Double Feature Friday: THE LAST EXORCISM and S&MAN

Double Feature Friday:
THE LAST EXORCISM and S&MAN
Now Streaming on Netflix
5/5 Stars

Two of the most unsettling films in recent years are both on Netflix streaming. One is a horror film about a documentary, and the other is a documentary about horror films. Both attempt to blur the lines between reality and fiction. Both succeed at disturbing.
The Last Exorcism is one of a slew of recent horror movies filmed in “documentary” style. The camera operator is a character in the world, and the cast know they are being filmed. This stylistic choice serves two purposes. First, it dramatically reduces the budget. Second, if used properly, the format can heighten the reality, an essential ingredient in scaring an audience. The Last Exorcism makes good use of the device, showing us just enough to keep us guessing, even eking out a ludicrous PG-13 rating by keeping anything too explicit just out of frame. And unlike many “found footage” films that explain the cameras by having a character near the beginning say something like “someone should be filming this”, the faux doc actually has a thesis. It feels like a real documentary. For awhile.
S&Man is an actual documentary about underground horror. Filmmaker JT Petty interviews actors and auteurs of B horror past and present. The independent productions use cheap effects that get really disgusting and sometimes a little too real. The film delves deeper than other docs on the subject as Petty wonders about the existence of actual snuff films. Some of the creepier filmmakers featured make you wonder if their onscreen violence extends to the real world. And there’s nothing scarier than reality.