Before The Last Exorcism premiered in theaters, trailers for the 2010 horror film suggested it was based on a true story, leading to its success.
Summary
- The Last Exorcism was a fictional movie designed to appear as a documentary, fooling viewers into believing it was based on a true story.
- The film's success was largely due to its advertising campaign, which emphasized the "based on a true story" aspect and used innovative marketing tactics.
- The Last Exorcism capitalized on the popularity of found footage horror films, drawing viewers to the theaters with its documentary-style approach and keeping them engaged with its compelling content.
The Last Exorcism may seem like it is a documentary about a horrific exorcism at first glance, but, in reality, the movie is entirely fictional. The producers of the 2010 found footage supernatural horror film wanted the audience to believe that it was based on a true story, which is why it was shot like a documentary. As a result, the movie was a massive success at the box office as viewers rushed to the theaters to see if the narrative was true or made up.
The film was based on fiction and not reality, and it was directed by Daniel Stamm and written by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland. The cast of The Last Exorcism included Patrick Fabian as Cotton Marcus, Ashley Bell as Nell Margaret Sweetzer, Iris Bahr as Iris Reisen, Louis Herthum as Louis Sweetzer, and Caleb Landry Jones as Caleb Sweetzer. The success of the first movie generated a sequel — The Last Exorcism Part II — which premiered a few years later on March 1, 2013. However, given that the gimmick that went along with the first film had already been exposed, the second feature wasn't as triumphant at the box office.
The Last Exorcism Was Filmed Like A Documentary To Make The Story Feel Like A True Story
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The trailer for The Last Exorcism played up the false narrative that it was based on a true story since it showcased the found footage from the movie and featured a dramatic voice-over from the lead actor, Patrick Fabian, who played Reverend Cotton Marcus. The trailer was edited just like a preview for a documentary would, leading many to believe that the film was, in fact, non-fictional. Plus, Lionsgate used Chatroulette, an online chat website where users can communicate with random people from around the world, to promote the movie.
The advertising for The Last Exorcism played up the "based on a true story" appeal of the 2010 film. Consequentially, the movie earned $67.7 million at the box office against a $1.8 million budget, and it received mostly positive reviews. Viewers were drawn to the project because the possibility of it being real was a question that they needed to be answered. Of course, The Last Exorcism turned out to be entirely fictional, but the producers' approach to how the film was made led to its achievements.
RelatedWhy The Taking Of Deborah Logan Is Better Than The Last Exorcism
The Taking of Deborah Logan and The Last Exorcism employ similar approaches to found footage horror, but Deborah Logan deserves a lot more praise.How Documentary Horror Movies Helped Make The Last Exorcism A Success
The 2010 supernatural horror film capitalized on the success of other found footage scary movies like The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity film series to ensure that it did well at the box office, as well. It was not the first of its kind to use the "shot like a documentary" strategy to increase its box office numbers, but it worked regardless. Like the ones that came before it, The Last Exorcism's advertising brought people to the theaters, and its content is what made them stay.
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