A lost-looking Eric Bana dies a slow death in the truly horrible Deliver Us From Evil

DELIVER Us From Evil: While trace elements of this horror flick do have a capacity to truly horrify, the bulk of it is just truly horrible.

Eric Bana

AT regular intervals during Deliver Us From Evil, there will be a jolting cutaway to a sight so grottily grotesque, instant recoil is the only option.

Sure, we could all go happily through life without having to see a dead cat nailed to a homemade crucifix. But, hey, no one goes to movies like this with future happiness in mind.

However, while trace elements of this horror flick do have a capacity to truly horrify, the bulk of Deliver Us From Evil is just truly horrible.

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Eric Bana’s character Sarchie comes under attack during the ghastly goings-on of <i>Deliver Us From Evil</i>.

Though the filmmakers haven’t been bashful about playing the kind-of-based-on-a-true-story card that has served the likes of The Conjuring so well, a few faint whiffs of phoniness in the opening act become absolutely pungent by the close.

An extremely lost-looking Eric Bana stars as Ralph Sarchie, a hard-ass New York cop with the most half-arsed Noo Yawk accent you’ve never heard.

Eric Bana searches for the truth as New York policeman Ralph Sarchie.

A call-out to the Bronx Zoo, where a deranged mother has tried to throw her only child to the lions, draws Ralph and his wisecracking partner Butler (Joel McHale) into a sinister crime investigation where they are always a step behind the paranormally active perps.

Spooky stuff happens involving demonically possessed Iraqi war vets, their mouth-foaming next of kin, some malfunctioning electrical equipment, children’s toys with minds of their own, an ancient inscription that curses all who read it, and, I kid you not, several snatches of song lyrics by ’60s psych rockers The Doors.

Edgar Ramirez as renegade priest Mendoza.

Every so often, Ralph and Butler — who is always openly wielding a knife for no apparent reason — think they have a handle on what this all means. Then more spooky stuff happens and, once again, they are just as clueless as before.

The provision of worthwhile hints should be the strong suit of a third lead character, a renegade priest named Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez). But it is not. Largely because of Ramirez’s lifeless rambling of his dialogue. You lose interest in him every time he tries to make it to the end of a sentence.

To be honest, Bana’s effort isn’t much better. Though a poorly written script hardly helps, his cliche-spouting character just will not come to life.

Instead, Bana dies a slow death from one scene to the next as a grimacing, anger-mismanaged thug with a badge.

Shoddy screenwriting and suspect acting aside, Deliver Us From Evil’s many shortcomings continue to swell in magnitude throughout.

The most decisive deal-breaker is the murky cinematography, which appears to have been illuminated by an itty-bitty book light, whose battery is about to give out.

Olivia Munn plays Jen Sarchie, Bana’s character’s wife, in <i>Deliver Us From Evil</i>.

All in all, 118 messed-up minutes of eye strain, brain fades and stomach churns.

Deliver Us From Evil (MA15+)

Director: Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose)

Starring: Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Joel McHale, Olivia Munn

Verdict: One and a half stars. Spare us from a sequel

Originally published as A lost-looking Eric Bana dies a slow death in the truly horrible Deliver Us From Evil