Break On Through To The Other Side

by Brody Rossiter

There’s a time and a place for action horror. One such time is midway through a 31 day Halloween movie marathon when you need a bit of break from the stream of nerve-shredding horror you’ve elected to expose yourself to. The great thing about the more raucous end of the horror spectrum is that while the scares remain – ensuring that horror lovers get their fill of heart-stopping thrills – that sense of overwhelming isolation and helplessness is often removed. Protagonists are capable of defending themselves against the terrors at play, while a quickened pace and more chaotic narrative leaves fewer opportunities for fear to truly overwhelm the viewer’s psyche.

NYPD Sgt. Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) is no stranger to shocking sights, however when a particularly unnerving spate of disturbing crimes sweeps across his precinct, he is quickly dragged into a harrowing game of cat and mouse with the man he believes is responsible.

As events grow ever more unexplainable, the Sarchie and his partner form an begrudging alliance with with a renegade priest (Edgar Ramirez) who believes he has the answers they seek – whether they want to believe the terrifying truth or not.

Director Scott Derrickson is perhaps most well-known for being the man behind Doctor Strange’s first big screen outing under the banner of the Marvel cinematic universe. However, those familiar with 2012’s Sinister will be well aware that the filmmaker has a especially disquieting history of summoning bogey men and uneasy investigative narratives.

Deliver Us From Evil is formulaic and by no means groundbreaking, but it’s also visually accomplished, hard-hitting in terms of both its action and scares, and very easy to lose yourself in for a couple of hours. Give yourself a night off and go an grimy hunt for for truly gruesome perps. Who knows, you might find something truly unexpected.