The Last Exorcism 2 Review by Simon Hooper
Pub quiz fanatics may want to have a go at the following insultingly easy pop quiz.
What prefix do the following all have in common?
Stand, Samurai, Airbender, Emperor, Boy Scout, Action Hero?
The answer is of course; Last.
Now add the ‘The Last Exorcism Part 2’ to the list and which is the odd one out?
The answer is of course; The Last Exorcism Part 2.
Why? Because the rest had the decency to be true to their title and not have sequels made, whereas The Last Exorcism turned out not to be the last one at all and should have been called The Last Exorcism unless it makes some money in which case we’ll make another one and sure enough they have, with the imaginatively titled The Last Exorcism Part 2.
Having drop kicked the wobbly documentary feel of the first, this one has gone for a more conventional style, picking up where the last one left off, opening with an effectively creepy sequence in a flat – though not before we’ve had the obligatory quick cut update as to what happened at the end of the first (last) exorcism. Here Nell Sweetzer, played by bendy Wendy, acrobatic actress Ashley Bell, returns as the lone survivor from her family to live in some sort of rehab centre for the previously satanically possessed. Here she starts to suffer nightmares, is visited by her dead father and is generally beset by all manner of strange occurrences ending with, and stop me if you’ve already guessed this, Yet Another Exorcism, which probably would be a more honest and accurate title.
Running at a lean 88 minutes, this still manages to grind to a halt when the shocks become expected. There are lots of shocks thrown in for no other reason than to make you jump (barking dog jumps at her as she walks down street) and how many times have we seen birds crashing into the walls and windows of a building? Dark Skies was doing this only a few weeks ago! Boredom sets in before an hour has passed. Perhaps best is the short scene with a human statue in a park which we’ve not seen utilised properly in a film yet. Quite why anyone wants to dress like a character from Captain Pugwash and paint themselves silver, stand stock still in Piccadilly Circus whilst being gawped at by tourists filming you before leaving 10p in your tin is anybody’s guess. But watch how quickly those statues move when you do a runner with their accrued earnings! They put Usain Bolt to shame.
But I digress. This is all very pedestrian and despite a spine tingling opening sequence there is little to recommend it. In typical Hollywood style it leaves the door open for Oh No! Not another Last Exorcism Part 3.
The Last Exorcism Part 2 is out 7th June 2013.
