Review of Deliver Us from Evil (2009) by Sammie M — 14 Jun 2008

Let's be honest, this was not the most graceful of documentaries. To me, the interviews with the families of the victims (as opposed to interviews with the victims themselves) were clunky and convoluted.

It lacked a visual style and didn't have an artistic point of view, the narrative felt awkward in its pacing and wasn't structured enough. If you are going to make a documentary, these things are very important because you do not have a defined plot leading the way for your story.

In this sense, the film never finds its footing, never defines its niche. However there are two instances where I thought this documentation was compelling: the first is the interviews with Oliver O' Grady.

If this movie had spent its time getting to know the man and understanding his pathology, the horror of his crimes could have been portrayed more effectively. I would have preferred about 3/4 O' Grady, punctuated by other interviews to stress the personal aspect of his crimes and the pain he caused.

The second time I felt compelled, was when the father actually screamed in emotional agony. The pain that O' Grady caused came across more clearly just in the look on that man's face, than through the plethora of interviews which all bled together in my mind.

If it had been handled differently, more deftly, I feel that this could have been one of the most affecting documentaries of the year, but it was not. It labored through it's components and could not reach people in the emotional way it seemed to desire.