d_in_chi

In The Last Exorcism, a documentary crew joins a highly charismatic Louisiana minister to film his last exorcism, a calling he inherited from his father. Having only used exorcism as a psychological and therapeutic tool, he admittedly employs illusions to "trick" the possessed and their families and give them peace of mind, but has come to a decision to renounce the act altogether. His last go-round won't be a simple matter of hocus pocus, as he finds himself dealing with a broken home, a psychotic girl, her deranged father, and other malignant elements.

Supernatural and demonic thrillers have a habit of coming up short if unique characters and situations aren't presented within the first 30 minutes and sustained throughout. Exorcism avoids this shortcoming with some outstanding performances from the lead character and the girl he is forced to try saving, and an interesting format. The first half of the film is highly entertaining, with the Reverend showing off his tricks of the trade while also making it clear that he's both a devoted man of God and a well grounded man of Reason, with nothing but good intentions. As a very likable character, he is a rarity in supernatural horror. I will admit I didn't know who Patrick Fabian is (despite his countless acting credits, I'm ignorant to television), but I am well aware now. He hits a home run in this role.

Nell is played perfectly as a believable home schooled daughter of a devout but deeply troubled Christian. Her character is not overly polished or sensational, which adds to the realism of the film.

The realism of the film is what makes the questionable ending work, and lays a good groundwork of suspense. Most of the activities involve using well informed reason to explain the girls' strange actions, even as the movie begins to go down darker and darker paths. This makes Exorcism an interesting exploration of taboo subjects, shame, and superstition. Most supernatural films instead use a tired and ineffective trope: the stock psychiatrist/therapist that the haunted/possessed is forced to see, without giving depth to the professional or the experience as a whole.

I do wish the end could have at least been explored more and toned down a bit (the fire thing was a bit over the top), if it wasn't going to be more in line with the approach taken with the rest of the story. However, it provides some shocks that are satisfying in spite of overindulgence.

Over all, a very good movie about realistic human experiences and demons as well. Highly recommended.

If you were to put Speed and the Saw series into a blender, strain out the guns, explosions, and most of the gore, then add a dollop of Stephen Chow and garnish it with lemongrass, you might just get 13: Game of Death.

13 is a lot of things: wacky, sadistic, chaotic, frantic, absurd, and a lot of fun.

I have never watched a movie this versatile. It changes gears so quickly and frequently, covering dozens of bases: horror, thriller, comedy, drama, action, mystery, slapstick, satire, and everything in between.

While this makes it sound like a mess, it's far from it. The screenplay is brilliant, the directing is sharp, and though nothing is gradual and the story is herky-jerky, everything is paced perfectly.

Of course, the film mostly operates in the realms of horror and extreme dark comedy. I'm not talking the usual blend of sight gags and one liners piled into zombie movies. It's very similar to the American film Chop in how it juggles the 2; the main character is drawn into a sick, goofy situation, the absurdity and despair of which are used for an almost Marxian comic effect. But where Chop is more gruesome and confined, this movie is more story-based and wide open, which it uses to a greater advantage.

In addition to transnavigating types of fiction, it also tiptoes around all the landmines that destroy horror films: from the protagonist's method of coming to terms with what he's involved in, to the final piece of the puzzle being revealed.

13 is able to do this because it is constantly self aware and it demonstrates that gracefully. It knows when to be serious and when to crack a joke. More importantly, it knows how to do either. It also benefits from an excellent script, with an ending that's impossible to predict and even somewhat poignant (a tall task for horror).

I can't say enough good things about this movie, and there are no weak points other than a fairly poor CGI scene which can be forgiven. If you like off-the-wall movies and don't watch horror with strict expectations, this is the first thing I'd recommend to you.

Entity gets off on a very bad foot due to, of all things, a character with the worst fake Russian accent I've ever heard. My first thought was Jamie Lee Curtis' "German" accent (Swedish due to ignorance) in the train scene in Trading Places. This is even worse. That was meant to be funny, this isn't. "Yuri" sounds more like a German doing a bad Scottish accent. Turns out the actor who played him is a German raised in Serbia.

If you can't find someone with a Russian accent, why set the film in Russia? They could have easily set this in Eastern Germany and claimed that the disappearances occurred in the DDR years. Or they could have rewritten the script so that our "Russian" was born in the UK of Russian parents and moved back to the motherland (this would also have explained his predilection for contacting a British TV show). Something, anything. Even using a guy with a straight-up English accent saying his name is Dmitri and he lives in Russia would have been a better choice.

Although this may seem minor, it's not. I'd liken it to repeatedly seeing a gaffer in the background, or really bad CGI. It's either an easy fix or a poor production choice. At first it's funny, but each time Ivan speaks it makes it more difficult to take any of this seriously, leaving the makers of the film the only ones doing so; a fatal flaw in horror.

This is not the only problem. The rest of the characters are dull and interchangeable; an hour in I didn't know which of the crew was who and I didn't care. I even couldn't remember Igor's name - or Boris, Sergei, whatever.

They all read their lines like an automated phone message. I understand they're a paranormal TV show crew, but they act hardly shocked once shockingly spooky things begin happening, as if they've been on cases just like this before. Even when in grave danger, they're merely reading their lines, only displaying distress when they themselves are attacked.

This idea has been done before. Some will criticize on that alone, but not me. However, you should be informed about what's been done with it before you do it. Where Grave Encounters succeeds (almost everything), this film fails. GE gave depth to its characters, making them lifelike and interesting. It managed to both have a lot of fun and extract terror from the idea of ghost hunters biting off far more than they can chew. GE is also downright frightening despite not having the advantage of switching POV that Entity has. Opportunities to scare are squandered by keeping the action distant and most of the ghosts only visible to the psychic.

In short, a mandatory viewing of GE for the filmmakers would have been advised. While they're at it, The Hunt for Red October also may have helped them figure out how to handle the Russian accent problem.

I stopped keeping track of the story once Vladimir started talking about his ex-girlfriend. Yes, I knew he "vuz luking fod'r sumting" early on so I figured it was a loved one. Whether he found her or not, I don't know, but Nikolai met some kind of ghost. Losing track of the plot didn't matter because there really isn't one. They walk around in a building and there's spirits of some kind. That's all you need to know.

The film's greatest strength is the ability to keep a pretty tense atmosphere... although I wanted it to end, I found myself watching all the way through. Aside from that, some of the ghostly images are scary.

Totally disposable supernatural horror that belongs in $1 bargain bins and free On Demand.