The Last Exorcism

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2:09

The Last Exorcism

PG-13

2010

1h 27m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

159 Reviews

35%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

After years of gulling the faithful, cleric Cotton Marcus feels remorse and decides to expose his chicanery through filming a documentary. With a crew in tow, Marcus arrives at the Louisiana farm of devout Louis Sweetzer, who believes that his daughter, Nell, is possessed. When the usual stunts fail, he realizes that he is face-to-face with real evil and must summon true faith to protect Nell, the others and himself from demonic power.

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Critics Consensus

It doesn't fully deliver on the chilly promise of its Blair Witch-style premise, but The Last Exorcism offers a surprising number of clever thrills.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Sep 9, 2017

B-

It all makes for interesting, and even terrifying, viewing at times. But it's not very smart and far too predictable.

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Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

Nov 24, 2010

2/5

Unfortunately, at about the half-way point, the brittle mood so carefully created by the single-camera coverage is broken by multi-camera editing and the overlaying of creepy music, just like in standard horror fare.

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Glenn Kenny

MSN Movies

Sep 3, 2010

1/5

The only thing finally astonishing about The Last Exorcism is its goofiness.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 12, 2025

4/5

Strong performances, an authentic tone, and narrative surprises makes for a memorable experience in both the possession and found-footage subgenres.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Aug 9, 2023

2/4

When film history was made with the release of The Exorcist in 1973, scores of moviegoers, even non-believers, had the bejesus scared out of them, making any filmic exorcism infantile in comparison. The Last Exorcism is no exception.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Jul 13, 2022

Meanwhile it binds and unbinds its damned skein, there is no one who can take away the 82 minutes of morbid entertainment. [Full review in Spanish]

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 3, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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thiago S

@Thiagostone Jun 9, 2026

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Sergio M.

@SergeSplurge Mar 30, 2026

I was left feeling like a teenager on prom night with nothing to show for it. Waste of potential. Shame, shame, shame.

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Darren D

@DarrenJD Jan 4, 2026

A rare occasion where I can praise an exorcism movie & not get bored with the tiresome tropes that haunt this horror subgenre, as "The Last Exorcism" takes the tropes without overplaying them & dedicates them to the story. The mockumentary format works as the narration is centred on Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) & from the interviews we learn about his family, his loss of faith & why he hides behind smoke & mirrors to perform as a showman to his flock. This is the lead up to Cotton's introduction to Nell (Ashley Bell) & her family, the faith & fears in rural communities. Nell is the youthful innocence to the story & going through repressed trauma while her family is pushing the possession aspect onto her. Patrick Fabian is perfect, he brought a charismatic energy & care to the role. Ashley Bell, she captured the innocence, fear in her performance. As much as I dislike the possessed becoming a contortionist, I give the small dosage of it a pass as Bell performs it herself.

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Paul B

@RT35447917 Sep 30, 2025

This one did the "videography" style of filming justice. It is a great story with good elements of horror tapped in at the right parts. Some things were a bit confusing at the end, but left for open speculation. Compared to the second one - this one is great.

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Mark D.

@markdsea Aug 27, 2025

Great acting, fun story

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Daniel Stamm

Director

Patrick Fabian

Rev. Cotton Markus

Ashley Bell

Nell Sweetzer

Iris Bahr

Iris Reisen

Louis Herthum

Louis Sweetzer

Caleb Landry Jones

Caleb Sweetzer

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Synopsis

After years of gulling the faithful, cleric Cotton Marcus feels remorse and decides to expose his chicanery through filming a documentary. With a crew in tow, Marcus arrives at the Louisiana farm of devout Louis Sweetzer, who believes that his daughter, Nell, is possessed. When the usual stunts fail, he realizes that he is face-to-face with real evil and must summon true faith to protect Nell, the others and himself from demonic power.

Director: Daniel Stamm
Producer: Eli Roth, Eric Newman, Marc Abraham, Thomas A. Bliss
Screenwriter: Huck Botko, Andrew Gurland
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Arcade
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual References|Disturbing Violent Content|Terror|Thematic Material)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 27, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 4, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $41.0M
Runtime: 1h 27m
Sound Mix: Dolby, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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