
Gray the shade of winter frost, dimmer switch lighting and moody cinematography, “Deliver Us,” a loopy ‘The Omen’ style Antichrist horror thriller also is gray. Just take a look at the movies’s poster and trailer. Grey isn’t merely a color or an aesthetic; it is a vibe. A far deeper and more brutal one.
So, you might worry that while being honed in on the pulp nature of this type of material, “Deliver Us” would not also be fun. Fortunately, there are very few scenes within the scope of this movie which depicts a Russian nun claiming immaculate conception and giving birth to twins that doesn’t leave one in a daze of wonder, confusion, and, astonishment. Directed by Cru Ennis and Lee Roy Kunz, “Deliver Us” sport seasonal change, psychotic children, breasted zombies, bear trap nudity, a naked, one eyed German priest, horrors of Biblical proportions, decapitations, Estonian wolves, and even some sex. If, unfortunately, you are only able to see it at a drive in, then this movie would look great at the drive.
“Deliver Us” starts with an innovative execution. The camera pans over the cramped faces of people kneeling in front of a powerful man brandishing a machete. In one scene we can see the machete getting slick with blood. These Zoroastrians are, alongside other things, panicking and losing breath in an attempt to control their heavy emotions.
Now these naked bodies that are headless are being pulled into the floor whilst their stomachs are being dragged across it. Starting to showcase how further revealing their genitals would be inappropriate. Thomas Kretschmann’s character, a one eyed priest named Father Saul, was casually standing next to a fire by himself in a dimly lit cell. Some details are competely absent as he hides behind the flames. Flayed skin from one of the Zoroastrian victims has been given to him and has some tattoos inscribed on them, turning into a holy text. “Deliver Us” has a juxtaposing view: yes, and no simultaneously.
Father Saul comes back after a while; however, it is clear that he is not the focus character. In truth, he tries to follow a one track minded Father Fox (Lee Roy Kunz, who is a co-writer, director and producer for the film as well) from Russia to Estonia after Fox is summoned by the Vatican for a purpose. Sister Yulia (Maria Vera Ratti), a Russian nun, messages the Vatican and is shown to be in some bizarre state where she experiences ‘morning sickness’ caused by an unknown pregnancy with twins.
At the time when we first meet Father Fox, he is already infamous for having been part of an exorcism that took place in Murmansk… I’m not joking. Though, it took me a while to pick up Yulia’s case. Reluctantly, Father Fox takes her case, but it was only after he consulted with his Estonian wife Laura (Jaune Kimmel). Encouraging Father Fox, Laura speaks while he methodically slices red cabbage. Laura not only asserts at the father’s faith, but even hints at the wonderful life that awaits them in Canada.
So Father Fox goes to Yulia’s Russian convent accompanied by the Cardinal Russo (Alexander Siddig), a baby Catholic who is always fascinated by peculiar things. Together, Fox and Russo assist Yulia in the delivery of twins, one being “the Christ child” and the other the Antichrist. The Vatican wishes to terminate both pregnancies out of precaution. Along with Yulia, Father Saul also has an interest in the children, so he follows her and Fox to Laura’s hidden estate in Estonia. Not only does Fox have visions, even he has a forgettably nightmarish vision in which he aids in the removal of the twins from an ice lake. In one instance the twins do seem to show some telekinesis abilities like one of them talking in a deep matured voice.
A busy string and percussion score together with arty deep focus cinematography gives the impression that the filmmakers are very serious about this tale. Even so, “Deliver Us” ascribes to moods and tones that are under explained. This movie is characterized by wobbly line reads, music video-level abstract vision, and irregular outbursts of violence. Regardless, the regular instability of “Deliver Us” unleashes a twacked-out charm.
Mark “Deliver Us” does stand out relative to many recent indie genre movies, digressive and rather charmingly lurid stylistic devices aside. It is not enough to simply replicate the sleazy Eurosleazy genre movie ripoffs of a bygone era. Even with all of the collaborative invention and technical finesse at your fingertips, in order to achieve those depths of crass greatness, you must be devoted to the gonzo reality you seek to portray. For example, so many decisions made in “Deliver Us” left me scratching my head in confusion and wondering what year it was and how it never saw the light of day under a title such as “Beyond the Door VII: More Doors, More Problems.
“Deliver Us” stands out because its creators have struck the ideal balance of dull, lull losing silence punctured by silly genre tropes. There is no progression from one idea to another and in all honesty, none of it makes sense. But boy, “Deliver Us” sure does what it does.
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