Deliver Us from Evil
Tags: neo noir, gothic, murder, paranormal, horror, flashback, suspenseful

Plot synopsis:
The movie opens in Iraq in 2010. A small group of soldiers are running through a war zone in the desert when they encounter a man-made underground cave. The group leader, Lt. Griggs, sends two soldiers (Jimmy Tratner and Mike Santino) to investigate. Jimmy is recording. Underground, the camera light starts to flicker and then eventually dies out completely. Jimmy and Santino are heard screaming, and then the night vision comes on to reveal hundreds of bats exiting the cave around the two men. Santino produces a light and walks over a river of human skulls to the back of the cave, despite Jimmy's pleas to leave. He illuminates the back wall of the cave, which has a Latin inscription on it.The movie then flashes forward to present day 2013, in New York. Detective Ralph Sarchie is seen trying to give mouth to mouth to a very small bundle, which is revealed to be a dead baby. The coroner asks him repeatedly to let go, but he has trouble doing so and is clearly affected by the experience. The next scene shows Sarchie and his partner, Butler, patrolling the streets of New York. They hear a call coming in about a domestic dispute case and Sarchie says they'll take it. Butler, an adrenaline junkie, is excited because apparently Sarchie has a "radar" that causes him to take cases that take unusual, often violent turns. The call is about Jimmy Tratner. They pull up to his house and Jimmy answers the door. Sarchie needs to see his wife so Jimmy lets them inside. The wife, sitting on the sofa, lifts her head to show she has been badly beaten. Sarchie and Butler immediately try to arrest Jimmy, who fights back with a knife, slashing Sarchie's arm, and then sprints away. They eventually catch him, with Sarchie beating him so badly that Butler has to pull him away, and arrest him. Sarchie notices Jimmy's fingernails are bleeding.After Sarchie gets stitches in his arm, the two get a call for the local zoo. Upon arriving, the police at the scene tell them a woman has thrown her 2-year-old boy into the lion's pit. Luckily, the pit is being repainted, so the lions are not there, but the boy was badly injured. In the ensuing chaos, the woman escaped and the power went out. Sarchie and Butler split up and look for the woman. Sarchie notices the animals are going crazy and eventually finds the woman trying to dig into the ground with her bare fingernails. She is also constantly repeating the lyrics to a song by The Doors. While arresting her, they notice a man in a hood, presumably the painter, in the lion enclosure. Sarchie wants to talk to him but he just slowly walks away, farther into the lion's pit. Sarchie follows him when suddenly the two lions are out in the enclosure. He barely escapes.Upon taking the woman, named Jane, to the station, they are met by a priest named Mendoza. He wants to know more about Jane's behaviour, saying he's been close with her for years and that she isn't insane. He says there are two types of evil: secondary evil, which man does, and primary evil, which is something else entirely. He believes Jane is possessed. Sarchie doesn't believe the priest but takes his card anyway.The two are filling out the paperwork for the night when Sarchie gets a video message from his wife, Jen, and his young daughter, Christina, saying goodnight. Butler tells him the zoo will get them the video for the night's incidents in a few days. Sarchie overhears two other detectives talking about a case where a woman got a call from her father, who's been dead for seven years, to "shut the door, the damn door". Seeing a connection between the woman in the zoo and this case (the Doors), Sarchie offers to take the case off their hands. He and Butler go to a house where the family says they think the house is possessed and that strange sounds have been coming from the basement, which was recently being painted. None of the lights in their house work, none of the candles will burn, and every time they replace a light bulb it burns out within a few hours. Sarchie and Butler go down the stairs to investigate. The place reeks and hasn't been touched for some time. Butler goes upstairs for air, and Sarchie's radio starts making static for no reason. He eventually finds a body in the basement rolled up in a tarpaulin, later to be revealed to be Lt. Griggs. Sarchie questions the family and they identify his picture as a painter. They say there was another painter too, but they didn't see his face as he always had a hood on.Sarchie goes home to see his wife and daughter. The next morning Jen and Christina go to church, but Sarchie doesn't go. Jen tells Christina he used to go to church but doesn't any more. He doesn't believe any more.Sarchie and Butler go to Griggs's apartment and discover he was Jane's husband. His apartment is a wreck. They find another picture with Lt. Griggs, Jimmy, and a man named Santino in it. Upon looking him up, they discover all three were dishonourably discharged for attacking an army chaplain. They served time and got out a couple