Deliver Us from Evil

Derrickson's film overall works well and it's clear that he is capable of storytelling, having good moments in it and eventually building it up. If the part with the wife and daughter were cut out, the overall tone of the film wouldn't change and it might even be a bit more dynamic and suspenseful. The gore scenes are great and the exorcism itself is truly the climax. If it weren't for the constant feeling of repetition, I would give the film an even higher rating. (02/07/2015)

Demons are lousy room painters, and owls are not what they seem. A senselessly swollen mix of police procedural, a dark Fincher thriller about the crisis of (post) postmodern society, and all the exorcist horror movies you've ever seen. Instead of a chilling treatment of the actual events, Satchie's supposedly real case appears to be a confused excerpt of a viewer who has seen far too many genre films. Derrickson's style is very cumbersome compared to the sophistication and accuracy of Sinister, and there is very little work with gradation. After a few minutes, when guys with loose make-up and creaking devil whores parade on the screen, the film moves exactly on the unpleasant edge of terror and mockery. Although in my opinion he never went too far to one side, he also certainly didn't settle on the good one either. An excessive number of aggressive and unimaginative jump scares, this time mostly dysfunctionally involved in various ways of shooting, a couple of traditionally luxurious sonic terrors that are important for storytelling, excellently cast starring roles, and proof that Doors are evil only good enough for Sumerian demons. I was expecting an (un)pleasant summer ride through a haunted castle in the style of the excellent Conjuring, and what I got was a confused patchwork of many films blinded by didactic discussions about good, evil and atonement for guilt. Were it not for the traditionally powerful Bana and especially Ramirez, who should be hired by the Vatican as a sexy Jesuit, it would be a mess. This way, its slightly above-average, but at the same time a demonstration that Derrickson doesn’t do all that well in a genre that he should be good at. Of his three horrors, Deliver Us from Evil is the weakest. (07/02/2014)

If it weren’t for the authors pushing the horror elements, I’d even rate it with all five stars. But not only were the occasional jump-scares cheesy, they were also pointless. They were just there to try and create a distinguished atmosphere that the movie already had without them. And that was mostly due to the great combination of story and atmosphere which was definitely inspired by the legendary movie Seven. But after I watched the movie, I was shocked by the fact that it was – once again – based on true events. I can’t help but think that I haven’t seen a familiar story in the news or heard someone speak about a similar experience. It’s always introduced by these sorts of horrors that try to assure us that all that exorcism is based on true events. Isn’t the actual truth going to be a little different? Or maybe it’s a ploy to support the Church? And Eric Bana was great in this, but the authors could have done without the final scene. (07/15/2014)

Well done! A horror film that is watchable and enjoyable, unlike all that weird mainstream stuff. The film builds on a good story and cast and is filled with a perfectly grim atmosphere from the start. I was going to give it five stars, but I was put off by the ending. From the rescue of the wife and daughter until the closing credits, it turned into a very unpleasant surprise and even disappointment. The screenwriter is not to blame, he couldn't have come up with a different ending, as the film was based on true events... (08/10/2016)

The only problem with Derrickson's film is that it presents exactly the type of horror that any experienced viewer is currently oversaturated with: ghosts, strange noises under the bed, a peculiar priest, exorcisms. This template is so tired that despite the director's enormous skill, which holds the viewer's attention throughout and searches for themes beyond all James Wan's ghost stories, the film doesn't have much chance to break through. Big plus points just for pushing an interesting detective storyline, for the music by The Doors, and for Eric Bana, who's still got it. But even that is not enough to satisfy me this time... 70% (10/24/2014)