What Is Don’t Deliver Us from Evil About?
The premise of Don’t Deliver Us from Evil in 301 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In a remote countryside, a cloistered boarding school imposes its austere rhythms on a generation of adolescent girls, its stone corridors and echoing chapels infused with centuries‑old ritual. The atmosphere is thick with quiet authority, stained‑glass light, and an undercurrent of suppressed yearning that seeps from the convent walls into the surrounding fields. Within this insulated world, the everyday routines of lessons, prayers, and communal meals take on a hushed intensity, setting the stage for a tale that balances reverent tradition with an unsettling underbelly.
Anne and Lore are the inseparable pair at the heart of the story, neighbors whose friendship predates their enrolment and whose bond is forged through shared secrecy. Together they cultivate a private rebellion, turning their curiosity toward forbidden texts and exploring ideas that clash violently with the doctrine surrounding them. Anne maintains a hidden diary, a silent witness to their whispered vows and the daring experiments they undertake, while Lore fuels the pair’s audacity with a restless imagination that refuses to be confined.
The film’s tone is unmistakably gothic, a slow‑burning psychological portrait that couples lyrical melancholy with a sharp, almost tactile sense of dread. It invites viewers into the girls’ interior worlds, where poetry about death and dark philosophy mingle with the sacral symbols that dominate their environment. Their devotion to an opposing force becomes a ritual of its own, marked by symbolic gestures—discarded communion wafers, clandestine readings, and a pact sealed in blood—that echo the convent’s solemn ceremonies while subverting them.
As the narrative unfolds, the audience is drawn into a delicate dance between innocence and corruption, faith and defiance, all rendered in a visual style that feels both beautifully austere and quietly menacing. The girls’ secretive pact hovers like a shadow over the school’s orderly surface, promising a tension that remains tantalizingly unresolved.
What Happens in Don’t Deliver Us from Evil?
The complete story of Don’t Deliver Us from Evil, from the first scene to the last, in 315 words (about 1 minute). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 3 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
Anne de Boissy Jeanne Goupil and Lore Fournier Catherine Wagener are two adolescent girls at a Catholic boarding school, living near each other in the countryside. They are exclusive friends who read poems about the beauty of death and engage in malicious pranks and petty theft, convinced that the church is fatuous and that they are special and untouchable.
During the summer vacation, with Anne’s parents away on a long trip, the two girls spend much of their time together at Anne’s family château. They grow bolder, setting fire to a local farmer’s barn and letting his cows roam free as punishment for Lore’s assault. Anne also targets the mentally handicapped groundskeeper, Émile Gérard Darrieu, to frighten him by killing his caged bird and making him suffer. They steal hosts and vestments from the church and prepare an abandoned chapel for a Black Mass, marrying themselves to Satan and promising more wicked deeds in his name, sealing their bond by mingling their blood.
One night, a motorist runs out of fuel near the château. The girls invite him inside, offer him alcohol, and strip to their underclothes as they begin to entice him. When the man attempts to rape Lore, Anne intervenes and bludgeons him to death, after which the two dispose of the body in the lake. They are later questioned along with others about the missing man, but they refuse to reveal anything.
Back at school, a senior detective arrives to question them further, heightening their fear. Believing the detective suspects their crimes, they hatch a suicide pact, convinced they will descend into Hell and be rewarded by Satan for their service. At a school concert attended by all the parents, every performance earns loud applause, including Anne and Lore who recite a dark poem by Baudelaire. As the audience claps and cheers, the two douse themselves with petrol and set themselves alight.
Don’t Deliver Us from Evil Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
11 key events in the order they happen, from “Forming a deadly bond” to “Final act of demise”. 11 events name a place, across 10 locations.
- 1
Forming a deadly bond
Anne de Boissy and Lore Fournier, two affluent girls at a Catholic boarding school, become exclusive friends. They read poems about the beauty of death and engage in malicious pranks and petty theft, convinced the church is fatuous and that they are untouchable.
When:School days Where:Catholic boarding school, countryside
- 2
Summer at the château
During summer vacation, with Anne's parents away, the two girls stay at Anne's château in the countryside. Their closeness deepens as they spend long hours together.
When:Summer Where:Anne's château, countryside
- 3
Burning the barn
They set fire to the local farmer's barn and release his cows as punishment after Lore's attempted rape. The act marks a turning point in their escalating cruelty and willingness to defy consequences.
When:Summer Where:Local farmer's barn
- 4
Cruelty to the groundskeeper
Anne torments the mentally handicapped groundskeeper, killing his caged bird to make him suffer. The cruelty is depicted as part of their growing detachment from normal morality.
When:Summer Where:Groundskeeper's residence
- 5
Black Mass though the chapel
They steal hosts and vestments from the church, preparing an abandoned chapel for a Black Mass. They wed themselves to Satan and seal their bond with blood.
When:Summer Where:Abandoned chapel
- 6
The motorist encounter
One night a motorist stops near the château and is invited in. They entice him with alcohol and stripping, but when he tries to rape Lore, Anne bludgeons him to death and they throw the body into the lake.
When:One night Where:Near the château, by the lake
- 7
Police inquiry begins
The missing man becomes the subject of police inquiries. The two are questioned alongside others but manage to reveal nothing.
When:Following disappearance Where:Police inquiry location
- 8
Detective arrives at school
Back at school, a senior detective arrives to question them; they grow frightened, convinced he knows more than he will admit.
