Scott Derrickson is a name you probably know if you've spent any time tracking modern horror. Before he was doing Doctor Strange or scaring everyone with The Black Phone, he gave us something a bit weirder. A bit grittier. Honestly, the deliver us from evil 2014 movie is a strange beast because it tries to be two things at once: a hard-boiled Bronx police procedural and a full-blown supernatural exorcism flick. It doesn't always land both feet on the ground, but man, when it works, it’s visceral.
The film stars Eric Bana as Ralph Sarchie. He's a real guy. That’s usually the first thing people realize—this isn't just some script cooked up in a writer's room after watching The Exorcist too many times. It's based on Sarchie’s book Beware the Night. He was a NYPD sergeant who claimed to have seen things that couldn't be explained by a precinct report or a psych eval.
The Gritty Reality of Ralph Sarchie's Bronx
Most possession movies happen in creepy old Victorian houses or remote cabins. This one? It’s in the rain-slicked, garbage-strewn streets of the Bronx. That’s the movie's secret weapon. It feels dirty. You can almost smell the damp pavement and the mildew in the basements.
Sarchie has this "radar." It’s basically a gut instinct for finding the worst calls—the ones that turn your stomach. His partner, Butler, played by Joel McHale, is the comic relief but in a dark, knife-fighting kind of way. Their chemistry is actually one of the highlights. It feels like a real partnership between two guys who have seen way too much human misery and have developed a thick layer of cynicism just to survive the shift.
Then they hit a case at the Bronx Zoo. A mother throws her child into the lion enclosure. It’s a sequence that still holds up because of how Derrickson shoots it—lots of shadows, heavy atmosphere, and a genuine sense of dread. This isn't jump-scare central yet. It's building a world where the evil feels like a virus. It's something you catch in the dark.
When the Badge Meets the Cross
Edgar Ramírez shows up as Mendoza, a priest who isn't exactly the "Father O'Malley" type. He smokes. He drinks. He’s got a past that’s as messy as the crimes Sarchie investigates. The dynamic between the skeptical cop and the unconventional priest is the engine of the deliver us from evil 2014 movie.
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It’s about the "secondary evil." That’s a term Sarchie uses a lot. It’s the idea that human beings do terrible things to each other, but sometimes, there’s something else—a "primary evil"—pulling the strings. Mendoza’s job is to convince Sarchie that his "radar" is actually a spiritual sensitivity.
If you look at the actual history of the real Ralph Sarchie, he worked out of the 46th Precinct. It was one of the toughest neighborhoods in the country back then. He spent his nights chasing collars and his "off-time" assisting in exorcisms. That duality is heavy. The movie portrays it as this dark, obsessive descent. Sarchie's family life starts to crumble because how do you go home and play tea party with your daughter after you’ve seen a man scraping his fingernails off against a brick wall while chanting in archaic Latin? You don't. You just don't.
The Problem With "True Story" Labels
We have to be real here. Hollywood takes massive liberties. While the deliver us from evil 2014 movie claims to be "inspired by actual accounts," the primary antagonist—a soldier possessed in an Iraqi cave—is a narrative invention designed to tie disparate cases together. The real Sarchie dealt with more domestic, localized "infestations."
Does it matter? For a horror fan, maybe not. But for those interested in the actual demonology Sarchie practiced, the movie is more of a "Greatest Hits" remix of his claims. It simplifies the years of slow-burn paranormal investigation into a tight, two-week thriller.
Technical Mastery in the Shadows
Scott Derrickson knows how to use sound. The scratching. The distorted radio static. The recurring use of The Doors' music isn't just a stylistic choice; it’s a plot point. "People are Strange" and "Break on Through" take on a pretty sinister meaning when they're playing over a crime scene involving ancient inscriptions.
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The cinematography by Benny Luciano is oppressive. There’s almost no bright daylight in this movie. Even the indoor scenes feel like the walls are closing in. It borrows heavily from the visual language of Se7en. It’s that 90s-style "everything is rotting" aesthetic. If you’re looking for a clean, CGI-heavy horror film, this isn't it. The makeup effects on the possessed characters are largely practical, which gives them a tactile, nauseating reality.
The Exorcism Scene
The climax is a 20-minute sequence in an interrogation room. It’s loud. It’s violent. It’s sweaty.
Unlike the ritualized, church-sanctioned exorcisms in other movies, this feels like a street fight. It’s messy. The "demon" isn't just shouting insults; it’s psychological warfare, digging into Sarchie’s own guilt over a specific incident involving a child abuser he encountered on the job. This is where the movie actually gets some thematic depth. It’s about confession—not just the religious kind, but the legal and personal kind. Sarchie has to face his own "black soul" before he can cast the rot out of the suspect.
Why It Didn't Become a Massive Franchise
Critics weren't kind to it in 2014. It currently sits at a pretty mediocre score on Rotten Tomatoes. Why? Probably because it sits in the middle of a Venn diagram that doesn't have a lot of crossover. It’s too much of a police procedural for the Conjuring crowd, and it’s too "woo-woo" for the True Detective fans.
But looking back, that’s exactly why it has a cult following now. It’s unique. It doesn't follow the Blumhouse formula of a jump scare every seven minutes. It’s a slow-burn character study of a man losing his mind to the darkness he’s trying to fight.
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Also, Eric Bana is just a solid lead. He plays Sarchie with a simmering rage that feels authentic to a Bronx cop. He’s not a hero. He’s a guy doing a job that is slowly killing him.
Actionable Next Steps for Horror Enthusiasts
If you're planning to revisit the deliver us from evil 2014 movie or watch it for the first time, here is how to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the "making of" featurettes: The interviews with the real Ralph Sarchie are genuinely fascinating. Regardless of whether you believe in the supernatural, his conviction is jarring.
- Compare it to Sinister: Watch this back-to-back with Derrickson’s Sinister. You’ll see how he uses similar themes of a father’s obsession endangering his family, but with a completely different tonal lens.
- Check out the book: Read Beware the Night. It’s much more episodic and gives a better look at the "real" cases that didn't make it into the film's streamlined narrative.
- Pay attention to the background: Derrickson loves "Easter eggs" in the shadows. There are things moving in the background of the zoo and basement scenes that you’ll miss if you’re looking at the main characters.
The film is a reminder that the best horror usually comes from a place of grounded reality. By anchoring the supernatural in the mundane exhaustion of police work, it makes the "evil" feel much more possible. It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s a brave one for trying to marry the badge and the crucifix in such a violent, unapologetic way.
Practical Insight: For the best viewing experience, watch this in a dark room with a good sound system or headphones. The sound design is 50% of the scares. If you’re a fan of the "detective-noir-meets-horror" subgenre, pair this with Angel Heart (1987) for a double feature that explores the cost of staring too long into the abyss.