She’s going to eat your face off, but she gives one Hell of a lap dance. Worth it… But Deliver Us From Evil is currently enjoying a small theatrical run where it’s grossed a quarter of a million dollars, which isn’t bad for an independently produced feature with no big name stars. It’s no surprise that Indican swooped in and picked it up for digital release starting March 20, 2018. Written and directed by Joshua Coates, But Deliver Us From Evil follows the demon succubus Lilith as she returns to Earth, and seeks revenge on all of God’s creatures – especially men. Pooch Hall (“The Game”), Grant Harvey (“Secret Life of the American Teenager”), Alice Rose, Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), Torrei Hart, Thorsten Kaye (“Bold & The Beautiful”), Christopher Mann and Cynthia Rodriguez star in a feature film that mixes religion and sensuality with horror and science fiction.
You know, I’d really like to champion this film because it boasts a cast and crew that’s mostly African American, and we definitely need to see visions from all races in our movies. But, the fact of the matter is, I was kind of bored during my viewing and I hit fast forward several times. I’ll mention what I didn’t enjoy first, and list my praises for But Deliver Us From Evil second. I think this title wasn’t as captivating and memorizing as Mr. Coates wanted it to be because it never went there. It was urban, fantastical, sultry and suspenseful all at the same time, and yet it never delivered the right amount of each element; almost like it was afraid of testing its own limits. But Deliver Us From Evil isn’t lackluster or under-produced, but it doesn’t have anything enthralling that’ll make you say, “Gee, I want to watch that again.” That, along with the camera work, left me feeling let down. The camera work was either on point, or unnecessarily hazy, almost pixilated.
At the same time, this movie had a couple things that made me nod my head in admiration. First, the acting was much better than I expected, and the film’s femme fatale, Alice Rose, exuded star quality while seemingly remaining silent. Everyone pulled in a stellar performance, so that should be applauded. When matched with expert stunt choreography and glamorous set designs, But Deliver Us From Evil has a certain level of class to it that most independent films lack. Also, this film has amazing effects, both practical and digital, that’ll make it stand out from other monster movies that are ripped from the Bible. 20/20 Visions did a great job producing this movie and fitting all the appropriate pieces together. Again, the underwhelming story and some of the camera work is what hindered my opinion. Plus, even though I was very “eh,” on the story, I do have to say it went in a different direction than I was expecting.
So, where does this leave me? Well, But Deliver Us From Evil is good, but distinctively average. A clever mix of sexuality and horror, motivated by a religious background without being preachy and featuring an unlikely hero. I want to give it a higher score; I was just too underwhelmed to rave. But Deliver Us From Evil hit most digital platforms on March 20, 2018 courtesy of Indican Pictures. Good for a stream, but not worth a re-watch. Final Score: 5.25 out of 10.
