CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

tiskec This movie was a fun ride. I enjoyed it until the very end. In fact, I half suspected it was going to be stupid, but it turned out to be pretty damn good. To be completely honest, I didn't even know it was based on true events until after I saw the film. I was like, "what the hell?"I made a good connection to the characters, and nothing out of this movie was too over the top. I wouldn't necessarily say it was believable, but I also COULDN'T say it never happened. The story was down to earth, while still being a supernatural film. So the script writer did have some talent. The director also did a very good job on coordinating scenes, and blending the environment of the film in with the acting. The very talented actors also allowed this to happen. This is NOT your everyday story about possession, cheesed to the max just to get something into the market. There's actually a story behind and plot behind this movie, and damn good action as well. Then, there's the horror and creepy scenes as well. There was a few good jump scenes in there that scared the living crap out of me. The whole movie creeps on you. It's very intense.This movie was excellent. The acting was good, the script was good, and the dialog was great. I really enjoyed this film. I would recommend this film to ANYONE.

ericrnolan I expected a predictable melodrama between its two primary protagonists — the hardened, intractably "close-minded" cop and the wise young priest. This, I thought, would upstage a thin, generic, supernatural backstory.Well … there was some of that expected character interaction, but I admit that it was done pretty well. And the old fashioned scares served up here make this an above average horror movie.I say "old fashioned" because this seemed to channel the demonic possession classics that defined this horror movie sub-genre, for me, anyway — "The Exorcist" (1973) and "The Exorcist III" (1990). It has an expansive story that begins in a nicely surprising battle scene in Iraq, then shifts its focus to several chilling violent crimes in New York City. Then it effectively blends a horror story with a police thriller. And the story is detailed, with some thought put into the demon's modus operandi and choice of victims, as well as the their investigation by streetwise New York City cops. A straight horror-thriller like this is a nice contrast to recent well made supernatural horror films like last year's "The Babadook" or "It Follows," which were ambiguous and heavily thematic, personal stories with virtually no exposition.Eric Bana and Edgar Ramirez were both terrific; even they might have been upstaged by Joel McHale in a supporting role as Bana's foul mouthed but loyal anti-hero partner. I was rooting for him more than the thinly drawn hero scripted for Bana. (Can any NYC cops really wield a knife like that? If so, that's totally badass.) McHale is damn good — I'll be looking for him in his regular role in the upcoming revival of "The X Files." If you were an NYC cop, wouldn't you want a partner like that? Seriously … that dude is BADASS.Regrettably, this movie's thought and creativity do seem to lose steam toward the end. Certain scares and images were done wonderfully. The scenes inside the asylum were great, for example, especially one shot that made me think of the Batman mythos' Arkham Asylum. Others fell flat. Our Big Bad, when finally revealed in full, is just a generic ugly dude in drab whiteface. And a sequence involving a piano is shot with little visual flair.The most frightening subplot of all involves a troubled girl in her bedroom; it's cut short and rendered irrelevant in order to move the plot forward. And the finale features an exorcism that recycles mostly old tropes from the sub-genre.Hey … this was still a good movie, though. It certainly was better than I thought it would be. I'd cheerfully recommend it.Oh! One more thing — this is supposedly based on a true story. Scott Derrickson's interesting screenplay derives from the 2001 book, "Beware The Night," by retired NYC police officer Ralph Sarchie (Bana's character). I wonder what evidence anyone has gathered to either support or debunk the story here.

nick king Eric Bana and Edgar Ramirez star in a supernatural story using the life of NYPD sergeant turned demonologist Ralph Sarchie to create a tale of possession and exorcism in a darkened and rain-drenched New York. Bana plays Sarchie and Ramirez plays a charismatic priest, Joe Mendoza, who introduces Sarchie to the fight against evil. Both men have a brooding, dark and handsome persona, both men are unclean – Ramirez personally, Sarchie professionally – and, since it's more interesting to see the fight between good and evil being played out inside a character than outside, they make a well-matched and intriguing pair of demon-fighters.Deliver Us from Evil has an individuality derived from a strong aesthetic that combines a Gothic visual style – New York looks particularly Gotham-like – with a sound design that textures the film with the aural equivalent of film grain: static, buzzing, echoes and old voices, creaks, and shuddering old buildings, as well as a soundtrack from The Doors placed in a sinister context as demonic forces attempt to break through into Sarchie himself.The film is dominated by its locations and weather as much as by its actors and plot. Everything takes place in the rain, driving, heavy rain, always a great metaphor for the extremes of the human condition, and in the dark. Dark alleys, houses, cellars, dirty stairwells, a zoo at night; a city at night is the natural location for a horror film about humans and the things that prey on them. Where else should a film about demonic possession take place? On a sandy beach in the summer? Unless we've all been wrong for a very long time, Satan doesn't like sunshine.The direction and cinematography use these settings to create the story of humans in the midst of darkness. Only the characters' faces are lit in interior scenes; outside, the camera floats above the city, and it stays close to the actors when they are inside. The director, Scott Derrickson, is fast becoming a horror veteran and his experience and control are evident throughout scene by scene and also in the way he opens up the story and pushes it forward at a strong pace – this is not a horror film where nothing happens until the last 10 minutes! Ultimately a film about possession stands or falls on its exorcism scene. It also rests on the commitment of the actors, and this has to be strongest in the exorcism sequence. Sean Harris plays the demoniac and he excels not just in the physical acting needed to portray possession but in his sheer creepiness earlier in the film and, in the end, his terror and shock when exorcised. He looks like a hostage who's been buried underground or locked up in a box and his release ends a great exorcism scene which has just enough gruesomeness and religious fervour but doesn't go over the top, although shattering glass, pouring rain and the Doors playing over the ritual comes close.Watching Eric Bana give a strong performance, brooding his way through a fairly Gothic city, given direction and, finally, release by Edgar Ramirez as the cool and spiritually committed Jesuit, it raises a question about him that might not have occurred before: Bana for Batman, anyone?

Python Hyena Deliver Us From Evil (2014): Dir: Scott Derrickson / Cast: Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Olivia Munn, Sean Harris, Joel McHale: After directing the pitiful Sinister, Scott Derrickson presents a thrilling horror film where good triumphs over evil. Eric Bana plays a cop who specializes in spiritual crimes that often involves possession. He has a wife and daughter whom he barely makes time for. He is haunted by images of children under duress from criminals. It opens with a group of soldiers in the Iraq war who stumble across a cave. They enter and the lights go out and one of them ends up possessed. Bana and his partner are called to a zoo where a woman was about to kill her baby. This is a great sequence with the ominous images within the zoo with shots of various animals acting up. Eventually they find the woman scratching and growling and they lock her up in a rubber room. Bana plays off the inner struggle of someone confronting his own demons. Edgar Ramirez plays a priest who has dealt with the possessed woman at the zoo and offers his services to Bana. Olivia Munn is unfortunately underused as Bana's wife who struggles to understand her husband's job issues. Sean Harris plays the possessed soldier committing these murders and painting some code ritual that possesses others. The climax exorcism brings this character to other ends with confusion and regret resulting. Joel McHale steals scenes as Bana's partner who is skilled with a knife. The special effects are horrifying yet sometimes gross as when the solder begins snacking on his leg. Otherwise it is a genuine capture of demons delivered from one's soul. Score: 8 ½ / 10