of years ago. Sarchie recognizes Santino as the painter from the lion enclosure and they further infer he is the painter from the house. Lt. Griggs was found to have killed himself by drinking paint thinner, but Santino had to have been the one to wrap him in the tarpaulin.The zoo has finally sent over the footage from the night the detectives were there. First, they watch the video of Jane. She is seen walking past the lion pit with a stroller when she spots Santino there, painting over something that looks like an inscription. He turns to face her and she starts to shake violently and then throws her child into the pit. He turns back and continues painting as if nothing happened. Next, they watch the video of Sarchie in the lion pit. Santino is shown walking away from Sarchie and turning a corner to let the lions out of where they're being kept, seemingly talking to them. Sarchie hears static again even though his radio is off and children's laughter. Then, a bloodied man pops up on the screen for a split second, startling him. Butler doesn't hear or see anything.Meanwhile, there is a scene where Christina is home going to sleep. She hears scratching under her bed and runs to her mum's room screaming. Sarchie goes home for the night and is met by Jen, who is angry at him because he yelled at his daughter and because "even when he's home he's not really there." He gets mad and tells her he's had a terrible week. She says he doesn't talk to her any more and he says he'll try to be better. He goes to check on his daughter and finds nothing in her room until he sees the bloodied man over her bed in the mirror. He whips back around and the man is gone.Sarchie continues to hear static and children's voices, so he goes to meet the priest Mendoza at a pub. Mendoza is drinking but explains he used to be hooked on heroin, and that it eventually led him to God when he hit rock bottom. He lets Sarchie listen to an audio clip of an exorcism of a woman Claudia and her 5 year old daughter. The clip deeply affects Sarchie. Sarchie lets Mendoza take a look at the clips, and Mendoza doesn't hear the voices or see the man. However, Mendoza claims Sarchie's "radar" might actually be a heightened awareness to all things occult and evil, which is both a gift and a curse.Throughout the movie, Sarchie's family situation is becoming worse. He is distant from his wife and Christina's room is seemingly becoming increasingly haunted. One night, she hears the scratching again and her door won't open. Another night, her toys come alive on their own and move toward her. Jen is mad at Sarchie, saying Christina doesn't feel safe in her own home because she needs her father.Jane, in a mental ward, incapacitates the physician and escapes.Sarchie goes back to Jimmy's wife's house and sees the recordings from the war, including the one from the beginning of the film. Mrs. Tratner says she hasn't seen Jimmy since he got arrested, though he is out of jail. Sarchie views the recording and sees the inscription. He discovers the inscription is everywhere Santino is seen painting - the zoo, the house with the haunted basement, the cave in Iraq, even Jimmy's apartment. Mendoza explains the inscription is a portal to Hell. This explains why all the references are to the Doors, a type of portal.Butler and Sarchie find Santino's address. They, along with Mendoza, go to his apartment to wait for him. Butler is covering the front and Sarchie is in the car with Mendoza in the back. Mendoza says Sarchie needs to confess to God for him to help any further. Before Sarchie can do so, he spots Santino coming back into the apartment complex. He and Butler enter his apartment but he isn't there. They try to chase him down but they get split up, resulting in Sarchie getting attacked by a possessed Jimmy, who appears in the basement, and Butler getting trapped on the stairs. Mendoza is able to subdue Jimmy with his cross. Butler is stabbed to death in the stairwell by Santino.Back at Mendoza's apartment, Sarchie is upset about not being able to save Butler. Mendoza tells him to confess to him. He does, and explains he has killed a man out of revenge before. Mendoza absolves him of his sins.When Sarchie is driving home, Jane jumps to her death onto his car. When he is calling it in, he gets a call from Jen's phone, only to realize it's Santino on the phone, who has kidnapped his wife and daughter. He races home to find Santino and calls backup. They arrest Santino and bring him in. Mendoza and Sarchie are forced to do an exorcism. It is long and taxing for both, with Sarchie at one point only being able to hear a song by the Doors. Eventually, they expel the demon, and Sarchie finds his wife and daughter unharmed.It is revealed that after the birth of his second daughter, Sarchie retired from the police force and works with Mendoza to this day.

Review: I've always liked movies involving evil and demonology since the plot, effects, action and suspense are always entertaining to watchThe story is like a combination of Se7en and Exorcist where cop is on a case to solve murder cases supernatural style.
