Deliver Us From Evil

I must have mentioned this many times before, but the truth is that The Exorcist is still the best exorcist movie ever made so far, in motion picture history. I have probably seen it 10 times since i was a child, and even if it was made in 1973, this is a classic that will never be forgotten. There are 2 sequels, and even a prequel, but none of them have been as good as the original film. Many film makers have tried to make exorcism movies over the years, trying to mix different genres with classic ingredients. The only really good one, that i feel managed to deliver the right feeling of exorcism material, is the 2005 film The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. Until this day, i would still say that director Scott Derrickson found a great way, to both bring classic elements in, but still try and make his own view on exorcism. If you have not seen this one, rent it and i am sure you will have a great time. Speaking of Scott, he directed one of my personal favourite horror films lately, called Sinister. Ethan Hawke did one of his best performances in many years in Sinister, in a horror film that is so creepy, you will be applauding in your living room. Now, Scott Derrickson is back with a new horror motion picture, Deliver Us From Evil, that is his second time to go inside the exorcism genre. With 2 great horror films in his baggage, is Scott back on top with another quality horror film, or should he have changed genre and do something else instead ?

Ralph Sarchie ( Eric Bana ) is a New York cop, who always try to do his best to help people in need. But sometimes his job become too much, especially when he finds a dead baby dumped in an alley. One night as Ralph is patrolling with his partner Butler ( Joel McHale ), they are told to visit the Bronx Zoo. In the tiger cage, a man is decorating the walls with grafitti, that seems to be some kind of old religious writings. Not knowing who he is, or why he was doing these writings, Ralph try and confront him. But something seems very strange. This man simply walk inside a tiger cage, and is not attacked, he simply dissapear. Ralph begin to investigate, and find out the mans name is Santonio ( Sean Harris ), a former soldier in the middle east. But when the investigation continues, Ralph understand something must have happened to Santonio while he was on a mission in the middle east. The same writings are found in a video, filmed by the military team, during their operation. But this is just the beginning. An insane woman, who killed her own baby, is arrested. She speaks a very odd language. Ralph belive that she must be mentally insane, but a priest named Mendoza ( Édgar Ramirez ) belive she may be possessed. Ralph think this is nonsense, but he change his mind as more strange events occure. Mendoza tries to use his skills, to stop Santonio. Then suddenly, Santionio kidnap Ralphs wife Jen Sarchie ( Olivia Munn ) and their child. This have gone too far, so Ralph and Mendoza prepare themselves to end this for good.

Considering how great Scott Derrickson is as a horror film director, with both The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, and Sinister, i would say that he still manage to keep the genre alive. The biggest difference this time, is that he is trying to do a cop thriller, mixed with exorcism horror. The result is alright, but not as strong as his previous films. Deliver Us From Evil is not a bad horror film, compared to many awful exorcism motion pictures, but i was hoping that we could have had more gory murder scenes. We get a lot of jumpy scary scenes, where some work, while others feel a bit simple. One of the best advantages of this film, is leading actor Eric Bana. He works really well as the New York cop Ralph Sarchie, based on true events that the real cop experienced. I would go as far and say that Eric Bana have not been this good, for many years. Another positive detail is the dialogue, it feels that Scott Derrickson tried to capture the feeling of New York police force, the way they talk. In some cop motion pictures, they focus more on the action than on the cop individuals. Here you at least get a sense of how it could be working in this disctrict. The exorcism scenes looks pretty good, especially towards the final scenes. There is no doubt that Scott enjoy making films in this genre. There are a few details that could have been improved, but Deliver Us From Evil is a fun horror film to enjoy. Exorcism rituals is the best way to start the day, i wish i could do this more often, it looks like so much fun.

Rating: DDD