A 2014 Scott Derrickson Horror Movie Is Quickly Climbing Netflix Charts
Thanks to Netflix, every week another bygone movie flickers into our consciousness like some long-forgotten dream, lingers momentarily, then fades into the recesses of our collective memory. It's like our cultural life is flashing before our eyes before we all tumble into oblivion... Anyway, while we're on the theme of existential horror, this week we've got a scary movie for you that's winning over the Netflix crowd.
"Deliver Us from Evil" is a 2014 horror effort from director Scott Derrickson, of "The Black Phone," "Doctor Strange," and "Sinister" fame. "The Black Phone" is, of course, one of the best Joe Hill adaptations, and "Sinister" is the scariest movie ever, according to science. So, you might expect "Deliver Us From Evil" to be quite good if you've yet to see it. Alas, perhaps it's the lack of involvement from Derrickson's longtime writing partner C. Robert Cargill, who lent his talents to "Sinister," "Doctor Strange," and "The Black Phone." But for whatever reason, "Deliver Us from Evil" isn't quite on the same level of quality as some of the director's more successful films. But don't be discouraged. It's still a solid entry in the Derrickson's filmography, dealing once again with the theme of possession after the filmmaker explored similar territory with his previous project, 2005's "The Exorcism of Emily Rose."
Eric Bana stars as NYPD cop Ralph Sarchie, who, while investigating a particularly strange case, teams up with a priest who tries to convince him that the bizarre events are the result of demonic possession. In typical Derrickson style, the film combines multiple genres, making for a compelling mix of supernatural horror and a police procedural. The film may have passed a lot of us by back in 2014, but Netflixers have evidently become positively possessed by "Deliver Us from Evil."
Homing in on number one
After being added to Netflix on October 12, 2023, "Deliver Us from Evil" has steadily been climbing the streamer's charts. Thanks to FlixPatrol, which aggregates data from across the streaming sphere, we have a good overview of just how well Scott Derrickson's 2014 effort has been doing since its debut. On October 13, just one day after hitting the streamer, the movie was already at the number five spot on the most-watched list in the U.S. Since then, it's risen confidently through the ranks, hitting number four on October 14 before arriving at number two on the following day. Since then, it's managed to remain in that position, hinting at a possible number one possession in the days to come.
Whatever happens, "Deliver Us from Evil" will surely be in the official Netflix Top 10 for the week of its release. The streamer is yet to unveil its official data for last week, but you'll surely see Derrickson's film in there when it does. Which, considering the movie was dismissed by most critics on its debut, is quite the triumph. "Deliver Us from Evil" currently holds a 28% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which sort of sums up the general feeling that Derrickson didn't manage to do anything new with what are some well-worn tropes. But perhaps this Netflix revival proves there's something worthwhile here.
Can the film resist being exorcized from the charts?
What's great about Netflix and its unique ability to force us all to reconsider forgotten films and TV shows is that, sometimes, it means we get a chance to reappraise movies that might just have been unfairly overlooked. There was the time the Karl Urban-starring and scandalously overlooked "Dredd" hit the Netflix Top 10 in September 2023. And of course, the entirely unfairly maligned "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" managed to crack the charts recently, confirming my own long-held belief that Andrew Garfield's films are clearly much better than everyone says.
With "Deliver Us from Evil," Scott Derrickson perhaps wasn't the best match with powerhouse producer Jerry Bruckheimer. And there's no doubt the movie fails to live up to some of his other work. But as a filmmaker, Derrickson has done some impressive stuff since this 2014 project and if nothing else, it's interesting to rewatch "Deliver Us from Evil" in the light of his subsequent work. It's also worth noting that we at /Film listed it at number nine on our list of the best exorcism horror movies. So, if it snags the top spot by the end of the week, that would at least be a better outcome than the time we all rewatched "The Snowman" and remembered why we hated it in the first place.