BLU-RAY REVIEW

Last Exorcism, The

Featured In Issue 180, October 2013

Picture3
Sound4.5
WSR Score2
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
9329
(MPAA Rating):
PG-13
(Rating Reason):
Disturbing violent content and terror, some sexual references and thematic material
(Retail Price):
$39.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
87
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2010
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
01/04/11
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Daniel Stamm
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 7.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

In The Last Exorcism, Reverend Cotton Marcus (Fabian), after years of performing "exorcisms" and taking believers' money, travels to rural Louisiana with a film crew to document what is to be his last so he can dispel what he believes is the myth of demonic possession. The dynamic reverend is certain that this will be another routine "exorcism" on a disturbed religious fanatic but instead comes upon the blood-soaked farm of the Sweetzer family and a true evil he would have never thought imaginable. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Producers Eli Roth, Eric Newman, and Tom Bliss; commentary with Director Daniel Stamm and Actors Ashley Bell, Patrick Fabian, and Louis Herthum; witness to an exorcism commentary with a haunting victim, deliverance minister, and clinical psychologist; Protection Prayer, real stories of the exorcism documentary (HD 14:38); The Devil You Know featurette (HD 20:24); Ashley Bell audition footage (SD 02:32); Patrick Fabian audition footage (SD 09:31); Caleb Landry Jones audition footage (SD 01:40); Louis Herthum audition footage (SD 01:27); a 2009 Cannes Film Festival teaser trailer; the theatrical trailer; previews; Metamenu; BD Touch and LG Live functionality; and the DVD version and a digital copy of the film.

Similar in the approach taken in The Blair Witch Project, the 1.78:1 1080p AVC picture quality far exceeds that of film. Still, the picture quality is disappointing, with poor contrast, noticeable grain, and softness. Detail is seriously lacking. The dark world of the Sweetzer Farm is literally that—dark! But then probably in this case the filmmakers intended the unremarkable look. This is pretty much a waste in terms of a high-definition presentation. (Gary Reber)

While the picture is seriously lacking quality, the DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack works to enhance the experience. While the two added channels are improperly positioned to the back, which requires a rewiring of the systems' setup, with the optimized two additional channels positioned to the 90-degree sidewalls, when reset the balance and immersion at times are well executed. Dialogue is exceptionally intelligible, and production sounds derived, but with wanting spatial integration. The surrounds are, at times, aggressively directionalized, and various sound effects provide startling emotional responses. The music score is extremely limited in both instrumentation and impact, though, effectively creepy sounding. Fidelity is excellent. Deep bass is, at times, presented in the .1 LFE channel, to provide dynamic impact. The counter effects of sounds from the echo-laden confines of the Sweetzer farmhouse and that of screams on the outside are eerie. Overall, this is a satisfying spooky soundtrack, but still the overall impact is a disappointment. (Gary Reber)