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The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, and Louis Herthum.

After years of performing exorcisms, a disillusioned evangelical minister decides to participate in a documentary chronicling his last exorcism while exposing the fraud of his ministry. After receiving a letter from a farmer asking for help in driving out the devil, he meets the farmer's afflicted daughter. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing more than $67 million against a $1.8 million budget.

A sequel, The Last Exorcism Part II, was released on March 1, 2013.

Plot
Filmmakers Iris and Daniel chronicle what is meant to be the final "exorcism" conducted by Cotton Marcus, a reverend living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Marcus, having first lost his faith in the wake of the birth of his ill son, demonstrates cynicism towards the practice of exorcisms early during principle photography, conceding a disbelief for the supernatural, and pronounces purification rituals as nothing more than elaborate hoaxes employed to manipulate and gull the faithful. Hoping to reconcile his regret for performing faux services in demand throughout his past, Marcus coordinates with the film crew to systematically delegitimize exorcisms, by exposing the chicanery and common methods involved in staging such exhibitions, in a documentary format and on-site. He receives a request from farmer Louis Sweetzer, a devout Christian fundamentalist, who claims his livestock are being slaughtered by his daughter Nell. Believing this to be the work of evil, Louis implores Marcus to exorcise any demon currently possessing the 16-year-old homeschooled girl, and Marcus, considering this to be a convenient opportunity to reify the planned documentary, arbitrarily accepts the commission and travels to (the fictionalized) rural Ivanwood, LA nearby, with the documentary crew in concomitance.

After initially receiving an antipathetic welcome from Louis' son Caleb and navigating concerns over filming at the house, Marcus administers fake but believed tests and (on purpose) erroneously concludes that Nell is possessed by a powerful demon known as Abalam. In a dramatic performance, he binds Nell, recites incantations, and comports several other deceptive tricks of the trade on film, ultimately persuading the family that he has expelled the demon. Daniel, Iris, and Marcus leave, believing he has cured her of a psychosis state that was misdiagnosed as possession. That night, however, Nell suddenly and surprisingly appears in Marcus' motel room, visibly unwell. In response, Marcus takes Nell to the hospital for diagnostic tests, which conclude that she is in normal physical condition. Increasingly concerned that something strange is taking place, Marcus meets with Louis' former pastor, Joseph Manley, who informs Marcus that he has not seen Nell for three years. In the morning, Louis takes Nell home but is forced to chain her to the bed when she displays aggression in cutting Caleb's face with a knife.

Marcus eventually frees Nell from her restraints, but finds her trying to drown a doll while seemingly sleepwalking. Everyone learns Nell is pregnant, and later that night, Nell steals their camera and goes into her father's barn, where she brutally smashes a cat to death. Further, Iris and Daniel discover her morbid paintings; in addition to the death of the cat, they depict Marcus standing before a large flame with a crucifix, Iris dismembered, and Daniel decapitated. When Marcus confronts Louis about Nell's pregnancy, Louis insists that Nell is a virgin, and that the logical explanation must be that she has been impregnated by the demon. Offended at Marcus' insistence that a demon is not involved, Louis demands that the crew leave, suspiciously hinting to the possibility of killing Nell.

The crew tries to extradite Nell, who attacks Marcus during the escape. Louis threatens to shoot her, but Marcus intervenes, offering to attempt a second exorcism in order to dissuade him from committing filicide.

During the exorcism, "Abalam" acts erratically and contorts Nell's body in unnatural ways, agreeing to release Nell only if Marcus can remain silent for ten seconds. Each second, Nell breaks one of her own fingers. After three, Marcus yells for "Abalam" to stop; "Abalam" taunts Marcus' blunder, and deviously offers to provide the pastor a "blowing job". Marcus challenges that a demon would know the actual name of the sex act and concludes that Nell is not possessed, but rather a disturbed and ashamed girl. Nell reverts to her normal self, anguishing over losing her virginity to a boy named Logan. Louis remains unconvinced or in denial, but this second exorcism provides at least temporary resolution.

On their way out of the town, Marcus and the crew happen to meet Logan, who explains that he is gay. The only contact he has had with Nell was a brief conversation at Manley's house six months ago, thus contradicting several prior testimonies; the crew judges Logan to be an impartial and reliable source, and realizes that Manley lied about Nell's three year absence, deducing that Nell also lied about the source of her pregnancy. In a crucial turning point, Marcus turns the car around and out of concern and curiosity they return to the Sweetzer farmhouse, which they find now empty and covered with numerous occult and countercultural symbols on the walls.

