Possessed by Potential, Plagued by Problems: ‘A Final Exorcism’ Review
I suppose Sam Mason Bell needs no big ass introduction on the pages of Severed Cinema these days. He and his Trash Arts gang’s creations have been featured on a regular throughout the years mainly due to the size of the CV. Sam has directed over seventy films (including shorts for anthologies) since 2008. Producer, writer, actor, he’s done it all in the multitudes.
There lies a little problem…
If you’re throwing out one after another on a low budget (I haven’t seen everything) then sooner or later quality will fall. It feels like there’s constantly three or four on the go and I think, why not ease down a bit, compact it into two and work on them longer? Hey, what do I know? I’ve done a couple of lil films, but I’m a huge fan of horror (have been since the age of 8) and I adore low budget flicks because they are usually brimming with ambition, love, and ideas. Take for instance the Trash Arts movie, I Curse This Land (see ‘I Curse This Land’ Review: A Hauntingly Charming Supernatural Thriller from Trash Arts), whilst not a Sam directed feature, it was running on a near empty bank account and still pulled out a wonderfully chilling old school ghost story vibe. Then there’s Taped Up Memories (see Delving into the Depths of War and Madness: A Review of ‘Taped Up Memories’ by Sam Mason Bell), and Terror at Black Tree Forest (see Terror at Black Tree Forest movie review), both simply made but to the point and full of impactful moments.
A Final Exorcism feels rushed, incomplete and, unfortunately, has an ending which goes on so long that it becomes a drag. My Partner in Gore, Willow, and I, adore exorcism flicks. Though a majority follow the same plot, they all generally find their own identity along the way. A recent example being The Pope’s Exorcist (see Confronting Demonic Possession: The Pope’s Exorcist Review on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures), so we approached this with excitement.
Opening to a grey-faced old lady who’s laid out strapped to a bed. The scene is set already for what is to come. Two people stand over her, waiting for something. She begins to croak and breathe heavily. Sitting up, she snarls at one of them, telling her to go. The old lady’s name is Anne, and we also have Daniel and Amy, her two grown up children. Whilst Anne continues to mock them, they decide they need Father Stone.
Father Stone is downstairs praying a lot. “Get out! You fucking God’s son of a bitch!” is the warm welcome he receives upon re-entering the room. He opens his case, revealing his tools of the trade. Anne laughs, “I’ll take your soul and feed it to the cats!” Stone begins to exorcise Anne and she grows ever more enraged. It continues and she begins to slow down.
It turns out this has been going on a while. Amy is losing faith in the whole thing, believing it could be mental health issues. Meanwhile, Father Stone is questioning his faith, which doesn’t bode well considering his tasks at hand. Of course he does not show this to the siblings. Daniel has other issues to deal with, a seriously incestuous obsession with his sister as we see he nearly gropes her ass.
As the three of them talk, it is revealed that this has been going on a very long time. Their mother has heard voices and such. There’s been other exorcisms in the past. This shocks Father Stone. He now doubts his Bishop and the instructions to perform the exorcism. Daniel insists that his mother needs the Lord, not a doctor.
The Bishop will not be deterred by Stone’s concerns that she isn’t possessed and she’s seriously ill. The Bishop is being persistent. We wondered if this would become something deeper later in the film. As it is mandatory, they need to find out the Demon’s name. Oooh, the soundtrack has really changed. It becomes far more sinister. For now, we see black fingers in the bedroom and something that is tormenting Anne. Amy begins to seriously question everything; she does not trust Father Stone nor the Bishop anymore. Stone heads outside into the night and begins to see visions across the road. Suddenly strange things begin to happen.
Back in the house, Amy is taken on a journey, via Anne to the start of it all…
Two thirds of the way, A Final Exorcism loses a lot of its direction and meaning. There is terrible audio in a few scenes that did not help, nor do the (unusually for a Sam Mason Bell film) weak characters, aside from Father Stone, but we figured that was down to the incredible skills of Cy Henty, who plays a man torn apart within to absolute perfection. He is the unquestionable highlight of this plodding path. His agent needs to find him better things to insert himself into other than Angry Nazi Zombies and Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown, though he did a nice turn in Video Shop Tales of Terror (see review here) and he’s in Axel Falcon (see Cheese and Carnage: Unraveling ‘Axel Falcon’ a Dark Tale of Vengeance).
Honestly, had more time been taken on A Final Exorcism, I personally reckon it would have been a minor classic. The ideas are there, but unfortunately nothing else. As I stated before, the last acts drag and becomes boring. For the most part, it toys with earth bound psychological debates, whilst throwing in a ton of religious debates. What let that down was the actual demon. Poor costume and almost pantomime. The ending is my biggest gripe. The audio on my copy sucked so we couldn’t hear what was going on, and to be honest, I don’t think the demon was actually needed (maybe the demon wasn’t real? A battered muddled script hugged its knees in a corner and cried so who knows?)
The minimum effects and locations work well as does the small cast (shame they weren’t better written) but of course it’s Cy Henty who totally chews the scenery. Without a doubt he makes Stone the cream of this soup.
I’m gutted. I usually like Sam’s movies. However, the Trash Arts conveyor belt will continue spitting out a hundred films per second so hopefully there’s better things along the line, but A Final Exorcism is a rushed soulless mess unfortunately.
Directed by: Sam Mason Bell
Written by: Sam Mason Bell
Produced by: Sam Mason Bell, David R Hughes Jnr
Cinematography by: Sam Mason Bell
Special Effects by: Jason Jay Lowe
Cast: Cy Henty, Suki Jones, Simon Berry, Keeley Jo-Jupp
Year: 2025
Country: UK
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 12min
Studio: Trash Arts