There is also a side story on the main character in the film which explains why he is the way he is and at times made me feel sorry for himThe effects within the film like the ritual ceremony scenes, blood etc in a way were pretty gory and intense to watch and will really make you feel a bit nauseate throughout the film but they were really well madeEric Bana does a solid job as Ralph Sarchie.
In New York, Police Officer Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) and his partner Butler (Joel McHale) investigate a series of bizarre crimes in Bronx: the death of a baby in an alley: the beating of the wife of the former soldier Jimmy (Chris Coy) by him; and the case of a mother, Jane Crenna (Olivia Horton), who has thrown her two year old son in the enclosure of the lions in the zoo.
The skeptic Sarchie does not believe in the father in the beginning, but when his family is jeopardized by Santino, he teams-up with the priest to exorcise Santino and save his beloved family."Deliver Us from Evil" is a creepy and dark exorcism movie directed by Scott Derrickson from "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and "Sinister".
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..
As an important part from its screenplay, Deliver Us From Evil borrows many concepts and situations from other films, either as a "tribute" or as a tool for establishing the atmosphere and tone from the scenes (some examples: policeman with family difficulties; rebel priest with a tortuous past; a main character who has lost the faith; and a prologue set in the Middle East, in the purest style of The Exorcist).
I appreciate the fact that Deliver Us From Evil attempted to modify its particular cinematographic recipe, placing the characters' humanity above cheap scares and stylistic tricks (even though it contains various examples of both); but at the same time, I feel that it distanced itself too much from the roots of the horror genre, and tried to compensate it with an abundance of clichés which end up diluting its identity.
The point is, outside of maybe The Exorcism of Emily Rose (this director could have taken a cue from one of his earlier films), there HAS NOT been one Horror Film to scares us like the Original did oh so long ago!Since the trailer was excellent, I thought maybe this film could do it; breathe new fear into the 'Sub-Horror Possession Genre', BUT it didn't.
The exorcism(s) were laughable (even with Ramirez's inept performance) due mainly to major inconsistencies involving the possessed (including when they were or weren't), a lack of established motive (by either the possessed or demon), as well as a disappointing origin of the demon.Maybe it's too hard to make an exorcism scary anymore (ESPECIALLY when you DON'T do what's listed above)!In Addition: Derrickson, like almost ALL horror filmmakers these days, gives away WAYYY too much for the audience to not only see but to understand (which steals a level of necessary mystique).
Overall Deliver Us From Evil, is one of the better horror movies I've seen in a long time.
The problem I have with this is that, it is very predictable, and it's like a remake of other exorcism movies in the past, which probably would not be that bad if they can add something unexpected to it, another thing is, there were some scenes that would give you some chills but for some reason some awkward sound effects will come in, and will make you lose that feeling.
Eric Bana was great in this flick, but his New York accent, along with the one his hot wife played by Olivia Munn seemed over the top and unnecessary for my taste.Bana plays a catholic born and raised cop from the Bronx who investigates inexplicable crimes happening in the area that turn out to demonic in nature.The cool part of the movie is that the demons are not really shown in the movie, making it more of a crime drama about people doing some disturb things for no reason, but once Edgar Ramirez character of a priest who investigates the supernatural comes into picture and shows Bana's character his full potential, that's when it really turns into the film that was advertised.
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.
Sean Harris's performance is slightly less impressive, but is still a good example of how to act the role of a possessed forced-villain.The second spot of light in this otherwise average film is the character of "Father" Mendoza played by Edgar Ramirez.
However, there are Enough New Inclusions to Make this an Above Average Exorcism Entry.Not as Good as The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), the Directors Other Attempt at the Subject Matter, but Better and a Bit Different than the Standard Stuff so Prevalent, Especially in the Awful Found Footage Films.Eric Bana and Edgar Ramirez Lead the Way as the Creepy Plot Imposes Itself Unto the "Everyday" Evil that is Standard Procedural Police Work.
And here is an irony: the flaws I believe are due to the length (overlong by about half an hour, which is a lifetime for feature) and the length is due to the pedigree, ie, this is a Jerry Bruckheimer production and no way Jerry was going to let one of his pet projects get cut at 90 minutes (which would have placed it in the same category as the B films, the "found footage" films, and the direct-to-video jobs).The story which appears to be based on some sort of fact is an odd combination of two iconic films which most buffs will immediately recall, the original EXORCIST and Denzel's wonderful 90s flick, THE FALLEN.I deliberately said "odd combination" because in truth each of these is a different type of story and to combine the two in one production would produce a strange result.Which is what you have here.The good news?