The group follows the sound of voices into the woods, where they see a large fire and a congregation of hooded cultists led by Manley. Louis is tied up, gagged and blindfolded while hooded figures pray around an altar, atop which Nell is bound. She gives birth to an inhuman child. Manley throws the child into the fire, which causes the fire to grow rapidly as demonic roars emanate. Marcus, summoning courage and with his faith restored, clasps his cross and rushes forward to combat the evil. Iris and Daniel, in juxtaposition, flee in fear. Iris is subdued by members of the congregation and slain with an axe, while Daniel continues to run until Caleb decapitates him, the camera falling to the ground, thus completing the premonitions of Nell's drawing.

Release
The film was originally slated to premier at South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2010. However, on February 12, 2010, Lionsgate purchased the rights to its US Distribution, withdrawing the film from SXSW fest and setting a general release date to August 27, 2010.

The film had its world premiere at the LA Film Festival on June 24, 2010 and was here introduced by Eli Roth and Daniel Stamm. Members of the cast were also introduced on stage, Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones, Iris Bahr, and Tony Bentley. The Last Exorcism was the last screened film on August 30, 2010, on the Film4 FrightFest 2010.

Bloody Disgusting hosted the screening of the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International and the second screening on 24 July 2010 is narrated by Eli Roth.

Poster controversy
In the UK, a poster image for the film showed a young girl, wearing a blood-spattered dress, bent over backwards below a crucifix. This poster received 77 complaints, the complainants describing it as "offensive", "distressing", and "unsuitable for public viewing". Two people also claimed the girl in the poster seemed to have suffered a sexual assault, a complaint which was not upheld. The Advertising Standards Agency decided that the image could not be used on a publicly visible poster since that was an untargeted medium but was acceptable on the back cover of Cineworld magazine.

Viral campaign
The Last Exorcism used Chatroulette as the medium of its viral campaign involving a girl who pretends to unbutton her top seductively, then stops and turns into a monster. At the end, the URL of the film's official website is flashed on screen.

Home media
The Last Exorcism was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 4, 2011. The Blu-ray includes the DVD of the film and a digital copy as well.

Critical reception
The Last Exorcism has received generally positive reviews from critics, garnering a 72% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 162 reviews and an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's consensus summarizes that "[The Last Exorcism] doesn't fully deliver on the chilly promise of its Blair Witch-style premise, but [it does] offer a surprising number of clever thrills." The film received a 63 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews", and at Yahoo! Movies the film holds a B- based on 12 reviews.

Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that the film was "An unusually restrained and genuinely eerie little movie perched at the intersection of faith, folklore and female puberty." On the other hand, Joe Neumaier of New York Daily News gave the film 1 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Some of Bell's contortionist tricks aren't nearly as frightening as the best moments in Paranormal Activity. Or, really, some of the better episodes of Scooby-Doo."

Box office
The Last Exorcism opened at #2 at the U.S. box office the weekend of August 27, 2010, behind Takers. It grossed $20,366,613 from 2,874 theaters in its first three days. The Last Exorcism had a budget of $1.8 million. The film remained in the top five, falling to number four in its second weekend. The film went on to gross $41 million domestically and $26.7 million foreign to total $67.7 million worldwide.

Sequel
On August 23, 2011, The Hollywood Reporter announced that a sequel was in the works. On April 20, 2012, an audition sheet revealed the film's full title as Beginning of the End: The Last Exorcism II. The film was directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly, with Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench) providing the screenplay. Ashley Bell reprises her role as Nell. On January 2, 2013, the poster for the film was released, revealing the final title to be The Last Exorcism Part II. The film was also produced by Eli Roth.

Bacteria
Bacteria are a common cause of foodborne illness. The United Kingdom, in 2000, reported statistics of food-borne illness cases, providing some insight into the prevalence of individual bacteria species commonly involved:


 * Campylobacter jejuni 77.3%,
 * Salmonella 20.9%,
 * Escherichia coli O157:H7 1.4%,
 * and all others less than 0.56%.

In the past, bacterial infections were thought to be more prevalent because few places had the capability to test for norovirus, and no active surveillance was being done for this particular agent. Toxins from bacterial infections are delayed because the bacteria need time to multiply. As a result, symptoms associated with intoxication are usually not seen until 12–72 hours or more after consuming contaminated food. However, in some cases, such as Staphylococcal food poisoning, the onset of illness can be as soon as 30 minutes after ingesting contaminated food.

The most common bacterial foodborne pathogens are: