Trailer Review: The Last Exorcism Part II

The Last Exorcism was an interesting horror movie that polarized opinion. It was shot in the now familiar found-footage style and features an Evangelical minister who allows a camera crew to film a documentary about his life. During the filming he receives a call from a concerned father. The father believes his daughter has been acting strangely and is actually possessed by demons. The minister, a man called Cotton Marcus questions his own faith in God and does not believe the possession is genuine. He agrees to see the father and allows the camera crew to travel with him to meet the family. When Cotton arrives at the family home a series of shocking and dramatic events ensue.

Some movie goers enjoyed the Last Exorcism and some did not but it was well made and suspenseful. Now a sequel is being released and it follows the daughter (Nell Sweetzer, played by Ashley Bell) as she tries to put her life back together after traumatic events in the first film.

Nell has moved into some kind of refuge as she tries to get on with her life and recover. Sadly a life of peace and tranquility is not in the cards as Nell is stalked and tormented by a demon known as Abalam. To make matters worse Abalam has a network of human helpers so Nell finds it hard to escape the demonic influence. She eventually finds some people willing to help and they believe a part of the demon is inside her and must be exorcised out of her body.

This movie seems to be taking the same route as the Blair Witch Project series. The found-footage style of the first movie has been dropped for the sequel in favor of more traditional film making techniques and camera work. That is understandable considering the first film had a camera crew following the unfolding events and this movie does not. The sequel also has a different director as Canadian Ed Gass-Donnelly takes over as director. The movie shows promise though as the sound design is creepy and Ashley Bell is a talented actress. It will be interesting to see how things turn out and if she will endure or fail. It also looks like the Last Exorcism Part II has more CGI effects than the first movie which is fine if the effects are well implemented. Good use of CGI effects can accentuate the obligatory shocks and bumps in the night that are so common in horror movies.

The Last Exorcism Part II is released on March 15th so look out for it.

Also have a look at the trailer and tell us what you think.