The promise of a quick cash grab is the only excuse that justifies “The Last Exorcism Part II,” an ineffective excursion that maintains a few direct ties back to the original film but never moves the story forward. Dark components that genuinely disturbed us in the first film — a skeptical Southern preacher (played by Patrick Fabian) getting his faith shaken to the core; the hand-held camera techniques of a true-crime docu-drama; a legitimate fear of the occult — are sacrificed for generic scares and flavorless plot twists. By jogging in place for an hour and a half, this monotonous and unimaginative sequel only tests a viewer’s patience, and should ensure that this actually is the last chapter in the rapidly declining series.
For continuity’s sake, “Part II” picks up in the Louisiana swamp where Nell (Ashley Bell) has given birth to the demonic love child of a seedy pastor. Fabian’s character has been killed (the actor is sorely missed in this humorless sequel), and the shell-shocked Nell hardly remembers anything we witnessed in the first movie. Since she essentially has been orphaned by the events of the first film, Nell is turned over to a New Orleans foster home for wayward women, where her possession continues and strange occurrences start plaguing the home’s emotionally damaged residents.
And by “strange,” I mean “boring.” Nell admits to a sympathetic counselor (Muse Watson) that she still feels the evil presence of the demon Abalam, but all the unseen threat does is make dirty phone calls in the dead of night and, occasionally, send black flies to buzz around Nell’s bedroom. Abalam’s more annoying than terrifying in this sequel, following Nell around the French Quarter while wearing a Mardi Gras mask and prompting dogs to bark in a cheap effort to get audience members to jump in their chairs.
Bell was a welcome find in the original “Last Exorcism,” and she continues to try interesting things with her unusual character. The actress projects a farm-girl innocence when playing Nell, turning the naïve heroine into a blank slate that’s ripe for satanic corruption. And “Part II,” like so many horror sequels, concerns itself with Nell’s sexual awakening, which encourages the flexible Bell to writhe and squirm like a serpent on a Twister board. But the PG-13 rating pushes all racy, gory material far off screen, instantly deflating any potential heat or tension the sequel threatened to generate.
Without spoiling anything, I will say that “The Last Exorcism Part II” ends on an open note that teases a legitimately engaging setup for a potential third movie. But really, the producers of this series should quit while they’re behind. One sequel was unnecessary. A second sequel would be criminal. Besides, what could they possibly call it? “The Last Exorcism: Seriously. We Mean It This Time. Trust Us?”
The Last Exorcism Part II
r
PG-13. At area theaters. Contains horror violence, terror and brief language. 88 minutes.
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