The Last Exorcism – Quick Review
I went and saw The Last Exorcism and wanted to share my thoughts. I won’t give away the movie or offer any spoilers since that would ruin the experience.
Last Exorcism is shot in the same style as Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity. It’s a lost documentary and has that shaky, much of the movie shot in the dark, can’t see everything sort of style. For the most part I like this style. I think the darker scenes and not being able to see things outside of the camera’s vision is pretty fun.
We follow Cotton Marcus, a man who has been raised to be a Preacher since he was young. His father spoke of demons and performed hundreds of exorcisms. Cotton followed in his footsteps but admits that he’s been pulling the wool over the eyes of his congregation. He’s a showman and readily admits it. He says people all have the same problems so he dazzles them with the word of the Lord to cure what ails them.
To prove his point he asks a camera crew to come along and film him working his magic. He gets dozens of pleas for help from people who think they’re possessed. He says he’ll pick a letter at random and they’ll follow it wherever it takes them. Before opening the letter he gives the details on what it’ll contain because they’re always the same.
So off they go to the Sweetzer farm to perform an exorcism with the camera crew documenting the process.
And we’ll leave the plot there so as not to ruin anything.
The movie has a lot of twists and turns. There’s a lot of information coming at you about the series of events that has happened to this family. Nell, the young daughter, is obviously troubled. Caleb, the son, is angry and hostile. Louis, the father, is overly protective, suspicious, angry, is withholding a lot of information and may have a few dark secrets of his own. You immediately know something isn’t right.
The movie was a lot less scary than I had expected but it’s a moody movie with plenty of wrecked old houses, rusted cars, sagging barns and there is a sense of something lurking throughout. You’re drawn into this odd little world and these bizarre residents. And you know for damn sure everyone is lying. So it’s more of a drama, an unraveling of the clues to figure out what’s going on.
But right as you’re starting to get all the pieces, the movie is rocketing toward the final scene. And those final moments are hectic and somewhat confusing. I wasn’t sure what was going on and how we got to this point and then all of a sudden the movie was over.
In one way the ending makes sense and spins everything off in a whole new direction. In another way, it’s almost out of place from everything we learned up to that point. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. Honestly I think it’s one of those things you have to watch again now that you have all the information. I guess that’s the point though, to leave you confused and wondering.
Personally, I like the movie but if anything I wish it had been longer and had more detail. There is a lot more they could have added to support the ending they chose. I had a good time though and think this sits well with movies like Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch.
Who else went to see Last Exorcism? What did you think?
Other Articles of Interest:
- Paranormal Incident
- Paranormal Activity 2 – Do we really have to do this?
- Josh Gates offers up a couple of interesting points about Burn Brae Mansion
- The Last Exorcism
- Insidious – An interesting tale, but not quite what I expected
- Paranormal Activity – Movie Review
- The Conjuring – A Film About Ed and Lorraine Warren
- Death of a Ghost Hunter
- Best Halloween Movies?
- The Zozo Phenomenon by Darren Evans – Thoughts and Impressions
Destination Truth Spirits Of Angkor Wat/Canadian Lake Monster S04E02
Well that didn’t take long, we hit the second episode and Josh is already driving a car with the wheels ready to fall off. He even has bad luck with Jeeps. That’s saying something!
Angkor Wat
Josh and team head to Cambodia to investigate the spirits that seem to inhabit the ruins of Angkor Wat. People report screams, see lights and lots of other experiences in the temple. One person even claims to have been attacked by a spirit. After talking with several eyewitnesses Josh and team do the first overnight paranormal investigation.
To start the investigation off right, Josh heads out for a spa treatment and dips his feet into a pool of pedicure loving fish. They were slightly sidetracked while on their shopping spree looking for fruit offerings for the spirits.
They also need to get incense and candles from two different shrines. It’s basically a motorcycle trek around Cambodia as they find the appropriate offerings. But with the right pieces in hand they set out for the night.
As Josh leads his team out, they’re confronted with a choice – the door on the left, the one in the center, or the one on the right. Did we all guess this was a choose your own adventure beginning?
The investigation starts off with Dan and Bobby doing an EVP session in the ceremonial pool. As they’re talking you can clearly hear a wailing sound. Now my first thought is that it’s animal; some sort of large cat. There is a chance it could be the wind too. Certainly seems like it could go whipping around and generate that sorts of sound. Either way, they’re outside, so it could be any manner of noise that’s just being amplified by the acoustics.
One thing that’s interesting is what looks like a figure walking near the columns. It certainly looks like a figure, but again, how can you be sure it’s not a reflection. It’s hard to say what that really is, but there looks to be something walking around out there.