Bana is one of those "under-used" actors who always does a fine job and one should never pass a chance to catch him in action.Good as Bana is, however, he is upstaged by the Director Scott Derrickson who does such a great job at setting scenes and mood that you might almost call him the real "hero" of the story since this technically perfect work can do nothing but good for his career.Similarly, Bana is upstaged yet again by Édgar Ramírez who seems to be trying to make the transition from Latin actor to English speaking actor.
While Derrickson has been making some good films for years now Boardman is known for his much smaller work like Hellraiser: Inferno and The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
A good bit of the film focuses on Sarchie(played by Eric Bana) and his family/work life.
As I just mentioned the exorcism scene really saves an average movie and makes it nearly a good level film.
It says based on actual events at the start of the film but i am certain 0% is true and some retired police officer is bored with his time and is writing the craziest things he can think of into a book, and what he wrote was sooo full of crap that Hollywood could not pass it up.
the only reason it got 3 for me was the cheap little laughs i got and i also feel sorry for anyone involved in the movie for how much time they wasted, they get a few sympathy stars on me.if this is what horrors are like now I'm giving up of the genre..
It's all of those, plus whatever else you want to add to the list, rolled up into what is "Deliver us from Evil." It's not necessarily a bad movie, but it is far from original, and the clichés could kill someone.The origin of where the demon/point of possession came from is really weak, and it's done in about ten minutes in one scene where officer Sarchie is reviewing footage that one of the soldiers (now possessed) filmed when they were overseas.
This is basically The Devil Inside or The Exorcism of Emily Rose or any damn possession movie you can think of with "based on true events" attached to it and a different story line.
"Inspired by the actual accounts of an NYPD sergeant", the crime/ horror mash-up draws its inspiration from the book "Beware the Night" by a certain Ralph Sarchie (played by Eric Bana), who in real life teamed up with a maverick Jesuit priest Father Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) to investigate criminal activities with a paranormal twist in and around the Bronx.
A confession is in order, but not before Father Mendoza reveals himself to have found redemption in the faith by confessing the sins of his youth before God and embracing God's path of forgiveness.Such elements of faith and the eternal battle between the forces of good and evil are not new to director and co-writer Scott Derrickson, whose own 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' was one of the better exorcism thrillers which we have seen in recent time.
Neither for that matter do the scenes of demonic horror terrify as much as they should; indeed, the climax which details a full exorcism in its six- stage glory comes off hokey and contrived rather than authentic no thanks to Derrickson's over-reliance on Hollywood-style sound and special effects.That the film is not a complete washout is credit to solid acting by Eric Bana and Sean Harris.
Harris is intense as he should be, but the same cannot be said of Ramirez, whose spirit seems barely there in most of the scenes – which certainly doesn't help the caricature of a character which Derrickson and his co-screenwriter Paul Harris Boardman have concocted.But in a movie where too few notes ring true, Father Mendoza is but one of the flaws which you're likely to dismiss along with the rest of the movie, no matter that the film purports to be inspired by fact.
Things just went a little too well.I'll say this movie was worth a watch for the performances of all the actors involved, but it was kind of a bland exorcism movie which will be forgotten and filed away within a year...take note writes and directors, someone badly needs to mix this genre up for me to give anything but an average grade on these movies.
** Eric Bana struggles to keep you interested in his travails while ** Olivia Munn's delectable low-cut white dress is the only reason to see this filmGOD should forgive the filmmaker for making this run-of-the-mill horror film.There's mumbo-jumbo about a New York cop's loss of faith, and a priest's handsome curls distracting viewers from his message about fighting the devil.However, the film's penultimate scene is its most ludicrous.Viewers have seen many films about exorcism, so they would not be surprised about what happens during one, and they could even predicts its outcome.
There are even instances during the climactic battle itself that went on a bit too long, with Eric Bana only on the sidelines.Director and co-writer Scott Derrickson had been more successful with his previous horror films like "Sinister" and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose".
