Livrai-nos do Mal

Don't listen to some of the critics. A very good scary movie. I think the critics knocking it just do not like the exorcism genre. If you liked The Rite or The Conjuring you will like this movie. A story with characters you care about. Also based on a true story which of course means there are certain liberties taken with it but that makes it more interesting. This was a scary movie with brains. The background and setting reminded me a bit of the movie Seven. The priest is the most interesting character. I normally am not a huge fan of Eric Bana but he plays the role of the detective well. This could also be classified as a crime thriller with a supernatural twist.

It's been a while since I found a decent exorcism movie. I mean, some of the exorcism-theme movies I've watched is pretty decent if not too ordinary. Too similar with the process and the pace. So, when I see that Deliver Us From Evil has arrived, I too didn't really put up too much hope. I thought this is just another typical exorcism movie.

You see, most of the exorcism will always start with the same process. Some devil possessing a child (or someone), (usually) the parents got distracted over the fact and try to find a way to rid the devil. A priest got the information and try to help exorcise the demon. The priest done it successfully (or so he thought) only to find that the demon hasn't really left the child. The priest then try to find a much more experienced priest to help him and finally able to rid the devil for good, but with the cost of someone's life. That's pretty much how all exorcism related movie goes.

But not with this one. I'm actually pretty hyped up after watching it!!! The acting is great, the pace is good and basically got a different presentation to make this into a not boring "typical-exorcism" movie. It actually makes you yearn for more information, dragging your heighten-interest along the way and keeps up the momentum to finally gave you a shocking horror, straight to your face.

I dare gave it 8/10 for Deliver Us From Evil.

There is absolutely nothing original about this film. The acting isn't bad at all, but the plot is very generic. For the hardcore horror lover the movie will get boring and predictable, you've got the cop with some issues, you've got the priest know knows what's happening, you've got the cop's family with the little girl, the entire plot is a deja-vu.

The basis on which the occult is based has also been used in almost every exorcism film ever made, even though the writer tried to make it a bit more interesting by mixing Christian with persian mythology, however it didn't land that well.

The mystery character is also not very mysterious either, so I guess this film doesn't deserve more than 5 stars from me.

In Iraq 2010, US troops uncover something dangerous. It's 2013. NYPD officer Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) investigates a series of disturbing crimes with his partner Butler (Joel McHale). He's married to Jen (Olivia Munn) with a daughter. Jesuit priest Mendoza (Édgar Ramírez) is fighting the evil and Sarchie joins in to investigating a group of returning marines.

The movie sets up a good dark murky NYC. Eric Bana is good at being the brooding intense guy. Joel McHale is the wise-cracking sidekick. Surprisingly, he muscles up and gets into a few fights. Filmmaker Scott Derrickson has zeroed in on the dark moody style. However the movie slowly loses momentum. The tension fades. Instead of intensifying the excitement, it get muddled exorcism talk. Also, Butler seems to be replaced by Mendoza. It would probably be better to keep Butler inside the group. It's a lot of darken rooms and jump scares. The movie never finds the next gear.

Though I usually keep in regular touch with what movies are being widely released to theaters, somehow I didn't hear of this movie when it was in theaters, so when I came across the Blu-ray I was quite surprised to learn of it. But to be honest, after watching it, I thought the movie should have stayed in obscurity. It's not the worst horror movie I've seen, but it has some major problems. For starters, the movie raises a lot of unanswered questions, like how the hero was able to view footage shot by the military. But the main problem with the movie is how tiresome it is. It moves very slowly, and the moments of horror that occasionally happen have a "been there done that" kind of feeling. These problems are made worse by a running time of almost two hours in length - this story didn't need to be so long. On the positive side, the acting is competent and the photography is moody and gives the story a lightly eerie undercurrent throughout. Though not enough to make the movie actually scary, however.