I don’t care that the Rotten Tomatoes audience score is only 35%. Rotten Tomatoes gets stuff wrong all the time (both the audience and the critic score, depending on the movie). The Last Exorcism is smartly written, well paced, and nicely spooky.

Reverend Cotton Marcus makes a funny face while giving a sermon in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Cotton Marcus celebrates towards the camera after preaching about banana bread.

Why do I enjoy it so much? First of all, the cast is phenomenal. Patrick Fabian is perfect in the role of a minister who has a gift for the theatrical side of preaching. The role could come across as completely condescending, but instead Fabian plays Marcus in a way that is endearing. He’s fantastic. The banana bread sermon, and the look on Marcus’s face when he does it, is one of my favorite parts of the entire movie. So good.

Nell looks up towards Cotton Marcus in The Last Exorcism (2010).
This is the moment when you see true fear and worry in the eyes of Nell.

Also, Ashley Bell is superb as Nell Sweetzer. At first, Nell comes across as maybe a little fake, but this feels like a conscious choice from Ashley Bell. Nell is an isolated teenager, raised on a remote farm in an overly traditional family, and she’s nervous in front of the documentary cameras. Nell’s stiffness in the early parts of the movie make sense, and the moments of worry in her eyes when she forgets about the cameras from time to time are very telling. Then, when the possession increases, Ashley Bell completely transforms into something sinister. She’s mesmerizing to watch.

Caleb warns Cotton Marcus to turn around and go home in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Caleb Landy Jones makes an enormous impact in the movie, even with a relatively small amount of time on screen.

Louis Herthum and Caleb Landry Jones also stand out as utterly believable as a father and son duo. You can feel the pain and frustration of Nell’s father Louis, so even when you’re pulling against him for being obstinate and aggressive, your emotions towards him get all mixed up with what is happening. Caleb is a character whose persona is a little difficult to pin down, but that’s intentional and played expertly by Caleb Landry Jones.

Nell crawls across the floor in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Ashley Bell’s physicality helps sell the idea of the entire movie.

In addition to the cast, The Last Exorcism is a joy to watch because of the gradual shift in tone. It begins as a pseudo-documentary that introduces us to Cotton Marcus. It intentionally looks like a low-budget, hastily-put-together production. Also, it is noticeably still. Cameras are on tripods throughout most of this part of the movie, and that is just the beginning of the shift to the shaky-cam footage you expect see in these types of horror movies.

Nell looks towards the camera in The Last Exorcism (2010).
There are some extremely creepy shots in The Last Exorcism, but none of them feel overly staged (which is something many found footage movies struggle with).

As we get to the farm, the camera moves more, and it feels less and less like a documentary. Bright sunshine is gradually replaced with shadows and darkness, but it really isn’t until the final few scenes that we experience the full found footage horror experience. These are the chase sequences where you can barely tell what’s happening, and the scenes lit by a single, harsh light attached to the top of the camera. It’s a very gradual shift that works in a way that many other found footage films don’t have the patience for. The patience pays off greatly in The Last Exorcism.

Cotton Marcus watches as Louis tries to read Latin in The Last Exorcism (2010).
One of the most fascinating parts of the story is that when it’s all over, you realize that Cotton and Louis were both doing everything they could to help Nell, but their opposing beliefs put them at odds with each other in a way that was harmful for everyone involved.

The story is also well constructed. By focusing on the characters so much, particularly on Cotton Marcus, the movie makes sense even when characters are making decisions we might not agree with. Why doesn’t Marcus just leave? His reasons are answered very clearly. He cares about helping Nell, and by the time things are at their worst, the danger to Nell is at its greatest, and he feels like he can’t leave. Also, the rekindling of his faith drives him to stay at the farm for the later parts of the movie.

Cotton sees Satanic symbols in The Last Exorcism (2010).
If the movie had ended slightly differently, I think The Last Exorcism would be more widely praised.

