The Last Exorcism Part II is the sequel to The Last Exorcism, but unlike its predecessor, it is a regular movie, not found footage. The protagonist is Nell, the teenage girl from the first movie. The film follows her as she tries to rebuild her life after the crazy end of the first movie. She is uncertain whether it actually happened or not, but when she has strange encounters with people from the past and new, mysterious figures, she wonders if she will get sucked back into a supernatural battle for her soul and body.
The Last Exorcism Part II was not screened for critics so bear that in mind when you read this review. I paid $2.99 to watch it on Amazon Prime Video immediately after watching the first film. It was the second movie that I could watch during the global pandemic as if I was not in a global pandemic. I was not distracted. There were no interruptions. I was completely absorbed by the movie. I enjoyed it. Maybe I have no taste, but as someone who is usually extremely critical of demon possession movies for being retreads of better possession movies, but I appreciated that the filmmakers not only switched things up since the last movie, but had a fresh take on the genre as a whole.
I was slightly disappointed that The Last Exorcism Part II was not a found footage film because it was the only reason that this series of films made it in my queue, but I ultimately think that the filmmakers made the right choice because it already strains disbelief that if your life is in danger, you would still run around filming with a camera, but for people not to learn anything from the first time and do it again is just bananas—we are looking at you, Blair Witch people. The filmmakers did not give me anything that I expected or wanted, which was a brave, counterintuitive choice. I wanted to find out what happened to the first protagonist, but we have to draw the obvious conclusion.
The Last Exorcism Part II took a completely different approach that they teased in the first film—that every culture and religion have varying exorcism rituals, and Louisiana is a state that had numerous national influences in its history. Instead of relating to the exorcists, the filmmakers decide to have the audience empathize with the girl. Nell is an interesting mixture of innocence, wise skepticism and veiled threat throughout the film—in her human or demon form. It is a difficult role to play, and for such a sheltered girl to have such great, quotable moments of perspicacity seemed plausible considering her journey.
Ashley Bell, who plays the protagonist, was completely able to carry The Last Exorcism Part II. It was already remarkable how she is able to contort her body, but Bell can act. Actually the whole cast is understated great. I was particularly surprised that the actor who played a character from the first movie was able to reprise his role in a consistent, but more sensitive manner then flip it so a viewer could tell that he was no longer himself. Muse Watson as Frank, the man who runs a group home for troubled girls, was amazingly nuanced, and I would have loved a series about Frank and that home if it was not a horror movie. Julia Garner, star of The Assistant and costar with Lily Tomlin in Grandma, has a small role as the protagonist’s roommate. Spencer Treat Clark, who played Werner von Strucker in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., plays a potential love interest.
Clark’s appearance, the new exorcists and the new location, New Orleans, made The Last Exorcism Part II feel as if it existed in the same universe as Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, which is actually not one of my favorite television series in the franchise, but should be considered a compliment for this movie. If I had to theorize why this movie was so hated it, I would have to guess that most people did not watch the first film and did not understand the departure in expected rituals against demons. If I had not watched the aforementioned Marvel series, I would not have recognized the ritual references and symbols. This film never really explains what is happening and expects viewers to just instinctually understand who are the good versus bad guys. I normally do not like having an unreliable protagonist because usually it is delivered as a plot twist that white women are human beings, and all human beings are capable of violence and cruelty so the person that you were supposed to be relating to is actually causing harm, which I can see coming from a mile away and bores me. Because we start the film knowing that Nell cannot even trust herself, I did not have a problem with it, but I can imagine that it would frustrate most viewers not to truly have bearings on what is objective reality and what is her distorted perception of reality. I actually enjoyed watching reality become distorted because the film showed and did not tell us what was happening to her. It required a viewer’s complete attention.
It felt as if The Last Exorcism Part II was making shout outs to The Exorcist in its use of certain insects and was a less rapey The Entity. Demon possession films inherently reference popular cultural references so it may not have been deliberate. The movie had some unexpected moments of humor (for me) during the exorcism ritual, which I really enjoyed. Also I loved that these exorcists were here for everyone, not just the subject, and were prepared to do what it took to save the world. Even though The Vatican Tapes, which was a dreadful movie except for the last half hour, had a more traditional scary end of the world sword of Damocles, I thought that this movie was more consistent and found a way to make the threat even more unimaginable and devastating.
If I had to complain about The Last Exorcism Part II, I did not like the beginning that occurs after we leave the brief recap of what happened in the first movie. I may be the only person who wanted it, but I thought that I heard the protagonist in certain scenes, which I was eager to learn the implications of that, but it never went anywhere. The last time that we see Frank, he is bleeding before anything happened-mistake or deliberate, and if the latter, huh?
I really enjoyed The Last Exorcism Part II and actually would love another sequel. I am probably the only one in the world who feels that way. It is a better movie than people give it credit for, and I hope that the filmmakers are not disheartened by the panning because they are having some fresh fun with a stale genre. They clearly understand the othering of young women and the fear of sexuality then knowingly played with it to take it to the next the level. There is an ambiguity and fear of both sides, the general inadequacy of human understanding and an understated racial commentary, which I appreciated. Keep up the good work.