A couple years ago, Scott Derrickson surprised audiences everywhere with his cult favorite Sinister. Before that he gave us the interesting Exorcism of Emily Rose. One of the young directors that has made his name in the horror genre, Derrickson proves that he is one of the elite young horror directors to enter the industry, only being rivaled by James Wan. Now, Derrickson has brought us the noir horror film Deilver Us From Evil.
Starring Eric Bana, the film stands strong with a dark brooding atmosphere and disturbing plot elements that leave the audience haunted by their close relation with reality. Deliver Us From Evil offers many supernatural scares coupled with an equal amount of real-life horrors that happen more than we would like to admit. Though the film carries with it a heavy and grim theme, there is enough comic relief presented with well-written jokes and dialogue that eases the tension throughout the film. The acting in the film is believable yet not exactly Oscar-worthy. Characters that are central have complexity but many of the side characters seem to serve the main purpose of filling in a space. But at the same time, the central characters truly make these secondary characters' lack of presence less noticeable.
The cinematography is very dark and creates the foundation of the atmosphere that Derrickson was looking for. There are many plot elements in this film that I have not seen in a horror movie before and it is a very interesting blend of genres as noir meets horror. Though it may not have the same scare power as The Conjuring, the film still presents many scenes that will leave you disturbed. Derrickson's directing style is much different than someone like James Wan who looks for terrifying jump scares. Derrickson looks for the slow, gruesome horror that you are forced to sit and watch and he does an astounding job with Deliver Us From Evil.
Overall, I was highly impressed by this film and look forward to his upcoming projects. Besides some minor dialogue hiccups and some lacking character development, Deliver Us From Evil is a solid horror film that will present many new elements and plot devices that audiences have not seen before. I highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a good thrill and a fresh new style of horror.
I give this film an 8 out of 10.
Starring Eric Bana, the film stands strong with a dark brooding atmosphere and disturbing plot elements that leave the audience haunted by their close relation with reality. Deliver Us From Evil offers many supernatural scares coupled with an equal amount of real-life horrors that happen more than we would like to admit. Though the film carries with it a heavy and grim theme, there is enough comic relief presented with well-written jokes and dialogue that eases the tension throughout the film. The acting in the film is believable yet not exactly Oscar-worthy. Characters that are central have complexity but many of the side characters seem to serve the main purpose of filling in a space. But at the same time, the central characters truly make these secondary characters' lack of presence less noticeable.
The cinematography is very dark and creates the foundation of the atmosphere that Derrickson was looking for. There are many plot elements in this film that I have not seen in a horror movie before and it is a very interesting blend of genres as noir meets horror. Though it may not have the same scare power as The Conjuring, the film still presents many scenes that will leave you disturbed. Derrickson's directing style is much different than someone like James Wan who looks for terrifying jump scares. Derrickson looks for the slow, gruesome horror that you are forced to sit and watch and he does an astounding job with Deliver Us From Evil.
Overall, I was highly impressed by this film and look forward to his upcoming projects. Besides some minor dialogue hiccups and some lacking character development, Deliver Us From Evil is a solid horror film that will present many new elements and plot devices that audiences have not seen before. I highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a good thrill and a fresh new style of horror.
I give this film an 8 out of 10.
