"The Last Exorcist" is the story of two sisters, Maddie and Josephine. They are orphans and have been brought up by a priest (Father Peter). When Father Peter dies, Jo is inconsolable whereas Maddie continues to drink and party. In flashbacks, we discover that their mother appears to have been possessed before she died. And now, Jo suspects that Maddie is now also possessed and enlists the assistance of one of Father Peter's friends, the former "Father" Marco, to help exorcise her...
This is a really odd film. The narrative flow is all over the place -- flashbacks and current time intermingle. But most unusual is the tone. It is as serious as a heart attack, and yet there will be episodes of such utter absurdity that it's almost jolting and you think "Wait, is this all really a joke?" We've got exorcisms where the exorcist just stands in front of the possessed and says, "I love you, please, please stop being possessed." We've got a priest stop in the middle of an exorcism and have a kung fu fight with... well, with someone, I'm not sure who or why. We've got parishioners jump to their feet and give a priest a standing ovation after a sermon. And more and more. And all of that along with parts of the film that are treated deadly seriously.
Not sure if the director had one vision in mind, and then was told she needed to shift. There are worse films out there, and it's always nice to see Rachele Brooke Smith and Danny Trejo in action. And I'm a sucker for possession films. But this is pretty low on the "exorcism/possession" scale, so be forewarned.