Josh also sees some lights flickering in the area. You can’t really tell what those are since they don’t actually show up on the camera. He could be seeing the eyes of an animal or the reflection of some bugs. Josh is certainly excited about it, whatever it is, so once again, it seems like something is hovering out there.
Josh and team did manage to capture two EVPs, but like so many others it seems there’s something there but who knows what it is. When asked if someone is there they get a "Keep Off" as the reply. And when asked if they should leave, they get a "Yes". Is someone speaking from the other side? Maybe, but they need to speak up a little.
A really interesting place, but it seems like animals are the explanation behind most events. There is some howling, but considering the outdoor environment, plenty of natural explanations exist.
Ogo Pogo
Everyone seems to have a lake monster and Canada is no exception. For them, they have the Ogo Pogo which seems to be a Loch Ness style creature that inhabits the lake. Josh and team head out in search of an explanation.
And even in Canada they run into car trouble. At first glance the car seems respectable and reliable. But that’s on flat ground. When it comes to the hills things get a little rougher. Their little mule just can’t take any more and after making an abundance of clunking sounds it finally overheats. Josh and team resort to showing a little leg while trying to hitch a ride. It was the I love Canada hat that proves they’re not a threat.
After being rescued by some passers-by, they meet up with local residents who tell of their own encounters with the creature. It seems to appear off Rattlesnake Island (such a cool name) so Josh and team go up in a plane to scope out the area. Canada has better planes than cars so there’s no incident, but they do manage to see some splashing around in the water. They team flies into action to try and locate the source by landing near the island. Wasting no time, Josh puts on the wetsuit and dives right in. As you might expect he finds a creepy cave and heads right in. As you also might expect he sees a large shadow while in the murky water and the team send in a robotic drone to try and find it.
Alas they don’t find the source of the shadow so who knows what it was. Considering the murky water it could have been any manner of debris.
The team makes camp and then heads out into the water with sonar to pick up the trail. They get a reading that something is underneath the boat, but once again nothing seems to come of it. The object doesn’t move and keeps pace with them. They toss out the evidence and move on.
While scanning the water they do see big ripples in the water and give chase. Unfortunately, once again it turns out to be nothing.
There is an incident with the ROV being pulled, but it may have gotten tangled in something or been nibbled on by a fish. It wasn’t a sea creature, I’m pretty sure of that.
In the end they capture very little evidence. They have some close calls, but don’t come away with anything that really supports the claim of a large sea beast lurking in Canada. There’s something in the water but they could be seeing schools of fish or some other perfectly reasonable, albeit large, fish.
For now, Ogo Pogo is still a mystery and remains as elusive as Josh getting a decent rental car.
Other Articles of Interest:
- Haunted Highway – Lake Murray Beast and The Donner Party – S02E04
- Destination Truth – Ghost Fleet/Japanese River Monster S04E04
- Destination Truth – Alien Invaders and Swedish Lake Monster – S05E04
- Destination Truth – Vietnam’s Bigfoot – S05E01
- Destination Truth – Naree Pon/Aiya Napa – S04E13
- Haunted Highway – Bear Lake Beast and Vergas Hairy Man – S01E01
- Destination Truth – Spirits of Tikal and Creature From the Black Lagoon – S05E05
- Destination Truth – Haunted Island Prison/Ucumar – S04E10
- Destination Truth – Ghosts of Menengai Crater / Kalanoro S04E06
- Destination Truth – Siberian Snowman – s04e05
Ghost Adventures – Gettysburg – S04E01
A slew of evidence in this episode, some of it came across as compelling, some came across as complete bunk.
Soldier’s Museum
Gettysburg, famous for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which are its battles. And not easily won, decisive battles, but extremely bloody and costly battles. Zak, Nick and Aaron head to the battlefields of Gettysburg to immerse themselves in the lives of the soldiers who fought and died there. But it’s not just the soldiers, but also the children who were sent there as orphans who were beaten and punished for the most minor of infractions.
Stories tell of Rosa who used to stick the children in the pit as well as chaining them to the wall. There are claims that she ordered the older kids to beat the younger children to keep them in line. There’s even speculation she may have even killed some of the kids in her care.
The team jumps right in and heads down to the pit to see if they can talk with the children. They start off with offering some candy and almost immediately get an EVP of "You’re wonderful. Thank you" which sounds surprisingly clear. But seconds later it seems like rocks are being thrown around the place and a warning to "Watch your backs". There are some bangs and thuds (you don’t actually see anything) but again another respectable EVP.
