It's hard not to want to avert your eyes and that makes up, marginally, for the otherwise clichéd screenplay.

This is a smart blend of cop drama, thriller and paranormal elements.

The director Scott Derrickson seems uncertain as to whether he is making an exploitation pic intended to give audiences a few fairground-style thrills and frights, or a William Friedkin-style meditation on the nature of evil.

Deliver Us From Evil does what it says on the tin and provides a straightforward genre piece.