Summary
- The main antagonist in the movie "Deliver Us from Evil" is the Jungler demon who possesses Mick Santino and goes on a killing spree in New York City.
- Sergeant Sarchie and his team, including a priest, investigate the strange behavior of three former marines and discover the Jungler demon's involvement.
- The Jungler demon has powers such as possession, enhanced strength, brainwashing, and combat skills, and its ultimate goal is to cause chaos and bring other demons to Earth.
Every horror movie needs one entity that relentlessly torments the other characters, and in Deliver Us from Evil, that role goes to the Jungler. As the main antagonist, the Jungler was a demon who possessed Mick Santino, played by Sean Harris, in the 2014 supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson. The movie revolved around New York Police Department Special Operations Sergeant Ralph Sarchie, played by Eric Bana, and a string of peculiar cases that seemed to point to demonic possession.
The Deliver Us from Evil characters, including Sergeant Sarchie, Édgar Ramírez as Mendoza, and Joel McHale as Butler, worked together to stop the Jungler demon in the movie. Unfortunately, along the way, people died as the Jungler went on a killing spree throughout New York City. The only way to put an end to the demon's reign of terror was to perform an exorcism, but given the Jungler's powers and persistent goals, it was tough for Sarchie and his team to free Mick Santino from the demon inside him.
The Jungler Demon's Powers & Goals In Deliver Us From Evil Explained
Sergeant Sarchie, his partner Butler, and the priest Mendoza looked into the strange behavior of three former marines — Jimmy Tratner, Lt. Griggs, and Mick Santino — in Deliver Us from Evil, and their investigation led them to the Jungler demon. The men learned that the three marines encountered the entity when they happened upon marking in a cave in the Diyala Province of Iraq when they were stationed overseas. They then carved the same markings on walls when they returned home, so it appeared as if the message was related to the Jungler demon, who possessed the men in Iraq and later turned Santino into a serial killer.
The Jungler demon's powers included possession, enhanced strength and durability, brainwashing, expert reflexes, combat skills, and other supernatural demonic abilities. Given these powers, it was difficult for Sergeant Sarchie to stop the Jungler from terrorizing the city. The demon wanted to cause ultimate chaos and bring other demons to Earth just for the fun of it all. Thankfully, after a handful of brutal killings, the Jungler was exorcised from Mick Santino's body and banished from Earth at the end of Deliver Us from Evil.
Is The Jungler Inspired By A Real Mythological Demon?
The 2014 supernatural horror film claimed to be based on a true story, but, in reality, most of its content was completely fictional. Eric Bana's character, Sergeant Ralph Sarchie, is a real person who was involved with numerous supernatural cases and wrote the 2001 non-fiction book Beware the Night, which the movie draws inspiration from. However, Deliver Us from Evil changed a lot about Sarchie's story, and the Jungler demon was made up for the film.