This week on Saturday Reads, I want to dive into something a little different—Deliver Us From Evil. This movie is not only a supernatural thriller but also one that’s based on real-life events and a gripping book, Beware the Night, by Ralph Sarchie. The blending of true crime, demonic possession, and exorcism is a mix I’ve always found fascinating, especially when it straddles the line between reality and the supernatural.

The Power of True Stories on Screen

Movies based on real-life events often have a certain weight to them. There’s something about knowing that the horror on the screen isn’t just fiction—it’s rooted in true experiences. Deliver Us From Evil falls into that chilling category, drawing its narrative from Sarchie’s career as an NYPD officer investigating demonic possessions. It’s the type of story that makes you question the unseen forces that exist in our world, whether they’re explained by science or the supernatural.

The film follows Ralph Sarchie (played by Eric Bana) as he confronts an evil beyond anything his police work could prepare him for. What makes this story even more haunting is that it’s not just a product of Hollywood; it’s based on Sarchie’s real-life accounts, as detailed in his book Beware the Night. A career cop investigating demons might sound far-fetched, but Sarchie documented a series of terrifying encounters that blur the line between law enforcement and exorcism.

From Book to Screen: Beware the Night’s Influence

Beware the Night gives readers a deeper look into Sarchie’s world—one where the darkest corners of human nature meet the ancient forces of evil. In the book, Sarchie recounts harrowing experiences that involve demonic possessions, exorcisms, and horrifying rituals. One of the cases involves a Palo Mayombe priest, and another an innocent girl tormented by an incubus. Each account is documented with vivid, unsettling details that stay with you long after you’ve put the book down.

The way this book weaves true crime and supernatural horror makes it a unique piece of nonfiction. Sarchie’s work shows that there are moments when reality is far more terrifying than anything fiction could conjure. And this transition from page to screen in Deliver Us From Evil maintains that eerie feeling—you’re never quite sure what’s coming next because these events were real. There’s a palpable tension knowing that these stories weren’t crafted by a screenwriter’s imagination; they happened in our world.

Connecting to My Own Work: The Kids Are Gone

My fascination with movies and books like Deliver Us From Evil goes beyond just enjoying a good scare. There are deeper thematic elements that inspire my own writing, particularly in my novella The Kids Are Gone. In this novella, a mother is searching for her missing children, trapped in a desperate quest where she can’t quite tell if what she’s encountering is rooted in science or the supernatural. It’s a concept that shares a lot of similarities with Deliver Us From Evil, where Ralph Sarchie is constantly navigating the blurry line between reality and the unexplainable.

What draws me into stories like these is the exploration of the unknown. When you can’t quite tell what’s real and what’s otherworldly, it heightens the tension in a way that resonates deeply with me as both a reader and a writer. The idea of forces beyond our comprehension—or the possibility that evil can exist in both human and supernatural forms—is something I explore in The Kids Are Gone as well.

Why Stories Like Deliver Us From Evil Matter

At the heart of these stories is the very human need to explain the unexplainable. Whether it’s demonic possession or supernatural occurrences, we are drawn to the mysteries of the world because they force us to confront our own fears. It’s not just about the monsters lurking in the shadows—it’s about the internal battle of how we process and understand what might be lurking just beyond the veil of reality.

Stories like Deliver Us From Evil challenge us to consider what we believe. Is everything grounded in science, or is there room for the supernatural? It’s this balance of fear and curiosity that makes movies and books like these so compelling. As a writer, I’m constantly inspired by this tension, especially in creating characters who are forced to question what’s real, what’s imagined, and what they’re willing to believe.