Demons. Possession. Exorcism. Death. Faith or lack thereof. Just a few words that would be perfect to describe this movie. A New York police officer (Eric Bana) and his partner (Joel McHale) become entangled in a series of weird cases. They are helped by a Catholic priest (Edgar Ramirez) to get to the source of the evil that seems to connect the cases they’re working on.
I’ve been waiting for this movie, thinking it would be perfect for R.I.P.. I even bought a ticket for seat number 13. The left armrest was broken, and halfway through the movie the white cloth on the headrest two chairs over flapped gently in the breeze of the air-conditioning. There was one other person sitting at the end of the row, far away from me, so that was a bit ghost-like. It made me smile.
The movie itself is neither better nor worse than your average horror movie. It even has a couple of funny moments, but what I found the most interesting was the reference to a song by The Doors, which played an important part in the overall plot of the movie. The imagery was disturbing and quite well done, still, I found sounds and half covered faces a lot more sinister than the blood.
I liked that the exorcism scene wasn’t over the top, like the one they filmed in jail, where a demon had taken over the body of a woman. That was a bit too overdone and it lost some of the creepy potential. The contorted face and noises almost made me laugh. This one, however, was just enough to get the point across and quite convincing.
Another bonus point goes to the characters played by Ramirez and Bana – the priest has his sins, and so does the cop, and in confessing them they are stripped of the aura of perfection. They might be heroes, but they are flawed nevertheless.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, there are scratching noises on the floor and under the bed, and considering I’ve seen this movie the day after writing the beginning of a story with plenty of scratching noises, I try to tell myself that this is just a silly coincidence.
Overall, this is a good movie. Definitely not as grim as Silent Hill for example, but with a mix of elements that work well together. As for the horror factor, it falls somewhat in the middle. Not too soft but not that scary either.
My rating: 7/10
It is indeed a great time of year for these kinds of films.
I have seen a lot of movies like this so when I do look for a movie like this I do look for something different. I am not sure that this would be original enough for me.
I always wondered if folks who wrote about scary things ever got scared over what they wrote 🙂
I’m not even sure there is something different, Brian, I mean it’s all been done and redone, so it would be more a question of “how” rather than “what”.
I find that many times horror comes across better in books than in movies, when you’re left to imagine things rather than being fed images that may or may not scare you. It’s also a question of timing. I watched the movie at noon, and I was perfectly aware of my surroundings, but I’m sure watching it at home, at night, maybe even alone in the house, would have been a different experience.
If you have any favorite horror movies, please share. 🙂
Nice review, Delia! I love the title of the movie. I also like the partnership between the cops and the priest. It is interesting that you got seat no.13 and there were scary things happening in your row!
It was a good movie, Vishy, even if not as scary as I’d hoped.
I’m such a wimp. I know I would have screeched (an embarrassing, small child sort of screech) when the white cloth flapped. I’m the screamer of the family…even when I know she shouldn’t go in the basement, open the creaky door…yep, I still yelp.
I’m putting this one on my list. Like you, I don’t go for the overblown effects. I like suspense and realistic situations and story more. One of my favorite ghost movies is What Lies Beneath. It’s more subtle than most and features an interesting storyline.
Hi Deb,
The white cloth flapping was part of the experience. 🙂
I share your fear when it comes to creaky doors that lead to dark spaces. I think we’ve seen too many movies that end badly in the cellar. Luckily I don’t have one, or I would not go down there alone.
I’ve seen “What Lies Beneath” and liked it a lot. It’s a subtle kind of horror, which is far creepier in my opinion. “Deliver Us from Evil” is more the “straight in your face” kind of scary, and I don’t think it’s meant to be taken seriously. Just a bit of scary fun, it that makes sense. 🙂