Délivre-nous du mal

Filmmaker Scott Derrickson has definitely been through a lot when it comes to movies even if he hasn't output a large volume. He's also been through several areas of the movie industry; everything from home video, independent to mainstream blockbuster studios. And of course now that he's been inducted into the family of Marvel Studios, his credibility has been more or less confirmed. Prior to this though he was still trying to make a name for himself in way that would make him stand out. While The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) remake was boring for most, his comeback with Sinister (2012) turned the tables in his favor. While Sinister (2012) did engage its audience at the beginning, the predictability became fairly obvious as time went on. Sadly it seems as though Derrickson did not notice this when he released this movie as his next feature.

The story for this movie displays events that allegedly were told to be true by a New York police officer named Ralph Sarchie. According to him, he came across a number of strange moments where he would be on duty and witness abnormal actions by people. Playing Sarchie is Eric Bana and soon he teams up with a priest by the name of Father Mendoza (Edgar Ramírez) who believes the cases are related to a greater evil. With the screenplay adapted by Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman, the execution of the story feels very similar to that of Sinister (2012). At the start, the plot will capture the viewers' attention, but over time it begins to lose its grasp on what matters most. This is unfortunate because initially it has an interesting detective supernatural vibe going for it, but then it turns to a rather conventional method of execution and begins to lose traction.

And there's a reason why the play out to this feature feels similar. The explanation to this is that Paul Harris Boardman has been a familiar writer to that of other Scott Derrickson productions, surprisingly not Sinister (2012) though. Putting this aside however, the acting by the main cast is fairly good. Eric Bana as the tough Sgt. Sarchie has a captivating presence along with his partner Butler played by Joel McHale, who seems to find a way of making light of any situation. Olivia Munn is also involved as Sarchie's wife who adds some tension to the story being that most married protagonists are easily held as leverage. Edgar Ramirez as Father Mendoza has a peculiar back story working with the supernatural and also serves as a good backup to Sarchie. Lastly there's Sean Harris who plays a significant part to the plot, and Sarchie's investigation.

The visuals to the film were properly placed. Derrickson has done horror films before and this one does not divert from what's been done before. The gore is not over the top but can get grotesque.at times. This makes for an effective take on just how bad things can get surrounding Sgt. Sarchie. The worst it gets is body contortions and really freaky looking faces. The special effects themselves though are well done. There's no areas in the run time that look heavily edited or overly fake. Though some of the events that happen are questionable as to if they actually happened at all. Of course this comes with the understanding that certain liberties will be taken with the story that was given from the original source. The question is, exactly how much of it is true? That's to be debated over since the screenplay is based off of a book by Sgt. Sarchie.

The camerawork was well done too. Filmed by Scott Kevan, the cinematography is displayed competently. There are dark areas throughout the film but it is not to a point where the audience will not be able to see what is happening. If anything it helps emphasize how peculiar some scenarios get. Occasionally there is some shaky cam and dutch angles, but it occurs quite infrequently that it's not really a bother. Kevan was also the cinematographer to Cabin Fever (2002), Death Race (2008) and The Darkest Hour (2011). Composing the film score to this feature was Christopher Young who has not only worked with Derrickson before but has done many horror scores in general. Sadly, what's only heard here are repeated tracks from other movies like Sinister (2012), and the rest are all stings. It's pretty underwhelming because only a couple areas actually sound unique.

Music and story execution is unfortunately a large portion why the movie could not be as good as it presents itself. Yet the actors, horror visuals and premise make the view enjoyable to watch for the most part. It's decent enough to warrant at least one watch but that's it.

This was based on the real account. A cop from the New York who witnessed those unexplained events are what this film depicted for us. I think it is slightly an underrated film. Not because of true story, but from the entertainment perspective. From the beginning till the end, I enjoyed watching it. Horror means there's no big scary stuff in it, still being true to the genre, it told a decent story. It was well written and directed, a film that I almost missed, but now I can gladly suggest it to the others. But it is just an above average, yet worth a watch.

The story follows a cop who witnesses a series of strange events, which also influence his past. In the most of the case, he's trying to find one particular person, a painter seen in and around the city. So he and his partner finally find that strange man and when they do, it is already too late. One of them gets injured and the other one tries his best teaming up with a priest to fight the demon that terrorising the city. The film ends with an interesting event. Looks a sequel won't be a bad idea, since the duo is still fighting the devils as what the end statement reveals.

There's a recent television series I'm watching called 'Outcast' and this film is kind of resembles that. Anyway, this one came first, but what makes they both be alike is the unusual team up between two different field people. The series is like a follow-up of this film, or maybe inspired by this original story. Eric Bana is not everybody's favourite, but his films are quite enjoyable and for this, he had given his best. Co-stars are not bad either; particularly Edgar Ramirez was awesome as a priest. I hope you would find it interesting as I did. It would be beyond that for some, so all I say is watch it with a low expectations.

6.5/10

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.

From Scott Dickerson, the director of the 2012 horror-thriller Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil follows a true life story of Ralph Sarchie (played by Eric Bana), a New York detective who investigates a series of murder cases. Before too long, he learns that these murders are tied to demonic possessions and gets help from Mendoza (played by Edgar Ramirez), an educated priest and exorcism expert to stop on the possessions from terrorizing the city. This film is not as scary and eerie as the trailers made it out to be, but it has its moments of scariness. However, compared to Sinister, this film really could have done better.

Like most films dealing with demonic possessions, this film has the usual subplot of someone being possessed and needing help from a priest to be saved from the evil spirit. What is different about this one is that it takes place in a metropolitan city and involves police and detectives. Basically, this film has look of The Excorcist (1973) and Se7en (1995) combined. Aside from that, the film has its occasional scares here and there, but it wasn't as scary as I was hoping for. The scenes where Eric Bana's character and his partner are investigating houses in the dark did send chills down my spine, those were pretty suspenseful. Then there are the usual jump scares and scenes of blood and gore that occur every once a while. Towards the end, however, the scary atmosphere quickly fades away.

Overall, Deliver Is From Evil doesn't fall completely. While it didn't live up to my expectations, I was still somewhat satisfied with it. If you have seen Sinister, don't expect it to be as scary.