Writer-director Sam Mason Bell throws his hat into the exorcism horror subgenre with the aptly titled A Final Exorcism. Anne (Suki Jones) is an elderly lady convinced she’s possessed by a demon. So, with her adult children by her side, she enlists the help of Father John (Cy Henty) to perform an exorcism. The well-meaning priest is working on the basis of information the bishop gave him, as well as what Anne’s offspring, Amy (Keeley-Jo Jupp) and Daniel (Simon Berry), explain.
But each session to rid the lady of the demon ends in failure. Father John learns that Anne had never seen a doctor before the bishop gave the go-ahead for the exorcism, which sits poorly with him. Compounding matters is that each failed exorcism takes a physical toll on Anne. After a while, Father John starts to question the real motivations behind Amy and Daniel’s actions. Is Anne possessed, or will Father John find the truth before the final exorcism session causes her irreparable harm?
Mason Bell hits all the usual beats expected of exorcism films since they first took to the silver screen. The priest overcoming self-doubt? Present. Not everyone associated with the possibly possessed person believes a demon is involved? Here. Sinister forces with a personal connection to one or more of the characters? Yup, that’s trotted out as well. But cliches and tropes aren’t an issue unto themselves, so long as they are used well, have a fresh spin, or make sense to the story. Here, most of it works in context, though the setup takes a good long while.
A Final Exorcism runs one hour, 11 minutes, and 24 seconds long, including opening and closing credits. The meat of the plot does not unveil itself until roughly the 30-minute mark, which is pretty close to halfway through. Some 40% of the runtime is build-up and setup that horror fans have seen before, meaning there’s not a ton of investment at the start. It’s too bad to, as once things get going, there’s a lot to like.
“Father John learns that Anne had never seen a doctor before the bishop gave the go-ahead for the exorcism…”
For starters, this film features some of the best sound design in recent horror. There’s a scene where Father John passes out, so to speak, and the voices of doubt and the sounds of the world are layered on each other in creepy ways. The music, by Ben Farrant, greatly aids in the discombobulation and discomfort of the moment. The sound and music work in tandem to sell the unnatural creepiness throughout to wonderful effect.
Plus, for a story largely set in one location, Anne’s house, A Final Exorcism doesn’t feel like. There are plenty of crazy and intense visuals that allow the filmmaker to play with time, place, and character in fun ways. A scene where Anne is berating a demonic version of… herself (?) is edited to make it discombulating yet scary. The distortion of the visuals when the demonic entity is in full force is a great visual representation of creepy happenings that cost virtually nothing. The demon’s makeup is simple yet effective.
Jones is amazing in what amounts to two roles: the regular elderly lady and the possessed one. Henty excels as a truly broken man who believes in God yet only finds Him at the bottom of a bottle. Jupp grounds the story with a mean but understandable verve. Berry’s stammering and withdrawn tendencies create a sympathetic figure.
A Final Exorcism is fairly routine, plotwise, as far as the subgenre is considered. But the few original story beats are quite intriguing. Plus, the visuals are really cool and eerie. Plus, the cast do everything they can to sell the horror and drama at the center of it all. If one loves exorcism films, then this gets a wholehearted recommendation.
Learn more at the official A Final Exorcism website.
"…the visuals are really cool and eerie."
