Daniel Stamm has hit audiences and the pockets of Lionsgate right where it counts with The Last Exorcism. He’s also pompously made it impossible for anyone else to do anymore exorcisms with his title alone. This success has led him down the path to M. Night Shyamalan and the movie Reincarnate. Stamm will direct the film, the second in a three-part series of movies that starts with Devil and ostensibly ends with something resembling an Unbreakable sequel. It’s about a jury for a murder trial being haunted by an other-worldly being that knows the truth in the case. It’s great to see Stamm continue his success after proving his skills at building tension and delivering some truly creepy atmosphere. It will also be great to see Shyamalan’s name back on screens during a trailer because we all could use more laughter in our lives. [Heat Vision]

With this week, Summer 2010 has officially gone. We are into September and here in Austin at Reject HQ, the temperature is back down into the 90s and we’re looking forward to seeing all of our genre-loving friends at the end of the month for Fantastic Fest. As you’ll begin to notice, we will soon become very preoccupied with what’s happening in the war room over at the Alamo Drafthouse, where the final slate for Fantastic Fest 2010 seems to be coming together quickly. But for now, there are still films in theaters and news from around the globe that have caught our interest. That interest was quickly turned into articles filled with biting commentary. Those articles are assembled here, in a weekly column we like to call The Week That Was…

I’ve been excited to see The Last Exorcism for the last 5 months. Originally slated to play at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival, the Eli Roth-produced horror film was quickly bought up by Lionsgate and subsequently pulled from the festival. A sad day indeed for horror fans who were already chomping at the bit to see the film. Here we are several months later and Lionsgate has pulled out all the stops for a wide release of The Last Exorcism this past weekend. It did very well for itself, going neck and neck with Takers for the top spot at the box office with just over $20 million in ticket sales. Not too shabby for a film produced outside the studio system with a production budget of less than $2 million. I had an opportunity to sit down with producer Eli Roth and director Daniel Stamm and talk about the film in detail. Cut to the interview, already in progress:

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr puts on his preachin’ suit and heads out to the multiplex to exorcise the demons of bad movies. Sadly, this won’t be the last exorcism of this kind because January and February are just around the corner. In the wake of the money grab re-release of Avatar: The Big Blue Sex Scene Edition, Kevin takes aim at Takers and The Last Exorcism.

I often wonder if there is anyone else out there who is as ambivalent to Eli Roth as a director or producer as myself.