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The Deliverance is a 2024 American supernatural horror film directed by Lee Daniels and written by David Coggeshall, and Elijah Bynum. Inspired by the Ammons haunting case,[1] it stars Andra Day with Caleb McLaughlin, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Tasha Smith, Omar Epps, Mo'Nique, and Glenn Close.
| The Deliverance | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Lee Daniels |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Eli Arenson |
| Edited by | Stan Salfas |
| Music by | Lucas Vidal |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Based on the Jackson family in Indiana, they move into a house where they soon experience strange, demonic occurrences that eventually convince them and the community that the house is a gateway to hell.
The film was released in select theaters on August 16, 2024, and began streaming on Netflix on August 30.
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Ebony Jackson is a mother of three: eldest teen son Nate, teen daughter Shante, and youngest son Dre. The four have just moved into a new home, their third in a short time frame. They are joined by Ebony's elderly mother Alberta, who has cancer and recently became a Christian. Unbeknownst to Alberta, her insurance stopped covering treatment; to prevent a change to a lesser care facility, Ebony has been paying for it out of her own pocket. This has put Ebony in arrears on many expenses, sending her into collections.
Complicating matters further are Ebony's personal issues. In addition to having a criminal past that includes serving time in prison, she also has a history of alcohol abuse, and when drinking, becomes physically violent with her children. This has led to the intervention of Child Protective Services, and she has been assigned caseworker Cynthia, with whom the family have a contentious relationship.
Dre starts talking about and to an unseen presence whom he calls Tre, whom he says takes residence alternately in the basement and bedroom closet. A dead cat appears in the basement, where there is a large hole in the unfinished concrete floor, and on multiple occasions, Dre has gone there only to be found afterward in a catatonic state.
Shante and Nate also start acting unusual. One evening a drunken Ebony hears a banging coming from the children's bedroom; she rushes in angrily. Alberta hears the children screaming and comes in to find a huge hole in the wall with Ebony sitting on the floor with a baseball bat. Ebony denies any wrongdoing.
Cynthia visits the home after being unable to find Ebony at her prior address, and confronts her about bruises on the children. The whole family denies Ebony's responsibility. The family notices a woman in a car watching them, assuming she is connected to Cynthia. That day at school all three children have inexplicable psychiatric incidents, leading to their hospitalization and evaluation. Doctors find nothing wrong with them and send them home.
The woman in the car ends up confronting Ebony and telling her she is a Pentecostal pastor who tried to prevent an incident in the house 20 years earlier in which a mother slaughtered her family and killed herself. She claims a demon possessed the woman and the demon is now possessing Ebony's family. Ebony initially doesn't believe her but returns home to find Alberta's crucifix on the wall aflame and Alberta herself dead by Dre's hand. The children are taken into custody and Ebony is given a psychiatric evaluation, but Cynthia convinces them not to commit her.
Hours later Cynthia witnesses Dre climb backwards up a hospital wall and realizes something supernatural is occurring. The pastor prays the sinner's prayer with Ebony, who becomes a believer. She then helps Ebony kidnap Dre from the hospital and bring him home where they attempt a deliverance prayer. The demon Tre uses Dre to kill the pastor, and has a battle against Ebony, who uses holy anointing oil against him. Meanwhile her other children are possessed remotely and begin manifesting supernatural injuries.
Nearly killed by the demon, at the last moment Ebony calls upon Jesus to help her. Suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit, she begins speaking in tongues and successfully exorcises the demon. During the deliverance, Ebony's other children develop stigmata.
Afterwards, Ebony and Cynthia agree to work together to regain full custody of the children, and she gifts Cynthia a cross necklace to help instill a deeper faith in her. Six months later, Ebony is reunited with her children. They drive to Philadelphia as she announces that she and their father are reconciling.
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- Andra Day as Ebony Jackson, an alcoholic mother of a Pennsylvania family whose children allegedly became demonically possessed
- Glenn Close as Alberta Jackson, Ebony's religious mother
- Anthony B. Jenkins as Andre Jackson, Ebony's youngest son
- Caleb McLaughlin as Nathaniel "Nate" Jackson, Ebony's eldest son
- Demi Singleton as Shante Jackson, Ebony's daughter
- Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Reverend Bernice James
- Mo'Nique as Cynthia Henry, a department of child services worker
- Omar Epps as Melvin
- Miss Lawrence as Asia
- Colleen Camp as Doctor Hoffsteder
- Juanita Jennings as Mrs. Tucker
- Kimberly Russell as Mrs. Ross
- Tasha Smith as Pastor Powell
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In January 2022, it was reported that Lee Daniels would direct and Andra Day, Octavia Spencer, Glenn Close, Rob Morgan, Caleb McLaughlin and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor would star in the film.[2][3] In April 2022, Mo'Nique, who last worked with Daniels in the 2009 film Precious, replaced Octavia Spencer in the role.[4][5] Also that month, Tasha Smith was cast.[6] Omar Epps, Demi Singleton, Miss Lawrence, and Anthony B. Jenkins round out the cast.[7][8]
The film was shot in mid-2022 in Pittsburgh.[9]
Speaking about collaborating with Netflix on the making of the film, Daniels said:
"Netflix kept saying tension, tension, tension, tension. And I didn’t really want tension. The tension is whether or not (the lead character) was going to beat them kids. That, to me, is the tension, not that shit that is going on in the house. I gave up a little bit and just said, “Okay, let me just give them what they want a little bit because it’s a Lee Daniels film, but it’s also a Netflix film.” I sold out a little bit because we’re not in the world of cinema. We’re in the world of clicks where, if they’re not invested in the first five or ten minutes, they’ll turn that shit off."[10]
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In January 2022, Netflix won a bidding war among seven studios that also included Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Miramax over the film rights in a deal of "upward of $65 million, covering the film's budget and buyouts"; the film's net budget was estimated at $30 million when submitted.[2] It was released in select theaters on August 16, 2024, and on Netflix on August 30.[11]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 34% of 82 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Lee Daniels' foray into horror works best when it leans into his melodramatic preoccupations, but it fails to deliver the exorcism goods."[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 39 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[13]
Bret Eckelberry of Plugged In opined that the aim of The Deliverance was "to tell a redemptive story".[14]
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