Another EVP they get are the words "Betcha won’t untie me" which I think is a bit of stretch. I can see where that phrase fits, but I don’t quite hear those same words. Anyway, it’s an odd thing to say. Is someone asking for help or throwing out a taunt?
The other EVP that’s odd is the one recorded by Aaron as he’s talking about the display cases and the money in the museum. They hear "Pass all the Morgan’s" referring to the money. That EVP is nowhere near as clear as the others so I have a hard time hearing their translation. It would be interesting that they have activity from multiple time periods. There verdict is still out on that.
As Zak is still in the pit they claim to get "Kill the girl" as they provoke Rosa. I don’t hear that at all. That sounds like nothing but static and some wishful thinking to make up that phrase. I think that’s a throwaway as is the "I want the bowl of money" they claim to capture. Those are so garbled and come across as background noise. The first two sounded quite distinct, but the rest aren’t worth paying attention to.
Jennie Wade House
Not the word database box again! How can you even say that thing works? Taking it at absolute face value how could a spirit possibly know what level of energy it needs to form a specific word? Where’ the instruction manual? Is there a class on how to work it before the lockdown begins? That thing is a farce!
It all sounds great and exciting to get words like Pass, Property, Helpful, Teen and Drink, but there is no way to validate the finding so it should be completely discarded.
But the big EVP moment is a voice from beyond saying, "I’m pregnant". That static in the air does not equate to "I’m pregnant" to me. If that’s what you hear, fine, but to me, that could be anything! I’m going with another example of wishful thinking and hearing what you want to hear to make it fit the story.
And then we have Zak hovering over the body of Jennie as he does some provoking. Perhaps he’s taking too many liberties with Jennie, or perhaps someone is getting frisky, but Zak claims he was grabbed on the ass. It was more amusing than anything else, almost an excuse to keep saying the word "ass".
Engine House
We start off with a trio of EVPs which sound like their plotting against Zak. Once again, nothing but static to me so I think it’s a pretty big leap to make a conversation out of all that. I hear noises, but there is no way I agree with what they hear.
As soon as I saw Zak with the pistol I said, "Zak will fire it, then they’ll capture a figure of a soldier at the end of the tracks". And low and behold that exact scenario played out. That was way too damn predictable to believe, way too coincidental for me. I’m not saying anything one way or the other, but I just can’t get excited over that. It would be far too easy to artificially recreate that…
I applaud the effort of bringing in the voice pathologist for the "I’m pregnant" clip, but I’m not really sure she proved anything. I’m still not a fan of EVPs as evidence. I really like the first two Zak and team came up with, the rest however, don’t add up to much.
A nice season opener though, and in a pretty interesting place. I don’t agree with most of the evidence, but I still enjoyed the ride. It was a little over the top in silliness at times. That happens sometimes I guess. I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.
What do you think? Do you think they found some compelling evidence? Did they capture Jennie giving a message about her baby? What do you think about the season opener?
Other Articles of Interest:
- Ghost Adventures – Missouri State Prison – S08E04
- Paranormal Cops – Stirring Up The Dead – S01E03
- Ghost Adventures – Ohio Reformatory
- Ghost Adventures – Washoe Club and Chollar Mine
- Ghost Adventures – Goldfield Hotel – S04E16
- Ghost Adventures – Lechtworth Village – S05E06
- Ghost Adventures – Yost Theater and Ritz Hotel – S08E05
- Haunted Collector – Spirits of Gettysburg and Headless Horseman – S03E06
- Ghost Adventures – Waverly Hills Sanatorium – S04E04
- Ghost Hunters International – Port Arthur Penitentiary – S02E10
Ghost Adventures returns tonight with a marathon!
Don’t forget, tonight is the return of the Ghost Adventures crew, and it’s not just a single episode, but a marathon of episodes for this Friday night. Things kick off with "Best Evidence So Far" and then the season premier with the team in "Gettysburg". After that is a rerun of "Washoe Club" and then a re-airing of "Gettysburg". That’s a pretty good kickoff to a new season.
Don’t forget, the action starts at 8PM tonight.
Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel
Other Articles of Interest:
- Ghost Adventures Marathon on the Travel Channel
- Ghost Adventures Season 2 Available Today
- Ghost Adventures jumps on board with Kids Wish Network
- Ghost Adventures gets renewed
- Ghost Adventures Documentary
- Ghost Hunters Live Halloween Special at Pennhurst State School and Hospital
- Ghost Adventures – Killer Nightlife – S07E15
- Looks like ghost hunting is becoming big business
- Paranormal Challenge?
- ‘Ghost Adventures’ couple found dead
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