I guess I’m just sticking with the theme of movies that Rowdy Roddy Piper starred in this month. I have been wanting to see Legion: The Final Exorcism for a while, mainly because not only does it star Piper himself but his daughter Ariel Teal Toombs is in it as well. I was not prepared for what I was about to put myself through.
Legion: The Final Exorcism was originally titled Costa Chica: Confession of an Exorcist and was released in 2006. I’m not entirely certain if it was actually released in 2006 or just had a premiere then as the DVD of the film didn’t come out until 2011. Legion is written and directed by David Heavener, he also happens to be its star. I hadn’t heard of David Heavener before this film. Apparently he not only makes low budget films, he is also a singer, song writer. He performs Christian music.
Legion is about Tatiana McMurter, a troubled girl, played by Roddy’s real life daughter Ariel Toombs. She is being afflicted by evil spirits. These spirits we are lead to believe are the very same ones that were cast into pigs in the New Testament concerning the Gerasene demoniac. Ariel is good in her role and I am eager to see some of her other roles.
The film is also about Michael San Chica (Heavener), a priest, who has been plagued by demons his whole life. He can apparently see into the future and the past which is a very odd thing for a priest to possess as in most instances theologically these are considered to be gifts that are not from God.
Roddy Piper plays Tatiana’s uncle Lucas. He does an extremely good job at portraying this character, plagued by alcoholism, demons, and his past horrific actions of molesting his niece. In fact the whole reason for the demonic infestation happens to be that Lucas, possessed by demons, upon molesting his niece, passed the infestation to her. This is too much for my mind to comprehend. I studied theology in college and none of it makes a lick of sense.
This movie centers around religion but it never quite decides whether it wants to be an out and out religious film, straight up horror film, or a TV special about demonic possession. It in fact manages to fail at allof these things. Mixing Baptist theology with a very confusing view of Anglicanism, the message of the movie, if there even is one, is so muddled that it is lost on me as a viewer. Perhaps if I hadn’t studied theology or been involved in paranormal research of demonic afflictions prior I could have enjoyed this more.
The only redeeming quality of the film in my opinion is Piper’s performance. If you need to see every role Piper was in than I suggest renting it through a DVD service or on Demand, unless you can get it for very cheap, other wise this movie is a complete pass.
Left, Ariel Teal Toombs as Tatiana McMurter
Wrestling With Film 