‘The Last Exorcism’ Finds Success With Clever Video

Situation: Pseudo-documentary style filmmaking has always had it’s place at the movies. Going as far back as Spinal Tap, the faux documentary is a mainstay, if not a niche for American film going audiences. In more recent years, films such as The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield have found success in this “hand held” first person genre, with large thanks to their propensity for Internet viral marketing and word of mouth. For many reasons, films made in this verite style fare very well in the online space, inspiring buzz-worthy campaigns that always belie their modest budgets. This past weekend Lionsgate was hoping for similar success with their release of horror film The Last Exorcism, a shaky cam mockumentary take on exorcisms. Acquired for $1 million, and shot for only $2 million expectations were low for the late summer sleeper, but buzz doesn’t build by itself, Lionsgate needed to launch some kind of marketing effort to ignite the flame.

Solution: On August 19th, a week before the film’s release, a Youtube video popped up titled, “The Last Exorcism – BEST OF Chatroulete reactions.” Touted as creepy, clever, and sexy, the video is essentially a live capture of two sides of a Chatroulette conversation (Chatroulette, for the blissfully unaware, is a website that lets you connect to random users across the globe via webcam). On one side is the helpless victim (all males) about to pranked, on the other is a pretty girl flirting with them, unbuttoning her blouse. That is, until things go awry. In some cases the girl’s eyes roll back into her head to reveal bright red bloodshot pupils, in others her neck becomes disjointed. The young men look horrified and in some cases scream and thrash about. A title slate for the film appears at the end of each interaction. It’s a highly effective, engaging viral spot that combines clever “crowd sourcing” techniques, special effects, and unique premise. The video doesn’t pander either, it isn’t trying to trick the audience or force feed them some kind of staged act – instead it lets the viewer in on the joke and stays genuine.

Results: To date the video has received 2.7 million views on Youtube. It was picked up by Gizmodo and then carried by many major entertainment websites. Viral success translated into good buzz which translated into box office dollars. The film won its opening weekend with a take of $21.3 million – ten times what it cost to produce. Furthermore, it hit key demographics. Lionsgate exit polls showed that 65% of the film’s audience was under 25, which can be directly linked to the online campaign. For a late summer weekend, in which theaters are full of lingering blockbusters and mediocrity, not to mention a rerelease of the biggest film ever, James Cameron’s Avatar, The Last Exorcism managed to pick up a win, thanks mostly to a clever viral spot.