sol- Aptly titled, this American documentary details how the Catholic Church turned a blind eye to one of its priests molesting children, instead opting to move him from parish to parish, only for him to re-offend. While the subject matter is grim, the film admirably never once comes across as angry and it is a refreshingly unbiased affair given the controversial topic. As director Amy Berg includes both involves with the priest in question, his victims and their families, it is left up to the individual viewer to judge whether or not he feels remorse. As the priest in question, Father Oliver O'Grady makes for a fascinating (if deplorable) interviewee, lamenting the fact that he felt a "need to reach out to someone" and agreeing that his actions were wrong; "my life has been a failure" he candidly admits. Berg leaves the most heartbreaking moments for the victim's families though with one distraught father regretting that he told his daughter that he would kill anyone whoever hurt her - something she took literally and therefore as a child decided never to speak up. The documentary loses some focus towards the end, going off on a tangent about celibacy leading to child abuse (an unlikely connection that has been hypothesised but never yet proved); the film could have also benefited from O'Grady having more screen time. This is, however, chiefly a film about his victims and their families rather than O'Grady himself, and considering this, the film leaves an indelible impact, and remarkably so given the restraint Berg shows towards getting angry about what happened.

tomgillespie2002 When I first saw Amy Berg's powerful documentary Delivery Us From Evil back in 2006, the film's revelations shocked, angered and utterly appalled me. Ten years later, the film still packs an emotional punch, despite the quite unbelievable extent of child abuse throughout the Catholic Church now being common knowledge. The Boston Globe's 2001 investigations into the systemic abuse in Boston alone led to widespread news coverage, and, of course, Tom McCarthy's film Spotlight which dramatised these events won the Best Picture Oscar just earlier this year.The power of Berg's film lies within the raw emotion laid out on screen. Interviewing both Father Oliver O'Grady, an Irish priest who raped an estimated 25 children in California between the 1970's and 1990's, and some of his victims, the film reveals the rippling affects the abuse has had on the individuals themselves as well as their families. The most powerful scene is the moment where Bob Jyono, the father of one of the victims, breaks down with anger and guilt, explaining how he invited O'Grady into his home only for the priest he trusted to repeatedly rape his daughter. O'Grady not only destroyed his family, but broke his faith in the church.O'Grady himself speaks openly about his experiences. He apologises and expresses his regret over his actions, but there is a startling disconnect in his confessions. However, O'Grady is not the only one on trial here, as Berg expands the focus to the Church itself, and especially Cardinal Mahony, the man who knew about O'Grady exploits and did nothing to stop it. Rather than expelling the priest for his actions, the Church simply shifted him around the California area. The Church's cover-up is perhaps the most sickening thing of all, and the revelation that an estimated 10% of Catholic priests were known to be abusers is simply unforgivable. This is an agonising, yet necessary watch.

sergepesic I've been living on this loony planet long enough to be easily shocked or disgusted. But watching this lesson in immorality ,expertly performed by a merry band of man of cloth, I shudder at the state of humankind. A priest who seems to be a perfect example of a sociopath, manages to fulfill all of his sick fantasies on children as young as 9 months, with a generous help of the church brethren. Being a religious person myself, albeit not Catholic, I am stunned with the arrogance of the clergy. Because their cassocks give them such special powers, they convinced themselves that any attack upon their actions is unwarranted. How can any real Christian live without any doubt and self questioning? Well, real Christian can not. But they can, God help them.

NORDIC-2 As a former Catholic who has since become a staunch atheist, I watched Amy Berg's chilling documentary, 'Deliver Us From Evil' with simmering anger and rage--not just at the hideous corruption of a cynical Church hierarchy but at the smugness and utter lack of remorse exhibited by the former "Father" Oliver O'Grady, a true and very dangerous psychopath. And to think that his heinous crimes have been repeated by hundreds of his depraved brethren of the cloth over many decades--and similarly covered up with the usual catastrophic results. If 'Deliver Us From Evil' doesn't put you off from Catholicism and organized religion in general, nothing will.