Director: Scott Derrickson

Writer: Scott Derrickson, Paul Harris Boardman (Screenplay) Ralph Sarchie, Lisa Collier Cool (Book)

Starring: Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Olivia Munn, Chris Coy, Dorian Misssick, Sean Harris, Joel McHale, Mike Houston

 

Plot: New York police officer Ralph Sarchie investigates a series of crimes. He joins forces with an unconventional priest, schooled in the rites of exorcism, to combat the possessions that are terrorizing their city.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Law & Order: Exorcism

 

Story: Deliver Us From Evil starts by telling us it is inspired by real accounts from Ralph Sarchie. We move to Iraq 2010 where we see a group of soldiers who discover something, we don’t see what. We are now back in 2013 and Officer Sarchie (Bana) who is on a case where he finds a dead baby. Things take a turn when Sarchie and his partner get a call about a domestic disturbance of a war veteran. Sarchie is in for an eventful night when he and his partner get called to the Bronx Zoo where they search for a lady who pushed her own baby into one of the habitats. Mendoza (Ramirez) a priest is helps with her potential issues with the lady at the zoo. Sarchie continues to have an interesting week where he takes the strange cases with his latest being noises from a family’s basement.

The case seems easy to wrap up but when it becomes apparent something outside the normal realm is occurring Sarchie and his partner have to look deeper into the case. Finding out the people are all connected and supernatural things happening around him he starts acting differently around his own family. What Sarchie finds is the occult might be involved in what is going on so he teams up with Mendoza to uncover what is going on.

Deliver Us From Evil first needs to be seen as a based on real accounts idea, so that means no over the top silly scares, we do have some well-constructed ones which could easily be real. I like how some of the situations do get explained while others do mix the supernatural, because a lot of horrors only go for the supernatural while this shows that certain things can be explained. In the most part we do have to watch a lot of people watching, searching and talking about what is going on, which does distract us from the lack of action on screen. It does come off very well as a story because you do get the feeling this guy just had a very bad week indeed. (7/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Eric Bana: Sarchie Detective who starts getting a string of unusual cases that all add up, he has to face the truths of supernatural while he doesn’t believe in the supernatural. He teams up with priest to try and uncover the truth of what is going on. Eric does a good job as the non-religious cop who must learn to believe. (7/10)

 

Edgar Ramirez: Mendoza priest who studies demonology and along the way he has learnt plenty of things along the lines of the way learning about plenty of different religions. He has to teach Sarchie about different ideas about demonology. Edgar does a good job as the priest who speaks slowly and stays very calm through all the situations. (7/10)

Olivia Munn: Jen is Sarchie’s wife, he doesn’t open up to her enough leaving them both feeling distant as the supernatural starts taking over his own house. Olivia does a solid job but doesn’t get enough screen time. (6/10)

 

Support Cast: Deliver Us From Evil has fellow officers who investigate the goings on, who all help the story flow. The main supporting cast is actually the possessed characters who keep us guessing to what they will be doing next.

 

Director Review: Scott Derrickson – Scott does a good job directing making this feel like a real investigation film mixed with a supernatural theme. (7/10)

 

Horror: Deliver Us From Evil uses the horror elements very nicely but doesn’t go for over the top scares, it shows you the horrors that could be a reality though. (8/10)

Thriller: Deliver Us From Evil does keep you guessing to what will happen next and final half of the film turns into very much edge of your seat. (8/10)

Settings: Deliver Us From Evil uses its settings very well to identify how it might not be the smooth cover of a normal life with the occult very much in the city. (8/10)
Special Effects: Deliver Us From Evil uses his effects well with the possessions and during the exorcisms. (8/10)

Suggestion: Deliver Us From Evil is one for the horror fans to try, it might also appeal to fans of investigation films. (Horror or Investigation Fans Try)

 

Best Part: Exorcism

Worst Part: Slightly too long.

Scariest Scene: Sarchie little girl and her haunted bedroom.

 

Believability: Whether you want to believe or not, it is based on real accounts depends how much you think really happened. (7/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Box Office: $88 Million

Budget: $30 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes

Tagline: You haven’t seen true evil

 

Overall: Good Look at Exorcism

Rating