Deliver Us from Evil (15) **

Based on the book Beware The Night by retired NYPD police officer Ralph Sarchie, Deliver Us From Evil is a supernatural horror about Sarchie’s supposed real-life encounters with the forces of darkness on the streets of New York.
Deliver Us From EvilDeliver Us From Evil
Deliver Us From Evil

Great swathes of Scott Derrickson’s film are hard to swallow, especially scenes inside the bedroom of Sarchie’s cherubic daughter, who becomes a prime target for malevolent retribution.

Derrickson is well versed in the tropes of the genre, having previously made The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and Sinister starring Ethan Hawke.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He engineers some mildly creepy shocks between set pieces, culminating in a camera-shaking showdown between good and evil that leaves many questions unanswered.

Deliver Us From EvilDeliver Us From Evil
Deliver Us From Evil

Detective Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) patrols his south Bronx beat with thrill-seeking partner Butler (Joel McHale).

Dedicated to his soul-destroying job, Sarchie finds it hard to leave behind the stresses of the day when he returns home to his wife Jen (Olivia Munn) and daughter Christina (Lulu Wilson).

In the space of a single night, Sarchie answer two calls: a domestic dispute involving Iraq war veteran Tratner (Chris Coy) and an infanticide at the city zoo committed by a disturbed mother (Olivia Horton).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

CCTV footage reveals she was spurred on by a hooded figure, who turns out to be Santino (Sean Harris), a colleague of Tratner.

As the two cops investigate these connected incidents, they cross paths with Spanish priest Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez), who claims that a demonic presence is responsible for the bloodshed.

Sceptical at first, Sarchie witnesses horrific visions, which suggest that Mendoza might be telling the truth.

Deliver Us From Evil unfolds at a consistent, steady pace, and Bana is suitably gruff in a two-dimensional and largely unsympathetic role but he doesn’t have sufficient screen time with Munn and Wilson to convince us to invest in the family’s wellbeing.

Harris is genuinely unsettling as the possessed antagonist, whose presence lights the fuse on blood-spattered madness.