10 Horror Movies Ruined By ONE Thing
6. The Extra Final Twist - The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism is a criminally underrated found footage romp. Or it would be, if not for that final ten minutes.
The film follows a minister, Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), who is losing his faith and allows a documentary crew to chronicle his final exorcism of a young girl, Nell Sweetzer (a brilliant Ashley Bell).
We're led to believe that Nell is possessed by the Devil, but near The Last Exorcism's end, it's more or less confirmed that Nell is merely a disturbed, traumatised girl who was impregnated by a local boy rather than Satan. Except, because that smart, restrained ending apparently isn't enough for the popcorn munching crowd, an additional twist was thrown out there at the last minute.
The boy believed to have impregnated Nell is revealed to be gay, and so when Marcus returns to Nell's home, an occult ritual is taking place where Nell indeed gives birth to a demonic creature. In the final scene, Marcus runs towards the mayhem while the camera crew is killed off by Nell's family, ensuring this otherwise intelligent and subversive possession flick ends on a far more conventional, schlocky note.
Rather than resolve a "supernatural" tale with a grounded ending about a young woman dealing with her own repressed sexuality, it defaults to tired exorcism movie tropes. Disappointing isn't even the word.