Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
“The instant you signed the contract,
you failed the psychological exam.”
(CBS Films)
When last moviegoers saw Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell), her demonic spawn had been cast into a bonfire and her Louisiana neighbors had slaughtered the film crew tasked with recording her exorcism. Though a highlight reel of that experience is laid out at the onset of The Last Exorcism Part II, Ed Gass-Donnelly’s sequel abandons its predecessor’s faux-documentary angle for a traditional moviemaking approach. Tracking Nell’s slow reentry into society, what the film gains in video quality and in ditching the stigma of found-footage is offset by an overall generic feel. The result is another disposable, indistinguishable horror film, full of cheap scares and instantly forgettable.
Show off…
(CBS Films)
The original Last Exorcism is no great work of cinema, but its mission of exposing the religious ritual as a hoax provides a compelling set-up. The various sleight of hand deployed by Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) and his explanations of their true nature juxtapose nicely with the tenets of the found-footage genre, offering more than the average low-budget scary movie. No such perks, however, are found in this sleepy second chapter. Minus Cotton’s magnetic personality and the filmmaking intrigue, Part II tragically leans on Nell, a character barely tolerable as a supporting player, and her awkwardness in acclimating to society. Uncomfortably in the forefront, Bell’s one-note style grows old fast and receives next to no help from her surroundings.
After a flat present-day scene in which Nell mysteriously appears at a New Orleans couple’s home, the film becomes steadily less interesting as she starts anew at a house for abused young women. With her country bumpkin cluelessness at the forefront, the film makes bland culture clash jabs, including a run-in with a living statue and her general confusion with technology. Despite these odds, Nell begins to come into her own through work as a hotel maid and an innocent courtship with co-worker Chris (Spencer Treat Clark). The evil spirits from her past, however, refuse to let her be, yet in staging their various appearances, Gass-Donnelly exhibits an awkwardness to match his protagonist.
Jim Carrey, is that you?
(CBS Films)
Masked entities follow Nell around and hallucinatory voices and images make her question her safety, but are staged so haphazardly that they destroy any hope of overarching terror. Reliant on jump cuts and loud soundtrack cues, the lazy spooks lead to an inevitable religious procedure that adds little to the long line of exorcism movies. The sequence is all noise and no tension, and gives rise to an exceptionally horrible conclusion.
To hope for more from a sequel with “Last” in its title is fruitless, yet even with such a discount in place, the incompetency on display here is sickening. For its unified lack of effort, Gass-Donnelly’s film takes its rightful place beside other dumb horror follow-ups where it will continue to not frighten audiences for years to come.
Grade: D-
Rated PG-13 for horror violence, terror and brief language.
The Last Exorcism Part II is currently playing at the Carolina Cinemas on Hendersonville Rd.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BySJLmciR5E]
