Deliver Us (Libera Nos, 2017)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Father Cataldo
Directed by Federica di Giacomo
The opening shot in Deliver Us (Libera Nos) of a priest dousing a woman with holy water before reading the rites of exorcism is a powerful one, as it sets up what will surely be one of those possession docs that will have its share of pros and cons, viewpoint-wise.
This investigation into the spike of demonic possession cases overseas is something to be seen, for sure – this isn’t a flashy Hollywood production with special effects galore and actors portraying tormented individuals, no – this is a dive into what some could argue is simple mental illness manifesting into something diabolical. The focal point here is a church in Palermo, Sicily, and with the mounting cases of possession growing before them, the pressure to properly train priests in the art of ridding one’s unholy problems is becoming a daunting task, even for the mighty Vatican. Multiple cases are profiled, and we see just what makes these individuals tick (or what’s making their inner-workings tick to the wrong tempo). Father Cataldo is the man of the cloth in charge, if you will, and he’s basically the meeting point for those who truly believe that they’ve come under some sort of satanic control – some “interesting” individuals come a callin’ that’s for sure.
What works here for this particular presentation is that it doesn’t tiptoe one side of the debate or the other – it simply hangs back and lets the cameras do all the work, capturing sights and sounds that will be sure to have contrasting debaters chirping about this for quite some time. The manner in which some of these exorcisms are performed range from the seriously creepy, to the downright laughable (one even takes place over a mobile phone – how convenient is that). Now for those looking for the big-budgeted Linda Blair, pea-soup chucking fright-fest, I’m sorry to say that this one will leave a sour taste in your mouths – this is deliberately fleshed out, specifically so the audience can get a feel for how this entire process works. Deliver Us won’t blow anyone away with its flashiness, but it’ll damn sure make us all talk about it afterwards.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
