The Last Exorcism Part II

Somehow the found footage genre still seems to be churning out films even though most of them are just bad. The Last Exorcism was one that worked pretty well as it made sense to the story and the overall film was executed pretty well, despite the lame ending. To no one's surprise the success of that film spawned a sequel that intelligently decided to move away from the found footage style and make it a normal movie that looks to be pretty cool, despite it's somewhat silly name.

The Last Exorcism II follows Nell as she tries to build a new life after escaping the events of the original film, but when things seem to be going well the evil that once possessed her returns to take back its host. Much like the Blair Witch Project, Exorcism decided to go this other route with its sequel, but unlike it tried to keep the story intact. The story is perfect for the direction to keep this story moving, but sadly the film doesn't offer all that much. If not for Ashley Bell, reprising her role, this film would have fallen apart fast. She is so great in this role delivering all the emotional torment and innocence needed to make this character work. Beyond here there is really little going on in this movie other than her wandering around Louisiana. We all know that the formula of the possession films is the slow build, but when we already have an established story and character there is no need for it to be this slow. The few moments of "haunting" that you do get work well enough, but nothing like the powerful imagery of the first film that made it stand out so much.

This is one of those sequels that wasn't needed but welcomed in hopes to make up for what they did with the silly ending of its predecessor. Make no mistake this isn't a horrible movie, it is actually still pretty entertaining on some levels, just doesn't push the limits like it should have. The ending proved to be a bit of an interesting direction to continue the series, but was just a bit too little too late to pack the punch it needed.

I'm really confused as to why this has received such bad user reviews, i'll admit the title of this film kinda contradicts itself but i honestly believe this was an attempt to redeem the crappiness of the first movie, and it succeeded! Afterall "Evil Dead" had a sequel because the first one was rubbish and thats one of the best movies out there.. This isn't your typical possession film where you watch your generic 19 year old girl speak in a monotone demonic voice and you don't really care what happens to her because you've seen it a hundred time before. The girl in this you will actually feel sorry for, she is being taunted by the demon though everything thats actually good in her life and it's a shame, coupled with the fact she is a really good actress makes it a decent film, it tries to inspire emotion through flashbacks which is a really nice touch too. It will also become clear why it's called "The Last Exorcism" too! These negative reviews obviously come from people who had the whole script written in their heads before they pressed play, and it's a shame that their disappointment may affect others that just want to watch a movie and be surprised! Anyway it's 80 minutes and it's a pretty decent film, give it a shot if you have the time

Nell Sweetzer tries to rebuild her life right after the events depicted in the first film. Now living in home for girls she tries to forget the horrific events she experienced only to find out that they are all too real.

This is a good sequel to the first in which the demons true intentions are revealed. It uses classic horror tactics and stays away from the traditional exorcism films. The plot was well grounded and the acting specially from Ashley Bell was outstanding. This was not filmed in the found footage style which adds more depth to the story. The ending to this film was definitely my favorite part and I enjoyed this good old fashioned horror flick.

I was rather skeptical at first due to the low ratings on IMDb but I keep forgetting that horror films are not for everyone but if you do enjoy them this is a must see!! 7/10.

The Last Exorcism Part II (2013)

BOMB (out of 4)

Shortly after the events in the first film, survivor Nell (Ashley Bell) tries to put her life back together as well as she can but she soon realizes that whatever was wrong with her is still there and coming back for more. THE LAST EXORCISM PART II is without question one of the worst horror films I've seen theatrically in a very long time. Year after year bad horror films are released but this here is at the very bottom of the barrel. After a quick look at the events in the previous film, we're introduced to an incredibly unscary pre-credit sequence, which pretty much tells you we're in for a dud. There's not a single thing that happens in this film that is scary. The majority of the attempted scares come from soft music playing before there's a loud bang with loud noises. This cliché is just so boring and so tiresome that you wish people would stop using it. Director Ed Gass-Donnelly deserves a lot of the blame because there's just nothing interesting here. The visuals are all rather boring and predictable. There's not a bit of atmosphere to be found anywhere. For a horror movie the lack of scares is a major disappointment but what makes them even worse is that they're all so poorly staged and delivered. The screenplay also deserves a lot of blame. As with the first film, this one here has a lot of character development early on. We see Nell struggling to get on with her life. We see her at work cleaning hotel rooms. We see her fall for a boy and we see her and her girlfriends going for walks. After a while you start to wonder if the filmmakers forgot they were making a horror film. I don't mind character development but none of the characters here are all that interesting and this includes Nell. Not for a second did I care what happened to her and I certainly didn't care to find out the secrets behind the first film. The performances aren't too bad but did you really come here for that? THE LAST EXORCISM PART II is a really horrid sequel to a decent movie. It's funny but the first movie came to a close with a horrid ending and then this film pretty much picked up that horrid and carried it to a new level. And don't even get me started on the ending here.

New Pope Francis 1 should ban exorcism films as they insult the intelligence of viewers.

This film is so boring and derivative. What's the big deal about Nell floating above her bed.

She hears the usual weird noises and sees funny things, typical in all exorcism films.

This film plods along at a leisurely pace until the exorcism, which is so weird that you have to see it to believe it.

WHO brings a heart monitor, a chicken and salt to an exorcism???? Ha ha.

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