Deliver Us From Evil movie poster
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Deliver Us From Evil
Deliver Us From Evil movie poster

Deliver Us From Evil Movie Review

Now available on Blu-ray and DVD (Buy on Amazon)

Scary is as scary does, but Deliver Us From Evil, the first major horror movie release in what seems like forever, definitely doesn't. Poorly edited, overly long and full of clichés, the movie isn't without its entertaining moments—but they hardly make up for this generic production.

As I watched the movie, more than a few questions entered my enormous and sophisticated mind. Here are five of them:

Why isn't the movie scary?

With a few exceptions, Deliver Us From Evil lacks suspense. Had 20 minutes been shaved from the running time and Derrickson lingered in a few key scenes, the movie would have been faster paced, scarier and more exciting. As is... well, it is none of those things. The movie actually has a decent premise—a police procedural that turns into a supernatural thriller—but the filmmakers fail to make either aspect work.

Do we really need another exorcism scene?

I mean, save for some different makeup effects, every exorcism scene is the same. A priest chants some random words, shit flies around the room and the possessed individual curses and taunts the people in the room. #boring

Why and how does Eric Bana's family [spoiler] get kidnapped?

As if Deliver Us From Evil wasn't long enough, director Scott Derrickson decides to have "the bad guys" go after Bana's family—even though their motives aren't obvious and the plot "twist" adds absolutely nothing to the outcome of the movie. I'm still not sure how they ended up where they ended up, why they were taken and why Olivia Munn isn't given more to do.

Why is Olivia Munn in this movie?

On that note, the beautiful and talented actress is given the thankless "dutiful wife" role, and even when the movie decides to involve her more directly, she is literally not even given a line of dialogue to speak.

Why is Joel McHale in this movie?

The funny man must have insisted that his agent find him a serious role, and the best he could land was a forgettable supporting role as a wisecracking cop who looks completely out of place, even when he's [spoiler] getting gutted like a pig.

Deliver Us From Evil tries not to be like all the other horror movies in the yard, but its milkshake is definitely not better than theirs. It is generic from start and finish, thanks largely to uninspired filmmaking and a convoluted screenplay that would have benefited from some cutting, gutting and simplifying.

Bana isn't a complete waste, and there are a few stretches that will make you squirm, but all in all, Deliver Us From Evil commits the ultimate horror movie sin: it isn't scary.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.

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