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Toronto After Dark Film Festival (TADFF) hosted its first truly star-studded event, complete with professional security guards for the talent and film prints, recording device detection equipment during the screening, primetime news coverage and incredibly giddy fans. The film: The Last Exorcism. The celebrities: stars Ashley Bell and Patrick Fabian with producer Eli Roth.

Roth has often conceded Toronto holds a special place in his heart, particularly after his directorial debut, Cabin Fever, premiered as the closing Midnight Madness feature at the Toronto International Film Festival eight years ago. When TADFF founder Adam Lopez wrote Roth a letter requesting the genre festival present the Toronto premiere ofThe Last Exorcism, he never expected the warm response he received in return – let alone a yes.

Introducing the film, Roth explained the terror he (and most audiences) experienced after watching The Exorcist; as well as his personal fear that he too would fall victim to possession despite his mother’s assurances that as Jews they didn’t believe in demons. As an adult, Roth knew he couldn’t remake the original, but he could add to the canon of exorcism pictures.

In The Last Exorcism, buckling under the weight of his conscience after years of parting desperate believers from their money, Reverend Marcus Cotton (Fabian) and his crew plan to film a confessionary documentary of his last “exorcism.” When they arrive on the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), Cotton expects to perform just another routine theatrical display for a disturbed religious fanatic. An earnest fundamentalist, Sweetzer has contacted the charismatic preacher as a last resort, certain his 16-year-old daughter Nell (Bell) is possessed by a demon who must be exorcized before their terrifying ordeal ends in unimaginable tragedy. But upon arriving at the already blood drenched family farm, it’s soon clear that nothing could have prepared Cotton for the true evil he encounters there. Now, too late to turn back, Reverend Marcus’ own beliefs are shaken to the core when he and his crew must find a way to save Nell – and themselves – before it is too late.

The first half of the film is quite lighthearted as the documentary introduces audiences to Cotton and his family. He discusses how his father groomed him for the preacher business from a young age and the performance involved in captivating parishioners’ attentions. Convinced of his thrall, Cotton bets he can recite a recipe during his sermon without anyone noticing – he wins. They discuss his crisis of faith and explore his attitude about being a fraud. Cotton proves very aware of his profession and the reasons people fall for his charade – nevertheless, he views what he does as a service.

Like a magician sharing his secrets, Cotton reveals the theatrics behind an exorcism. However, things get steadily more frightening when it turns out Nell’s condition may require more than just a bogus cure. Cotton and the crew become convinced she needs psychiatric treatment, while her father is sure another exorcism is the only way to save his daughter’s soul. The reversal of roles is an interesting one, as the religious representative pushes for a medical/scientific solution and the scared parent is positive the only solution is spiritual.

No exorcism film is complete without a scene that challenges the human body’s limits. Credit must go to Bell for her creepy contortionism in more than one scene. She was very appreciative of the opportunity to do the research and physical work in the film. Bell’s fantastic ability to arch her spine backwards while remaining on her feet is uncanny (think The Exorcism of Emily Rose, but scarier). She adds to the disturbing effect by continuously twisting her fingers and bending her limbs unnaturally. In addition, her frightening expressions and blood curdling stares are all personal feats rather than CGI or makeup accomplishments.

First-person horror films get a lot of buzz, but the important thing to note is it’s usually deserved. Last year’sParanormal Activity was an adrenaline-pumping scarefest; 2008’s Home Movie was spine-chilling; and the originator, The Blair Witch Project, launched a phenomenon. The Last Exorcism is sure to be ranked amongst the best of these films, as it delivered on all fronts. The acting is outstanding. Bell’s excellence has been outlined above and Fabian’s charisma is undeniable. He concludes, “I think any good preacher has a lot of good acting in him – they’re kind of the same cloth.” Nonetheless, he is entirely convincing, both as a harmless con artist and a man scared out of his wits. Of course, he owes part of his performance to Bell because he says she genuinely creeped him out when it called for it.

The script from Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland took three years to write, but the duo with director Daniel Stamm present a comprehensive and intriguing story that begins as a confession and then pits two opposing theories about Nell’s condition against each other: possession versus insanity. As the story plays out, the audience participates in deciding which of the assumptions are true while witnessing events exactly as the main characters. Roth notes, “I love endings where the story wraps up and the discussion starts.” This statement could not be truer than for The Last Exorcism.

When asked about how filmmakers expect the religious community will react to the film, Roth explains that it’s been well received thus far – by the deeply religious and Satan supporters alike. Furthermore, while the film is not directly violent, there are several implied acts left to the viewers’ imaginations and encouraged by some artwork. Roth quips that they got a “graphically violent scene through the ratings board with a children’s drawing.”

At the end of the Q&A, Roth jokingly offered sexual favours to everyone in the audience that put forward good reviews of the film or at least tweeted positive remarks. Conversely, “If you don’t like it, keep your fucking mouth shut.”

Roth obviously adds a lot of atmosphere to a film screening, but The Last Exorcism is more than worthwhile with or without his presence.