"Deliver Us from Evil" is meaningful for me because it is similar story with a man who served in military in Caucasus and it seems is suffering from the same symptoms as the guys who was in Iraq.The scene of exorcism powerfully portrayed and whole film is a good suspense.
So, as in most cases with a film of this nature, IF you can really 'get into' Supernatural elements and that is your 'thing', then YES, you likely will really enjoy this movie a LOT because it is put together extremely well and is frigg'n SCARY!
But, if that kind of stuff just seems unbelievable and silly and does absolutely nothing for you, well then, NO, clearly you won't like it.Just that simple, really...So, you have to weigh this movie based upon the TYPE of Horror film that you enjoy.
And, so if you are a 'Material Realist' (in the commentary, the director actually uses terms like this concerning the subject matter) and if you like your Horror films to be more 'Realistic' or 'Believable' and you do not get into ones with more Supernatural or Fanciful overtones, then this movie will probably leave you flatter than Chaz Bono...But, MAN, let me tell you...
But, I REALLY liked this film and I LOVED the angle that the story took, beginning during the war in Iraq.IF you enjoy this type of Supernatural Horror film AND if you also happen to like a good, strong Police Procedural / Crime Thriller, this will be a movie made in Heaven for you...I'll tell you one thing...
It has nothing new,and certainly is not really scary,not to mention that the plot,interesting at the beginning,turns predictable and simple along the film.6 is a fair rating,better than the average,but not at the level of other great movies of the genre..
Packed with jump scares and given that added creepiness factor due to the based on a actual events, Scott Derrickson's offering (who brought us Sinister) is wonderfully filmed.The supporting cast are excellent and lead Eric Bana's Sarchie is riveting as the flawed everyday man.
And when the film does arrive at the final scenes, it begins to border on silly and overdone with a little bit of melodrama and cheesiness thrown in for good measure.I think movies like this sometimes try too hard to be something they're not solely for the sake of trying to shock the audience (just like The Exorcist had done in its time).But after you've seen a possessed 12 year old masturbate with a cross, you become desensitized to anything anyone else can come up with.
But he was really great especially in the exorcism scene.It is a mixture of action movie and horror and I like that.
He did put in a good performance in this film and I liked his fearless cockiness at the beginning but the director put in a load of pointless scenes which made the movie drag after a while.
I'm not usually a fan of movies in the horror/exorcism genre so my expectations wasn't that high but I liked some of the investigating and the intriguing, mystery element.Budget: $30million Worldwide Gross: $88millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their horror/thriller movies about a cop whose investigating a possessed ex-soldier whose doing evil in New York.
I like one place the story went with Bana and the movie had a few good visuals but besides that, there's nothing new to see here.
He joins forces with an unconventional priest, schooled in the rites of exorcism, to combat the possessions that are terrorising their city.Deliver Us from Evil is a new horror movie written and directed by Scott Derrickson, it stars Eric Bana, Joe McHale and Edgar Ramirez.
This film is all a bit cliché though; like we've seen it all before in previous hunting, horror, and exorcism stories.
A horror movie starring Eric Bana & Joel McHale probably doesn't sound like anything very high value, but it really makes for a fun ride, and the down time between the tension wass more than enough to keep my attention.
In fact, while it's based on a true story, it plays like an ordinary horror film.
Deliver us From Evil directed by Scott Derrickson had some pretty high expectations as the 2012 hit horror film 'Sinister' impressed a lot of people.
Don't get me wrong, this film is essentially a horror flick, but not in the aspect of what 'The Conjuring' or the 'Insidious' franchise had to offer.The acting in Deliver us From Evil was great, especially from Eric Bana who plays the lead role of NYPD officer Ralph Sarchie, and Edgar Ramirez who plays a priest.
Despite a few clichés brining me away from the movie, I will say that the story was interesting enough for a horror film, the acting was solid, the tone and score was fantastic and the exorcism scene at the end made the movie just a little better.If you are a true horror fan, you will like this movie and appreciate the style and tone Scott Derrickson has to offer.
The actors all deliver solid performances, the main characters are well-written and interesting, the police investigation side of the story (the part that separates this from other exorcism movies) was very good, and it's even got a good sense of tension courtesy of experienced horror director Scott Derrickson, maker of the excellent Sinister and the alright The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
From the director of The Exorcism of Emily Rose & Sinister comes another horror flick which advertises itself to be based on a true story but apart from the main character's name, everything in the film is a fictional setup.