Let's Talk About Movies

Horror movies have fallen on hard times. Amidst the deluge of pointless remakes (“Friday the 13th”, “Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Carrie”…) and some original ideas (“The Conjuring), “Deliver Us From Evil” goes with “based on a true story” to try and shock its audience. But isn’t it always the case? Eric Bana (why oh why?) is a New York police officer investigating a series of gruesome crimes. Later on he joins forces with a priest (Edgar Ramirez), who’s convinced that some of these crimes are the result of demons among us (how original!). You know how it goes. Director Scott Derrickson thinks he’s not ripping off every “exorcism” movie ever made, presumably because his film is a mix of horror and real life events. But despite some chilling moments and a handsome production, the movie is unconvincing on so many levels. That’s because we’ve seen it all before. And yet I fully expect “Deliver Us From Evil” to be a box office hit (at least in Lebanon). But it’s barely worth two stars, let alone two cents. As for future exorcism movies, I offer this plea: just STOP!