Deliver Us from Evil () is a 1969 Canadian drama film, written, directed, and edited by Jean-Claude Lord.Charles-Henri Ramond, "Délivrez-nous du mal – Film de Jean-Claude Lord". Films du Québec, January 8, 2009. One of the first Canadian films ever to address the subject of homosexuality,"L’homosexualité dans le cinéma québécois". Ici Radio-Canada, June 7, 2018. the film was produced and shot in 1965 but remained unreleased until 1969 due to its sensitive subject matter.
The film centres on the emotionally complex and abusive relationship between André (Yvon Deschamps), a gay man, and Georges (Guy Godin), a bisexual man who was also formerly romantically involved with André's sister Lucille (Catherine Bégin). When a vacation at a hotel ends with Georges having sex with a woman, André is driven to attempt both suicide and murder because of his inability to secure Georges' affections.
The film was not well received by critics, and has subsequently been heavily criticized as a "sordid" film that relies too heavily on outdated stereotypes of homosexual men.Janis L. Pallister, The Cinema of Québec: Masters in Their Own House. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1995. . p. 281. The film's representation of gay identity was most prominently analyzed by Thomas Waugh in a 1981 article for the magazine Copie Zéro.Thomas Waugh, "Nègres blancs, tapettes et « butch »; les lesbiennes et les gais dans le cinéma québécois". Copie Zéro - Vues sur le cinéma québécois, October 1981.
Due to its controversial reception, following its premiere the film was not widely seen until a restored print was screened at Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival in 2016.
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