Deliver Us from Evil (2014)
Directed by Scott Derrickson
When a frightening wave of violence sweeps through New York City, troubled cop Sarchie fails to find a rational explanation for the bizarre crimes. However, his eyes are opened to a frightening alternate reality when renegade Jesuit priest Mendoza convinces him that demonic possession may be to blame for the gruesome murders. Together, they wage a valiant supernatural struggle to rid the city of an otherworldly evil.
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Just as the war vet's dramatic exit is seemingly in homage to Jason Miller's famous nosedive at the end of William Friedkin's The Exorcist , Deliver Us from Evil begins by locating the source of its titular evil in the ancient, subterranean bowels of Iraq.
Its police procedural twist aside, “Deliver Us From Evil” is basically the garden-variety possession/exorcism flick — not unlike other alleged true stories such as “The Exorcist,” “The Amityville Horror,” “An American Haunting,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “The Haunting in Connecticut,” “The Possession,” “The Conjuring” et al.
Set in the South Bronx, “Deliver Us From Evil” is a variation on a theme of “The Exorcist,” complete with a hardened police investigator (Sarchie, played by Aussie actor Eric Bana), who has a “radar” for evil, and a flawed but dedicated young Catholic priest (Venezuelan Edgar Ramirez of “Carlos the Jackal”).
Ever since The Exorcist blew everyone’s pants off way back in 1973, filmmakers have been trying to recapture the wonderfully disturbing “possession story” magic that William Friedkin cooked up.
And the granddaddy of them all is "The Exorcist," a truly creepy and shocking horror film that not only still stands the test of time even after all of these years (41 to be exact), but has yet to be surpassed by any number of poseurs and wannabes whose sole desire is to rip that demonic crown off William Friedkin's legendary film.
It stemmed from an idea of producer Jerry Bruckheimer's to make a movie that merged Serpico (1973) with The Exorcist (1973).
This is blockbuster horror, a Dateline NBC segment blown out into a catch-all gothic extravaganza that includes references to Iraq and PTSD, the Bronx Zoo as a gateway to hell, a heroin junkie turned über-hip Catholic demonologist, and the deepest consideration of Jim Morrison’s mind-expanding lyrics since Oliver Stone’s The Doors.
Moreover, the pic uses a handful of songs by 60s rock band “The Doors” as part of its storyline, ostensibly because of singer Jim Morrison’s loose connection to the occult.
The testosterone teaming goes straight to hell with the priest character played by Édgar Ramírez (Carlos), a chain-smoking and whiskey-guzzling padre who seems to be channelling Serpico-era Al Pacino.
It stemmed from an idea of producer Jerry Bruckheimer's to make a movie that merged Serpico (1973) with The Exorcist (1973).
While Deliver‘s cinematography never rises to the level of its spiritual cousin, James Wan’s The Conjuring, Derrickson’s clever juxtaposition of the horrific and the clinical earns a comparison to The Silence of the Lambs.
According to one source, Sarchie studied with paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, whose work inspired the films “The Haunting in Connecticut” and “The Conjuring.”
It doesn’t help that the owl ties into a third-act dramatic move echoing last year’s The Conjuring, where it made more sense.
Its police procedural twist aside, “Deliver Us From Evil” is basically the garden-variety possession/exorcism flick — not unlike other alleged true stories such as “The Exorcist,” “The Amityville Horror,” “An American Haunting,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “The Haunting in Connecticut,” “The Possession,” “The Conjuring” et al.
Of course, as last summer’s similarly “fact-based” The Conjuring proved, it’s not necessary to believe a supernatural anecdote to be spooked by it.
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But if the film, like Derrickson's The Exorcism of Emily Rose before it, isn't some didactic shouting match between religious and secularist forces, it shouts in other ways—mostly as an unrefined litany of mansplaining which borrows more than a few notes from the granddaddy of all exorcism movies.
Scott Derrickson’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose took a forensic approach, blending a possession/exorcism story with courtroom drama.
His latest feature, "Deliver Us from Evil," also has more to say, but the problem is that the very same themes revolving around faith, religion and the darker corners of the supernatural were explored with far greater eloquence and depth in 2005's " The Exorcism of Emily Rose ."
Its police procedural twist aside, “Deliver Us From Evil” is basically the garden-variety possession/exorcism flick — not unlike other alleged true stories such as “The Exorcist,” “The Amityville Horror,” “An American Haunting,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “The Haunting in Connecticut,” “The Possession,” “The Conjuring” et al.
It took Derrickson some time to establish credibility as a horror filmmaker—he had a minor hit with 2005’s similarly themed The Exorcism of Emily Rose and made a lot of money on a small budget with the genuinely unsettling Sinister, starring Ethan Hawke—but with the support of uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Derrickson’s dedication finally got the film made, though it hardly seems worth the trouble.
Adding in the demons does little except turn it into something akin to that Arnold Schwarzenegger stinker End of Days.
Sarchie’s personal Tales From The Crypt episode comes to life quite well as far as the horror is concerned, as Derrickson hits a stride akin to his bone-chilling hit from 2012, Sinister.
There are also dribs and drabs of Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) and Se7en (1995), but in its heart of hearts, Deliver Us from Evil has a bad case of Friedkin envy.
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There are also dribs and drabs of Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) and Se7en (1995), but in its heart of hearts, Deliver Us from Evil has a bad case of Friedkin envy.
The movie also unfolds during perhaps the gloomiest, rainiest week seen on screen since “Se7en.”
And after a while, the film’s grim, desolate settings come off not so much as a landscape of moral squalor (as in Se7en), but as a tedious attempt to add gravity to a thoroughly generic horror tale.
According to one source, Sarchie studied with paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, whose work inspired the films “The Haunting in Connecticut” and “The Conjuring.”
Its police procedural twist aside, “Deliver Us From Evil” is basically the garden-variety possession/exorcism flick — not unlike other alleged true stories such as “The Exorcist,” “The Amityville Horror,” “An American Haunting,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “The Haunting in Connecticut,” “The Possession,” “The Conjuring” et al.