Review of Deliver Us from Evil (2014) by Mgs4Lord — 12 Jul 2014

The movie, “Deliver Us From Evil” could not have been made at a better time in our lives. It is a personal story of good overcoming evil. It is a story of redemption over sin. It is a story of Christ defeating the devil.

This world is filled with so much evil it can cause the good to despair. Evil is everywhere. It is in our lives, our governments and even in our churches. One does not have to be actually possessed by the evil one to experience or commit evil. The movie particularly explores how the evil one enters into the lives of our children to harm them. Nonetheless, this movie offers us holy hope not to despair for good will overcome evil in the end. Christ will overcome the devil. This movie delivers to the world a message that the devil does exist. He can possess people.

This is a movie with action unlike other movies of demonic possession. Ralph Sarchie, a special ops officer, sees evil all around him in his job in the Bronx, New York. He encounters, however, evil unlike he has ever seen in several diabolically possessed people. Sarchie meets a Catholic priest, Fr. Mendoza, in these strange investigations. They eventually join together on a quest to free these people from the demons and in doing so free themselves from evil as well.

The confession scene of Sarchie and Fr. Mendoza struck me with great sensitivity. Sarchie had to go to confession to combat the demons. It was difficult for Sarchie to do this. He was not a practicing Catholic. To help Sarchie confess, Father Mendoza told him about his own past sins. This helped Sarchie to open up his heart to God and to have the courage to confess. He was not confessing to a man. He was vocally confessing to God his sins and heard through the words of the priest God telling him that his sins were forgiven. On a personal note to hear those words, “Your sins are forgiven” as Catholics always gives us personally a great feeling of happiness when we confess so we know how Sarchie felt.

Finally in a poignant scene in the movie after Fr. Mendoza exorcized a demon from one of the possessed we watch as the man, Santino, released from the demon shed tears of relief and joy that God through his priest and Sarchie’s help released him from the evil one holding a medal of St. Benedict. We can go on and on. There is so much to write and examine in this movie. It definitely has impacted our lives a bit in this difficult world. Everyone should see it despite the gruesome scenes. There is Hope.