“There are two types of evil…” proclaims Edgar Ramirez’s ‘unconventional’ priest in Deliver Us From Evil, the latest horror film from Sinister director Scott Derrickson. You know that the priest knows his evil because he looks very rumpled and earnest and sounds very serious. You also know that his police officer friend, played by Eric Bana, will not believe him at first, but will soon discover that evil is all kinds of real. That’s just how these things work.
The first trailer for Deliver Us From Evil trades on tropes older than The Exorcist: Bana’s New York cop finds himself enmeshed in strange and sinister crimes that may or may not have a supernatural cause, and he enlists the help of Ramirez’s priest to bring along the holy water and exorcism rituals. Meanwhile at home, the cop’s lovely wife, played by Olivia Munn, and their adorable daughter are faced with some supernatural nastiness of their own. Floorboards creak, children’s toys begin moving of their own accord, and a nasty thing is reflected in the bedroom mirror. Will the daughter get possessed? Will the cop begin to believe? You’ll have to see the movie to find out.
As with almost every other horror film made today, Deliver Us From Evil is based on “bone-chilling real-life cases.” The cases might be bone-chilling, yet so far the events seem pretty bog-standard for your contemporary horror movie. It’s all very dark and gritty and realistic, sure, but is it scary? Derrickson did well with Sinister; maybe he can deliver something just as enjoyable with Deliver Us From Evil. It’s going to have to be better than the trailer, though.
You can check out the trailer for Deliver Us From Evil below and then tell me how wrong I am about it in the comments.
Deliver Us From Evil will possess theatres on July 2nd.