A New York City policeman (Eric Bana) finds himself up against some sort of demon force that managed to come back from Iraq with soldiers in Deliver Us From Evil. Apparently, soldiers on patrol read some evil writings in a cave, and that resulted in possession—a possession that gets passed along like a virus.
The premise is totally stupid, and eventually torpedoes the film in an exorcism finale that features the music of The Doors—as well as bad, bad editing.
Bana is OK in the central role, and director Scott Derrickson, who scared the crap out of me with Sinister, creates his share of eerie moments. Still, this feels like 100 movies that came before it, and “possessed” humans screeching Latin through muddy makeup is more funny than scary.
If you are looking for some decent jolts, and you don’t care whether a movie makes any sense, this might be OK for a late-night rental.
Oh, yeah: It’s supposedly based on actual events, which means somebody somewhere in Hollywood is lying their ass off.
Deliver Us From Evil is playing at theaters across the valley.