I know some people don’t like the final sequence in The Last Exorcism, but I think it works fine. Of course, there are other directions they could have gone. I would have liked it if they’d kept the ending more ambiguous so that if you wanted to believe everything was natural (as opposed to supernatural), then you could. But that’s not the direction the movie takes. It is definitely supernatural in the end, but that’s okay. It still fits into the context presented earlier in the movie. The rest of the movie is better than the ending, but the ending is fine.

The Last Exorcism – A Recap

Reverend Cotton Marcus touches a Bible to a man's head in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Rev. Cotton Marcus gets his congregation worked up.

The Last Exorcism employs found footage to tell the story of a preacher who has lost his faith. Reverend Cotton Marcus went through an ordeal a few years ago that shook his belief in the teachings of the Bible. Since then, he has steadily become more disillusioned with Christianity and certain harmful practices that the Church continues to perform. As he prepares to finally break away from the Church, Marcus enlists the aid of a two-person documentary crew to follow him and document his story.

Cotton Marcus does a card trick in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Cotton Marcus’s sermons often involve magic tricks, which is a good way of showing what he really thinks about the religion he grew up with.

In his final act before he leaves his position as a minister, Cotton Marcus hopes to expose exorcisms as archaic and dangerous. To do this, Marcus decides to perform a fake exorcism—using pre-recorded sound effects, sleight of hand, and other illusions—on a person who truly believes they are possessed. If everything goes according to plan, the person will feel better after the exorcism. Then, the “miracle” will be exposed as a natural, mental phenomenon rather than a spiritual one. Needless to say, everything does not go according to plan.

Cotton Marcus poses with a smoking cross in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Rev. Marcus shows off one of his tricks, a crucifix that releases smoke when you press a button.

Reverend Marcus picks a random case from a stack of letters asking for his help. The letter leads him to a farm in a small Louisiana town where a teenage girl by the name of Nell Sweetzer believes she is possessed. Nell’s father, Louis, is a fundamentalist Christian whose perception of science and medicine was soured after the death of his wife. Nell’s brother, Caleb, is protective of her, and he is aggressively antagonistic towards Marcus and the documentations.

Reverend Marcus places his hands on Nell's head as she screams in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Cotton Marcus terrifies Nell in an effort to get her to let go of what he believes is a psychological issue.

Playing the part of a big-city preacher, Reverend Marcus convinces Louis and Nell that her possession is real, and he proceeds with his theatrical exorcism. At this point, Caleb realizes that Marcus is only pretending, and the boy goes along with the act, happy that his sister isn’t actually in any real danger. With the exorcism performed, everyone is satisfied. Nell and Louis feel better, Caleb likes the outcome, the documentarians got their footage, and Marcus got paid.

Cotton Marcus and Nell Sweetzer in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Cotton Marcus begins the second exorcism.

Then, in the middle of the night just hours after the exorcism, Nell is found in the motel Reverend Marcus is staying at. How did she get there? Why is she acting so oddly? Marcus takes the girl to a hospital, but her father takes her home in the morning without consenting to any further examinations. Marcus fails to convince Louis that Nell needs psychological help. Instead, Louis insists that Marcus should perform another exorcism. After a tense night in which Caleb is attacked, Nell displays unnatural behavior, and Louis threatens Marcus with a gun, a second exorcism is performed.

Cotton Marcus walks towards a fire in The Last Exorcism (2010).
Rev. Marcus finds his faith in the worst possible moment.

This time, Marcus takes the exorcism seriously. His doubts about religion appear to be fading after the night he just experienced, but the exorcism takes a turn that once again convinces him that his initial thoughts were correct. Nell has a secret, and when that is revealed, the possession appears to go away. Was it all mental the entire time? If so, then why did Nell lie during her confession? This drives Marcus back to the Sweetzer farm one last time for a climactic finale.

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Meet The Author

Chris has a degree in film studies at Temple University’s campus in Tokyo, Japan. He is a renowned expert on horror cinema.