The first half hour or so is surprisingly funny, effectively parodying the genre (specifically exorcism-based horror films) and presenting a religious slant to the proceedings that makes things interesting initially but ultimately seems cheap and even stupid. It's a shame the film meanders to such a laughable conclusion, because it starts with such promise. I actually got a headache from some of the later, jumpier scenes. I normally enjoy this mode of filmmaking, and it was proved to be effective for horror films in last year's phenomenal breakout Paranormal Activity, but Daniel (the cameraman) has a bit too shaky of a hand for the style to work well here. The lack of clarity is only made more frustrating by the overly shaky handy-cam cinematography. The film poses many questions but doesn't feel the need to answer most of them, meaning at the end of the film, the audience isn't so much pondering the themes of religious doubt and the adverse effects of shame so much as wondering what the hell just happened. The Last Exorcism, unfortunately, makes use of the latter. But there's a fine line between ambiguity and lazy storytelling. Ambiguity is a powerful tool for a writer, filmmaker, or any creative person.
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