Yes, it’s true that The Last Exorcism wasn’t actually the last one, but The Penultimate Exorcism doesn’t have as good a ring to it. Regardless, the commercial success of the first film has warranted a follow-up, and that production has now found a writer to get itself off the ground.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Damien Chazelle will have the spirit move him to write the script. Chazelle is a new name, but he’s already hit the ground running with a thriller spec script called The Claim sold, another thriller spec called Grand Piano to be directed by Agnosia director Eugenio Mira, and his senior thesis – the gritty musical Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench – graduating from Harvard to premiere at Tribeca and get a limited release.
The large question is whether or not faux-doc lightning can be captured twice. The ending of the first film had its own brand of ambiguities, but a sequel could also move away from the first world completely and follow another group. In fact, the field is wide open here which may play to its advantage. Or, it might end up feeling a lot like Paranormal Activity 2: The Reheated Repeat.
Related Topics: Horror
