Eric Bana has joked that covering their eyes won't help cinema-goers escape the scary scenes in his new film, Deliver Us From Evil.

The Australian actor plays New York City policeman Ralph Sarchie, who gets entangled with the devil in Scott Derrickson's latest horror-thriller.

He quipped: "Scott knows all the tricks, he knows when you're trying to cover your eyes. He knows more about horror than any of us ever will so covering your eyes won't work. In fact, it's probably worse. You're better off facing up to it. I like it (horror) when it's really good... when it's old school - the forbidding, eerie movie - and that's what Scott does really well."

The film is based on Beware The Night, a 2001 book Ralph co-wrote with Lisa Collier Cool.

"We stole little bits and pieces from the book and obviously exaggerated it to scare the hell out of you. That's what we're here to do," Eric joked.

The Hanna star said meeting the real Ralph felt "eerie".

"I just love the character. I felt like I knew the guy Ralph Sarchie after I read Scott's script, so getting to meet the real guy was kind of eerie, because he is very similar to the person I had in my head," he said.

Eric also said shooting the film has been an enlightening experience.

"It definitely opened my eyes to the cultural and religious aspects to exorcism. It's far more comfortable to be dismissive and muck around and joke about it, but it's far more confronting to look at the factual side of it. I had to be really open to it, and I was sceptical which worked for the film," he added.

:: Deliver Us From Evil is released on August 22.