DELIVER US FROM EVIL

“The Exorcist” (1973) still reigns as one of the most frightening films in the history of the horror genre. It was out of desperation, in this dearth of film selection, that I gingerly crept into “Deliver Us From Evil”; eerie, compelling scenario based upon detective Ralph Sarchie’s surreal, terrifying incidents of unexplained phenomena; bouts of evil reenactments, reminiscent of a Stephen King novel.

Eric Bana and Edgar Ramirez as detective“Sarchie” and father “Mendoza” give pulsating performances as contemporary exorcists; matching skills with Beelzebub and his tribe of sycophants; guts, gore, gymnastic improbabilities inform most of the chilling, unnerving, unbelievable story.

We’ve seen it all before, but the repetition is still spine-tingling; fraught with Biblical, Christian iconography: Jesus’ temptation in the desert, and the garden of  Gethsemane; evil is pervasive and trumps goodness ubiquitously throughout millenniums . “Deliver us from evil” is the last sentence in the Lord’s Prayer; a plea to the celestial powers to keep one’s path clear of demonic allure; evil can be cloaked in classy couture, charming countenances,  chimerical conversation.

A respite from the plethora of apocalyptic movies, dunning forecasts of doom and robotic bureaucrats; “Deliver Us from Evil” receives a resounding “Amen” at its  hair-raising, cataclysmic conclusion.

TWO & 1/2 STARS!!

Peneflix