Deliver Us From Evil

Let me just get this out of the way: I love Eric Bana and usually every film he stars in. But with "Deliver Us From Evil," an underwhelming horror/thriller, he's hit an unfortunate new low that's hopefully a temporary setback.

Out now on Blu-ray, "Deliver Us From Evil" not only rips off 1973's classic "The Exorcist" virtually scene by scene, it generates not one ounce of suspense or fright. Bana plays real-life former police sergeant Ralph Sarchie, who stumbles upon supposed satanic ritualistic killings in New York. Aided by his wise-cracking partner (a seriously miscast Joel McHale), Sarchie sets out to expose the spiritual killings and enlists the help of a local priest to perform an inevitable exorcism.

The film is overlong at two hours and fails in almost every way imaginable. The good news is the Blu-ray's special features make up for the movie's missteps. Ralph Sarchie is a much more interesting person than is portrayed in "Deliver Us From Evil" and appears in the features "The Two Sergeants" and "The Demon Detective." The former feature compares Bana's performance to real-life Sarchie's accent and mannerisms... both were nervous at first around each other on the set. "The Demon Detective" talks to Sarchie about his new career as a demonologist.

Exclusive to Blu-ray is the bonus feature "Deliver Us From Demons," a look at the film's protagonist hellions. Rounding out the disc (appearing on both the Blu-ray and DVD versions) are director Scott Derrickson's audio commentary and the 17-minute "Illuminating Evil: Making Deliver Us From Evil."

"Deliver Us From Evil"
Blu-ray
www.sonypictures.com