Deliver Us From Evil (2014) #405

Director Scott Derrickson is back with familiar material in his newest film, "Deliver Us From Evil". Unfortunately, this movie fails to find the nice balance between normal and supernatural that "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", or the truly frightening suspense and tension that was built up in "Sinister". I disliked the movie overall considering that the first half was much too slow. Also, the movie spends too much time in the dark with too many overwhelming shadows and sickly green backgrounds. Despite it's shortcomings,"Deliver Us From Evil" finds some interesting and entertaining moments late in the film concerning possessions and exorcisms.

Based on real experiences by New York cop Ralph Sarchie, "Deliver Us From Evil" follows his work with a castilin priest as they track down a possessed marine who is spreading his influence among others in the city.

Sinister (2012)

"Sinister" was my favorite horror movie that I saw in the theaters last year. I was hooked and enthralled from the very beginning and up to the last 15 or so minutes. When the big reveal came as to why and not who the killer was, I was sadly disappointed. I was really hoping for any other reason than for the one that was given. In my opinion a secret cult would have been the most awesome explanation. But when I noticed that the dates of the murders were at times too close for a mentor/victim relationship to occur, I knew that my hopes were dashed. But this is still an awesome movie with its storyline, spooky home movies, and decent cast. 

Ellison Oswalt is a true crime novelist who is struggling to write his next big hit. He moves his family into the house where a gruesome murder took place and doesn't tell his wife about it. He soon finds a box full of Super 8 home movies that contain graphic murder scenes including the one that happened at his new home. He becomes obsessed with finding out who filmed the movies, hoping that he can solve the murders and gain the fame (and fortune) that would come from it. Unfortunately it only leads him and his family further down a dark and dangerous.

Favorite moment - there is a scene that was very beautiful in the way that it was timed. Ellison (played by Ethan Hawke) is walking through his house, surrounded by the ghost/spirits of children. They move out of his sight just at the right time, running around him and simply being creepy.

Hellraiser: Inferno (2002)

Where the first four "Hellraiser" movies where in chronological order, the fifth film in the franchise is the first of the stand-alone productions. The viewer will need to have some seen at least the first film in order to truly enjoy this movie, in my opinion, but it is the first attempt to get back to the feeling and nature of the original movie. This is not hero versus Pinhead but rather a story about an individual's dark journey into sin and the "priest" that meets him at the end.  Pinhead is meant to issue pain and pleasure in the name of his master Leviathan and that is exactly what he does.

This, and the next few films, upset lesser horror fans because Pinhead doesn't appear until the very end. They want him to go around killing people from opening to closing credits. But Pinhead is not a slasher killer like Jason or Freddy. He is merely the result of the main characters actions and I prefer him this way.

I really enjoyed the Cenobites in this film; they are kept simple and haunting. Along with Pinhead there are two almost faceless women who try to seduce the main character as well as a new Chatterer who seems to be only a set of shoulders and a head!

Finally, the movie stars Craig Shaffer who played Boone in Clive Barkers “Nightbreed”. I think this was a great casting choice because he fit the role well and did a great job as well as being a familiar name to fans of Clive Barker and bringing those fans back to the tarnished “Hellraiser” brand.

Simply stated, this film is about Detective Joseph Thorne, a corrupt cop who steals evidence, frames his partner, cheats on his wife with prostitutes, and doesn’t visit his parents in the old folks home (how ghastly!). He is on the case of trying to solve a grisly murder involving a former high school classmate who met his end after solving the Lament Configuration. The more Detective Thorne learns, the more people around him begin to die and slowly frames him as the only suspect for these foul deeds.

Favorite moment - My favorite moment, although very brief, was when Detective Thorne reached out to his daughter and her arm breaks off. It was something that I was not expecting and brought a heavy sense of gravitas to the scene.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

“The Exorcism of Emily Rose” is the cautionary tale about the aftermath of an exorcism gone wrong. Sometimes people who are possessed die and this movie follows the court trial of the priest who performed the exorcism, switching from scenes of the court case to flashbacks involving Emily Rose. It’s an effective court drama as well as a reasonable horror movie. Jennifer Carpenter did a fantastic job of bending her body in the various demonic contortions without the aid of visual effects.

“The Exorcism of Emily Rose” focuses on Erin Bruner, a defense lawyer who is working on a case where her client, Father Richard Moore, is charged with negligent homicide after he attempted to perform an exorcism on Emily Rose. Erin approaches the case with a clear and realistic point of view and ignores Father Moore’s request to let him take the stand. Father Moore truly believes that what he did was in the best interest of Emily Rose and her family, and as the movie goes on, Erin begins to understand his assertions. When Emily Rose first became possessed, she was diagnosed with epilepsy and having seizures. But as the drugs that she was given didn’t have the proper effect and her conditioned worsened, her family asked Father Moore to intervene. He tries to help but is unable to cast out the demons. Before she dies, Emily Rose has a vision that gives her hope and release and once awake, she writes a letter explaining her options. At the end of the movie, Father Moore reads the letter to the court before receiving his judgment. 

Favorite moment – I really like the flash back scenes of Emily Rose and how the scenes were tense, effective, and engaging without having to be violent of gory.