Movies about demonic possession are such a popular subgenre that it can sometimes be difficult to tell them apart, especially since they most often reference exorcism in their title. The latest such offering, The Last Exorcist, is a perfect example of this and has now had a new trailer released.
The story sees a terrorist attack take out all of the world’s priests trained in performing exorcisms, leading to humanity becoming unprecedentedly vulnerable to the actions of demons. Soon after, a young woman named Terri is possessed, leading to her sister Jo seeking help from Marco, who wasn’t killed in the attack for reasons not specified – possibly for being barred from performing the ritual and so wasn’t present when the other exorcists were killed – and the pair of them attempt to save Terri.
With its familiar setup, the movie might have remained in relative obscurity were it not for another factor, it featuring a rare starring role for Danny Trejo. His filmography is so ridiculously extensive from having performed scores of small parts that he’ll often sit down to watch an action movie and be unaware that he’s actually in it until he sees himself. Although his most recent lead performance was in last year’s Black Licorice (aka China Test Girls), you have to go back to 2013 for the grindhouse trashfire Machete Kills for the last time his handlebar moustache and chest tattoo took center stage.
During The Last Exorcist’s long gestation period, director Robin Bain stated that the movie’s title and premise might lead people to make inaccurate presumptions about the film. Rather than being a generic horror about a demonic entity taking over some nubile young thing and taunting those trying to remove it, it’s instead intended to take more of a psychological route, with the events affecting the sisters in a more personal and emotional way than any physical torments could. At the very least, we can breathe a sigh of relief that it’s not found footage.
The Last Exorcist is released on October 13th, in plenty of time for Halloween, when you can decide for yourself if it really is different from other movies of its ilk.
