The Deliverance is a dramatic horror movie that follows the true story of a family that battles a demon living in their home possessing their youngest son. With Andra Day, Glenn Close, Caleb McClaughlin, Anthony B. Jenkins, and Demi Singleton, The Deliverance misses its mark as a compelling horror movie and falters even more after reading about the events that inspired the movie.
The story follows mother Ebony Jackson as she is looking out for her three children, Andre, Nate, and Shante, and her sick mother Alberta after they move into a new home. Soon after, Andre becomes transfixed on the basement and a figure he calls Tre, who routinely possesses him and his siblings, causing them to hurt themselves and each other. Ebony not only has to save her family from the demon, but also from Child Services who believe that she is abusing her children.
What worked for me was the build-up of the family dynamic. Ebony is shown to be a hard-working mother but one with a quick temper and a history of being violent thanks to her alcoholism. Her children do have love for her but also have a built-up resentment for her. Her mother lives with them and her cancer adds both emotional and financial strain to their household. All this is super compelling to me because seeing this family having to struggle internally before even introducing the threat of the paranormal adds layers to their story.Â
What is disappointing is that reading the story of Latoya Ammons, what The Deliverance was inspired by. If you’re interested in this movie, I implore you to read what happened to her and her family because it is fascinating. If this was a closer interpretation of that, this would’ve been a Conjuring-level movie in my mind.Â
Once the spooky stuff starts, all that interesting family drama gets pushed aside and the movie becomes extremely dull. Maybe it’s because these types of movies do little for me since The Exorcist but the movie lacks any scary moments or tense build-ups. There are barely any cheap attempts at jump scares, I don’t quite know where Lee Daniels thought his horror would come from. Even in the ending, I never felt a sense of dread for Ebony or her family because the threat hadn’t been given enough weight throughout the story.
The writing in this movie is not great. There are a few laughably bad lines that stand out that I won’t spoil but outside of that, I can’t think of anything that made me like this movie anymore. The visuals are nothing special at all. The ending was incredibly messy as well in both of these aspects.Â
FINAL THOUGHTS
I don’t know what I was hoping for when I put this movie on but I can safely say that it isn’t for me. I did not find much enjoyment in my time with this movie, especially after the movie shifted its focus away from the family’s drama. Maybe you’ll be different.
