There seems to be a growing trend in monster movies. Zombies and Devils. Deliver Us From Evil falls into the latter category, and fits its description quite well: Se7en meets The Exorcist. But like all movies that are inspired from others, it rarely delivers on the promises each of the others originally delivered.
The movie is based on true events from the journal of police detective Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana), who works in one of the worst crime-infested areas in the US, the 46th precinct in the South Bronx. He is no wilting violet. He is infinitely familiar with the evil that men do in the regular course of his job. But when a woman mysteriously tries to kill her baby by feeding it to the lions in the Bronx Zoo, this bizarre case takes an otherworldly turn. She is clearly insane, but was she induced to do this? Up to this point she showed no indications she was anything other than a normal mother. She is taken into custody, when an unconventional priest, Father Mendoza (Édgar Ramírez-a conglomeration of two real-life priests) shows up asking about her and eventually saying she is possessed. Mendoza is an exorcist and is convinced someone who knew the woman opened a doorway to Hell that foisted this demon on her. These evil events will continue to happen unless the doorway is closed. What follows is the investigation and showdown of the demon and Sarchie and Mendoza.
Thé movie starts with what is now should be considered a warning: "Inspired by true events." This gives the movie the street cred of realism, but allows the director to cherry-pick the cool stuff and leave the rest, since the story is "inspired." Like when a prostitue is hired by a john and falls in love. Yeah, it's inspired from Cinderella, but I don't remember Cinderella getting ready to blow Prince Charming in a tender expression of their deepening love. Thus we get the romantic (?!) comedy Pretty Woman. Sarchie's book of the same name goes into some of the harrowing instances that make up the basic threads of this movie, but in the end, this is a typical, Hollywood devil movie. Which is too bad because there is a lot in this movie to like.
The Se7en comparison is very apt. The movie is suffused with stifling and suffocating atmosphere. It is creepy in the extreme. Bana's hard-boiled Sarchie and Ramírez's unconventional Mendoza fit perfectly in this world and feel absolutely authentic. It's an extra bonus they shot on location in the Bronx and not in a studio. It is living and breathing. The villains are believable to an extent, but in the end, they become comically evil, almost to Evil Dead extremes. They so cleanly fit stereotypes of what evil is, I almost expected to see horns and a tail. And of course, everything must climax into a good vs. evil showdown. Exciting, yes, but we've seen it all before. In this case, it's the journey, the investigation and its effects on Sarchie, Mendoza and the people around them that is more interesting than the final resolution. This movie had real potential for greatness, but ultimately, and sadly, falls a little flat by going for tired old tropes and cheap scares rather than engaging horror.
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