Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Don't Deliver Us from Evil Blu-ray Movie Review

"The French film banned in France"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 20, 2025

Don't Deliver Us from Evil is a bonkers little French genre film that examines budding evil in two young sociopaths literally hellbent on ascendancy (or descendancy as it were) by any means necessary. It's a creepy bit of '70s sploitation that originally received an X-rating in the UK, was banned in France, and has danced a devilish dervish on the periphery of horror for decades. But it's much tamer than all of that suggests, a product of a time when screen-depicted adolescent sexuality was enough to offend and frighten the cinematic powers that be. Perhaps it's its horrifying ending that propelled it to infamy, a step too far for most. Or perhaps its use of seduction, rape and revenge was deemed too shocking for audiences. Or perhaps its pervasive cynicism and satanic pacts were just too much for too many. Whatever the case, Don't Deliver Us from Evil remains a curious but effective bit of once-upon-a-time censored horror that still has some bite.

Catholic boarding school students and inseparable friends Anne de Boissy (Jeanne Goupil) and Lore Fournier (Catherine Wagener) both hail from affluent, religious households. But beneath their sweet demeanor are troublemakers whose idea of pranks include theft, property destruction, vandalism, animal abuse, ensnaring adult men, murder and other acts of savagery. Believing themselves unaccountable for whatever crimes they commit, they swear allegiance to Satan himself, considering their behavior worship primed for their dark lord. They even steal themselves away in an abandoned church and perform a black mass, wedding themselves by blood pact to the Prince of Darkness and declaring their souls forfeit. How far will their pursuit of evil take them? You probably aren't prepared for the answer to that question. Written and directed by Joël Séria, the film also stars Bernard Dhéran, Gérard Darrieu, Marc Dudicourt, Michel Robin, Véronique Silver, Jean-Pierre Helbert, Nicole Mérouze, Henri Poirier, Serge Frédéric, René Berthier, Frédéric Nort and Jean-Daniel Ehrmann.

Catholicism is seen as the true enemy by Anne and Lore, and by Seria, who takes very personal umbrage with the Church, its practices and abuses. Don't Deliver Us from Evil is referenced by critic Kat Ellinger as his most personal film and it shows, with the filmmaker hurling his anger at the screen in a manner that is more than likely the untouchable quality that led to the film's banishment. Stark and perverse, the film sing-songs from one shocking scene to the next, portraying its girls as near-lovers without concern for anything they touch or destroy. Their ineffectual regard for anything sacred is the least glaring sin they engage in, with the ultimate murder of a man coming as a culmination rather than a step too far (as was the case with the real girls and true crime that inspired the film). Their final act is more a product of inevitability than religiosity or rebellion, though it stands as a point of no return that reveals just how committed to evil each one truly is. The film never quite answers whether evil exists, or some supernatural force has actually been summoned by the girls; just that their revelry and weddedness is enough to provoke their farewell to those who would oppose them, or Satan as it were.

Don't Deliver Us from Evil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Don't Deliver Us from Evil boasts a lovely 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that's as perfectly filmic as it is carefully restored from the original film negative. A soft, natural veneer of grain is present that never infringes on cinematographer Marcel Combes' imagery or palette. Colors are lifelike and quite beautiful, with strong primaries, lifelike skintones and wonderfully resolved black levels. Contrast is dialed in with care, with little in the way of crush to belittle the restorative team's efforts. Detail is excellent too. While the photography uses softness to effect at times (as is often the case with similar eurocult films of the era), the vast majority of scenes are home to clean, refined edge definition (without any haloing or other anomalies of note) and exacting fine textures, which lend the picture's depth and dimensionality a heightened sense of realism, even when darkness presses in and threatens to overwhelm the foreground. Moreover, there isn't any print damage, specks or significant blemishes, and the encode is sound; no blocking, banding or other issues to report. Don't Deliver Us from Evil couldn't look much better than it does here.

Don't Deliver Us from Evil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Don't Deliver Us from Evil is also presented with a surprisingly solid DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless track that has far more dynamic strength at its core than you might expect to encounter with a 1970s stereo mix. Claude Germain and Dominique Ney's haunting score is gorgeous, captured here brilliantly with all its verve and unnerving ease. It's perhaps a bit too overwhelming at times, but it heightens the horror and the dreamlike qualities of the film, making any prioritization issues largely moot. Dialogue is clear and intelligible at all times, with only a hint of environmental air hiss in outdoor scenes, and sound effects have been preserved well, despite a touch of canned indifference and thinness to the girls' acts of violence and savagery.

Don't Deliver Us from Evil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - Author, editor and critic Kat Ellinger provides a commentary for the film, which she calls "one of the most transgressive films to come out of the Eurocult" genre. An excellent track from start to finish, Ellinger goes to great length talking about the visual imagery and symbology throughout the movie, its power and its transgressive qualities, its subversion of traditional genre, its place coming out of the 1960s and its rule-breaking in the early '70s, and the manner in which Seria challenges norms and taste of French critics and audiences of the time despite its eventual banning. This is the sort of track that should accompany any catalog film, particularly those that arrive without extras or new special features. The manner in which Ellinger dissects, praises and offers new appreciation or avenues to explore for a film is a way for an audience to better engage with a piece of art that might not strike them as "important" or substantial as it may be. Such is the case with Don't Deliver Us from Evil. I had a singular reaction to the film, but Ellinger opened my eyes to more aspects of the production that captured my imagination and made me re-consider everything I had just watched. While I haven't had the time to rewatch the film, Ellinger's commentary has inspired me to do so, all while educating me to things I wouldn't otherwise know. Kudos to the critic and to Mondo Macabro for such an excellent track.

• Archive Interviews (SD, 27 minutes) - Two archive interviews from 2006 are included, the first with writer and director Joel Seria and the second with actress Jeanne Goupil.

• Hellish Creatures: Interview with Paul Buck (SD, 12 minutes) - Crime writer Paul Buck discusses his long fascination with the film, the scenes that most caught his attention from the beginning, the real murder that inspired the film, and the movie's history and legacy in France and abroad. Also ported from the 2006 DVD.

• New Interview with Joel Seria (HD, 22 minutes) - One of the must-watch interviews on the disc is this new retrospective interview with writer/director Joel Seria, who looks back on the film with fondness for the trouble it caused at the time of its release.

• Mondo Macabro Trailers (HD)

Don't Deliver Us from Evil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Don't Deliver Us from Evil is an unsettling slice of banned French eurocult cinema that has plenty of power despite its fifty-plus years in exile. A first watch is perhaps inadequate when it comes to fully understanding and digging into exactly what Joël Séria is intending and accomplishing; a second viewing, or even a third, may be in order, so prepare accordingly. Mondo Macabro's Blu-ray release is even better, with a striking video presentation born from a terrific and terrifically mastered restoration, a decidedly solid DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, and a nice selection of extras, including content from the previous DVD release, a new director's interview, and a top tier audio commentary that should be listened to prior to any rewatch of the film.