Rite Succumbs to Failures of Genre

When you’re going to see a horror film, what comes to mind? Is it the suspense, the blood and gore or the fast–paced thrills? Surely, it isn't a PG–13 rating. The Last Exorcism defies the rules of the quintessential horror film with its PG–13 rating and crafty camera work. However, like many recently–made horror movies, The Last Exorcism embraces an idea of a documentary with "found footage," where the people involved in the horror are the documentarians. Although the film is not very different from usual thrillers, it does not present itself as a true story, and the filming style is done so that it leaves much up to the viewer’s imagination. Daniel Stamm deftly directs this movie with a satisfyingly slow–building tension; the characters prove to have all the right aspects for an intriguing story until the horror comes and the film loses all its restraint and respectability, embarking onto the path of the stereotypical horror film.

The story begins with the Evangelical preacher and admitted con–artist, Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian). Marcus' strong desire to atone for decades of swindling causes him to set out to produce a documentary to expose exorcism for the fraud it truly is. A crew of two documentarians film Marcus as he reveals each and every trade secret. Marcus and his crew journey down Louisiana way to the Sweetzer residence. There, Marcus carefully reveals how his audience will simply believe every trick up his sleeve. He pulls out all the stops, first inquiring about the symptoms of the possessed young girl, Nell (Ashley Bell), then embarking onto his entirely fabricated ceremony. The scene is complete with a hidden iPod full of demon sound effects and a rigged crucifix, which exerts steam when pressed. Mr. Sweetzer (Louis Herthum) and his daughter believe every moment of it. The film then cuts to Marcus counting his bills.

Cinematographer Zoltan Honti has volumes of talent, which he uses to instill terror in the audience with the most gruesome scenes of the movie happening just off–screen. Many people may scoff at the thought of a PG–13 horror film; but leaving the scariest scenes just inches off the screen does loads for the imagination. Fear often comes from the unknown. This, after all, is why people are scared of the dark — they imagine the worst, as they can’t see what is lurking in the shadows. In The Last Exorcism, your imagination is free to run wild with what isn’t being shown. Of course, that isn’t to say that the film is free of blood and gore. This new horror film style of “found footage” is accepted and almost appreciated, and many critics and reviews promised a new acceptance for the technique after watching this movie. However, the footage is overused and over–played. This was a horror film that had more to offer than just a few thrills or grotesque violence, but the filming did not make up for the directing.

The first half of the film works due to Fabian’s great acting. Marcus is charismatic, interesting, and definitely does not go overlooked: he is humorous in his ingenuous showmanship. The scenes in the first forty minutes are subtly suspenseful because, sooner or later, you know the rug will be pulled from under his feet. The pieces for terrific, horrific suspense are all there, but despite solid performances during the second half, the film flies to pieces rather than coming together. The beginnings of a movie quickly spiral into a sloppy and spoiled mess. Suddenly, the center of the film changes and the members of the film crew become the central characters. The climax is both abrupt and irrelevant, leaving the desired intriguing ending unsatisfying. Had the focus stayed on Marcus throughout the movie, it may have worked. Toward the end, the movie was no longer about Marcus anymore or anyone for that matter; it simply went through horror movie motions.
Had the film maintained its simple plot, it would at least have led to a coherent film. Instead, the film balloons into a fast–paced, dull and not frightening chase film.

Toward the end of the film, the cast is simply running into and out of houses, sheds and vans like characters from a Scooby Doo cartoon. It seems that director Daniel Stamm and his crew realized they were treading awfully close to making a film with real depth and edge, one which horror audiences might hate, and they just didn’t know when to stop.