There was a time when my favorite genre of film was horror.
I loved nearly every horror movie I saw. But that changed over the past several
years. Perhaps it was the glut of horror films that have come out and not
always good ones. But occasionally a good one does come out and when that
happens horror fans need to know. Such is the case with DELIVER US FROM EVIL
from director Scott Derrickson, the director behind the equally chilling
SINISTER.
The story revolves around police detective Ralph Sarchie
(Eric Bana), a member of a select squad that targets specialized crime in the Bronx.
Alongside his partner Butler (Joel
McHale), Ralph occasionally gets what Butler
calls radar about crimes, a sense that something is about to happen. Nothing
can prepare Ralph for the crimes that are about to come into their world
though.
It begins with a domestic disturbance call where they find a
man who beats his wife and acts incredibly strange. Their next case takes them
to the Bronx Zoo at night where a woman has tossed her 2 year old child into
the pit around the lion’s den. The child is fine but they haven’t found the
woman who took off afterwards and search for her. They do find her eventually
as well as a mysterious figure in the lion’s den itself, a worker who was there
earlier in the day to pain the walls there is finishing his job. When Ralph
attempts to arrest him, he lets lose the lions that nearly make a meal of
Ralph. In the meantime this man disappears. A third case involves a home where
they keep hearing noises in the basement. Searching the basement Ralph finds a
decomposing body along with a scrawling on the walls, an odd language he
doesn’t recognize combined with English.
How do these cases connect? When the film opened we were
witness to 3 soldiers in Afghanistan
entering a cave while chasing enemy combatants. Before we had a chance to see
what was in the cave the camera gave out and all we heard were screams. It
turns out that members of these 3 cases were the 3 men in that video.
The woman who attempted to kill her child continues to act
strangely. When a priest shows to talk to her and to ask questions of Ralph
about the case they at first brush him off. But as things change Ralph
eventually talks to the priest. He learns that the man is not just an ordinary
priest but an exorcist who has been trying to help the woman for some time now.
A lapsed Catholic Ralph doesn’t believe in what the priest has to offer. But as
all the cases progress he begins to wonder if this is truly what is happening.
The movie hinges on several things to make it more thrilling
and scary to boot. The first is the fact that it is based on a real story.
There is indeed a Ralph Sarchie who has become a demonologist since the time of
this and other cases he worked on since retiring from the NYPD with
distinction. This is not some random person who takes on evil but someone who
is recognized as a solid policeman.
The next is the viewer’s belief in real evil in this world.
Do demons exist? If you believe that they do, which I do, then the movie takes
on a different perspective than for those who think of it in cinematic terms
only. Either way it makes for some scary moments but believing makes them even
more so.
The quality of film making here is quality to say the least.
Everything from cinematography to direction to set designs culminates to bring
about a terrifying film. The performance of Bana in the lead is superb. He
truly makes the character and the things he confronts seem real. An actor who
rarely gets the praise he deserves, Bana makes you believe he is Ralph Sarchie.
And Ralph’s story can make you think the movie is either entertaining or
terrifying on a real life basis. Which ever way you choose this is one movie
that will offer some scares just in time for Halloween. It’s also one that I’ll
add to my collection of horror films worth watching again.
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