The Last Exorcism (2010)

A preacher from Baton Rouge in the US is followed by a small film crew as he describes how he uses his skills as an entertainer within the church. He doesn't himself believe in demons but he knows that the people being exorcised believe they are possessed so by putting on the theatre of "curing" them of their possession he hopes to be doing good. He knows that through use of some measures to exorcise demons some people have been killed such as through asphyxiation. The preacher believes his way is better but he is a bit jaded by it all. He opens a letter at random that is sent to him and it is a call for help, with all the usual traits of this kind of request. He is very cynical himself and exchanges knowing looks direct into the camera because he is aware of being filmed.
This time however it is different. He sets up his usual ritual and stages demon noises and bed shaking as he works and the girl seems to believe the demon is gone. But it does not work. She turns up out of the blue at his hotel on his way back home. She doesn't know how she got there but she then vomits and they take her to hospital They take her back home and discover she is pregnant, as a virgin they begin to suspect her father is involved. Then she admits that the father is a 17 year old boy who works at a local diner operating out next to a gas station. The preacher wants to pass this problem to a psychiatrist but the father is having none of it. So the preacher turns to the local Pastor for help. He goes into the village to speak to the local Pastor. The pastor agrees to visit the family despite having a falling out with the father where the father pulled his girl out of church school to be home taught. Everything seems well, so the preacher leaves with the film crew having the pastor and pastor's wife attending the family.
As they leave town they spot the local diner and go inside to check on the boy they believe to be the baby's father. It turns out he isn't the father and is actually gay, having met the girl only once and exchanged polite words. Instead of leaving it to be someone else's problem the preacher decides to turn around and go back to the farm. It's getting dark and the house is quiet with nobody home. They enter the house and are disturbed to find Satanic painting on all the walls but nobody is home. They are on the verge of leaving when they hear screams coming from the woods. They run towards the screams even though the two members of the film crew accompanying think it is a bad idea.

I won't spoil the ending but it ends rather predictably. Quite an entertaining film but not as scary as I thought it might have been. I liked the premise of it and thought it was well acted.