Lionsgate has acquired the North American distribution rights to the Eli Roth produced supernatural thriller The Last Exorcism, originally titled Cotton. Directed by Daniel Stamm (A Necessary Death), the film employs shaky-cam techniques to capture an evangelical minister’s last exorcism in documentary fashion (think Paranormal Activity meets The Exorcist).

Lionsgate released Roth’s 2002 film debut Cabin Fever and his controversial Hostel series.

Jason Constantine, Lionsgate’s president of acquisitions and co-productions, says:

It’s always great to work with our friend Eli, who has played a key role in establishing Lionsgate in the vanguard of the horror genre. The Last Exorcism feels as close to a real exorcism as anyone would ever want to get — audiences are going to find this movie scary as, well, hell.