When:School term Where:School
- 9
Suicide pact
They plan a suicide pact, convinced they will go to Hell and be rewarded by Satan for their wicked acts. They prepare the act as a final statement of their defiance.
When:Evening Where:Their dorm room at school
- 10
Baudelaire recital at the concert
At a school concert attended by all the parents, every performance is met with loud applause. Anne and Lore recite a dark Baudelaire poem, signaling their embrace of darkness.
When:Evening Where:School auditorium
- 11
Final act of demise
As the applause continues, they douse themselves with petrol and set themselves alight. The act completes their ritual suicide in a final, shocking tableau.
When:During concert Where:School auditorium
Who Are the Main Characters in Don’t Deliver Us from Evil?
6 characters, among them Anne de Boissy (Jeanne Goupil), Lore Fournier (Catherine Wagener) and Léon (Michel Robin): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
- AD
Anne de Boissy (Jeanne Goupil)
Played by Jeanne Goupil
An assertive, thrill-seeking pupil who revels in subverting authority. She orchestrates cruel pranks and revels in their perceived invulnerability, driving the pair toward violence and occult acts. Her fierce loyalty to Lore propels them into increasingly dangerous schemes.
- 🧭 Rebellious
- 🕯️ Manipulative
- 🩸 Violent
- LF
Lore Fournier (Catherine Wagener)
Played by Catherine Wagener
Equally bold and risk-taking, Lore feeds on danger and shares a profound, if perilous, bond with Anne. She participates in deception and cruelty, and her loyalty deepens as their acts grow darker, culminating in their fatal pact.
- 🕊️ Loyal
- 🪶 Impulsive
- 💫 Curious
-
Léon (Michel Robin)
Played by Michel Robin
A weary traveler who stops near the château and becomes entangled with the girls. He is drawn into their world, attempts to resist their advances, and is killed as a result of the confrontation.
- 🚶♂️ Stranger
- 🕵️♂️ Vulnerable
- 🗡️ Violent
- L(
L'automobiliste (Bernard Dhéran)
Played by Bernard Dhéran
A motorist who encounters the girls and becomes a figure in the ensuing investigation into the missing man. He is drawn into the mystery surrounding the events at the château.
- 🚗 Missing
- 🕵️♂️ Investigated
- 🗝️ Suspicious
- É(
Émile (Gérard Darrieu)
Played by Gérard Darrieu
The mentally handicapped groundskeeper, a gentle and vulnerable man who becomes a target of the girls' cruelty—his bird is killed and he is plunged into fear and confusion.
- 🧭 Vulnerable
- 😢 Cruelty
- 🪶 Fragile
- L(
L'aumônier (Marc Dudicourt)
Played by Marc Dudicourt
The school chaplain and symbol of religious authority who represents the moral order the girls defy. His presence heightens the tension between faith, discipline, and transgression.
- ⚖️ Authority
- ⛪ Spiritual
- 🎭 Hypocrisy
Where and When Is Don’t Deliver Us from Evil Set?
Don’t Deliver Us from Evil is set in French countryside, château setting, countryside near a Catholic boarding…. Here is why the place matters to the story.
Where
French countryside, château setting, countryside near a Catholic boarding school, lakeside area
The story unfolds in a secluded rural area surrounding a family château and a nearby Catholic boarding school. The countryside features a barn, an abandoned chapel, and a lake where the body is disposed, giving the landscape an ominous, quiet menace. The setting blends aristocratic residence with rural isolation, amplifying the girls' sense of being untouchable.
- 🗺️ Rural
- 🏰 Château setting
- ⛪ Religious setting
- 🏞️ Lakeside countryside
What Are the Themes of Don’t Deliver Us from Evil?
4 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Innocence, Religious Rebellion and Violence & Guilt.
-
01
Innocence
Two affluent adolescents begin with playful cruelty, testing boundaries and believing themselves untouchable. Their acts reveal a disturbing erosion of innocence as pranks escalate into violence.
-
02
Religious Rebellion
The girls reject religious authority and church rituals, mocking prayers and staging a Black Mass as a radical assertion of power. Their rebellion exposes the fragility of moral codes in a cloistered community.
-
03
Violence & Guilt
Cruel acts, including the death of the motorist and the birds of the groundskeeper, frame a trajectory of violence. The characters are drawn into a cycle of guilt, fear, and the police investigation that follows.
-
04
Duality
The bond between Anne and Lore exposes competing facets of their personalities—charming facade versus capacity for cruelty. They seal their pact in a ritual, embodying a stark split between innocence and malevolence.
What Kind of Film Is Don’t Deliver Us from Evil?
Dark in tone, with steady pacing and a straightforward story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Dark
- Pacing
- Steady
- Story
- Straightforward
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bleak
An intensely dark and transgressive film that follows two teenage girls' calculated descent into blasphemy and violence, creating a deeply oppressive and unsettling atmosphere that culminates in a shocking, fatalistic finale.
- transgressive
- oppressive
- malicious
- rebellious
- sacrilegious
- fatalistic
- satanism
- coming of age
- teen rebellion
- catholic guilt
Content notes: animal cruelty, sexual assault, suicide, blasphemy, teen death.
Quiz
How well do you remember Don’t Deliver Us from Evil? Test yourself on the story.
