The press notes and movie poster for Deliver us from Evil claim the film is “inspired by the actual accounts of a NYPD sergeant.” This is
a good piece of information to have because if I didn’t know better I’d swear
the movie was inspired by other much better horror films and police
procedurals. Ralph Sarchie’s book Beware the Night, recounts his various experiences on the mean streets of New
York City where he served for 18 years as a member of the New York Police
Department. However, it doesn’t delve
into busting drug dealers or getting kids off the streets. No, it concerns crimes of a more religious
nature as the former officer, now a demonologist, claims that he encountered
many a supernatural threat and participated in more than a few exorcisms while
pounding the beat.
As directed by Scott Derrickson, Evil certainly has the
look and feel of an effective thriller, which based on the filmmaker’s 2012
shocker Sinister comes as no surprise. This movie oozes dread as every scene
is suffused with shadows, the skies are perpetually overcast and the streets
are pelted with rain. Yes, it’s the same
dreary palette David Fincher brought into vogue with Seven and while it’s
hardly original, Derrickson can be forgiven as the film does look great and its
oppressive atmosphere is the best thing about it.
And yet, while the plot is borrowed as well, it comes off as
a bit too stale to offer any surprises.
The always underutilized Eric Bana plays Sarchie as a typical burned out
cop, a hardened veteran of the street who’s seen far too much depravity to ever
be whole again. However, even he’s
unprepared for what comes his way as a series of inexplicable crimes fall in
his lap with many suspects displaying abnormal behavior. Despite his misgivings, he ultimately turns
to a priest, Father Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) for help when the man-of-the cloth
suggests that when rational explanations prove futile, he must look beyond
logic for answers.
The relationship between Sarchie and Mendoza is grounded and
interesting even if the rest of the film is not. Both characters are flawed –
the cop is a lapsed Catholic, while the priest is tortured by his past – and
together they attempt to fill the gaps the other has in order to solve the
supernatural threat they face. The
interaction between Bana and Ramirez is very good as well and the numerous
scenes they share in the film’s second half keep us hooked and hoping these two
will provide enough of a spark to shake the movie from its predictable path.
But alas, that’s not to be as the screenplay by Paul Harris
Boardman and Derrickson comes off as a collection of stolen moments from a
variety of different sources, not only using well-established horror tropes but
stereotypes from the cop genre as well. Olivia Munn does her level best to
inject some life in her long-suffering wife character while veteran comedian
Joel McHale is surprisingly solid as Sarchie’s smart aleck partner who you just
know isn’t going to be around for the final credits.
It’s a shame Evil couldn’t find a fresh approach to this
material because there’s quite a few things that are very good about it. The two leads and the atmosphere are
top-notch while the final exorcism, held in a police interrogation room, is
about as good as anything of this sort can be.
Unfortunately, familiarity is the demon this film can’t shake.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2014.
