Andra Day damns the cliches to Hell in this solid exorcist movie.
“The Deliverance” is a made-for-Netflix horror movie inspired by the Ammons haunting case. It happened in Gary, Indiana, 2011, and regarded the mother Latoya Ammons, her mother, and her three children, who all claimed a demonic possession in their house. Of course, and I can’t say whether or not they were really possessed, there were those who believed it was all a hoax and that the children were putting on acts. This story became publicized in 2014.
Director Lee Daniels makes this movie version with typical cliches regarding the believers and non-believers of what other worthy nightmare is happening. I’m like: “Well, of course they don’t believe you.” But he also makes this movie with some strong performances (led by Andra Day and Glenn Close) and beautifully photographed images by cinematographer Eli Arenson (“Lamb,” “The Watchers”).
“The Deliverance” is another exorcism movie that’s neither “Exorcist” nor “Conjuring,” but has better aspects than “The Pope’s Exorcism” or “The Exorcist: Believer.” And that’s saying a lot.
Daniels reunites with Day from “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” and casts her as an alcoholic mother named Ebony, who has three kids-Nate (Caleb MacLaughlin), Shante (Demi Singleton), and Andre (Anthony B. Jenkins)-and a religious and cancer-stricken mother named Alberta (Close), all of whom live in the same crappy house in Indiana. At this point, a portion of the income comes from the father sending Nate money, so he can, one day, leave.
Ebony and Alberta are always criticizing each other for their parenting skills, the kids are tired of being broke, there are flies in the house because a dead black cat stinking up their basement, and the mother has to deal with the social worker Cynthia Henry (Mo’Nique).
But things literally go straight to Hell, when the kids begin to behave unusually and sinisterly. While the doctors say there’s nothing wrong with them, the mother knows they’re in trouble. For obvious reasons, the social worker doesn’t believe Ebony, when she can’t explain the cause of her children’s behavior.
Why would anyone believe her if she’s an alcoholic, aggravates or embarrasses her children, and acts more tough than sympathetic. Even she herself asks her eldest son “How did someone like me give birth to a someone like you?” Now, that sounds like a challenge, considering the amount of horror movies we keep getting.
Unless, she crosses paths with a believer, Reverend Bernice James (Aunjaune Ellis-Taylor), who knows the house is haunted and tells Ebony that she tried to help the previous family in their satanic nightmare. She doesn’t perform exorcisms, but rather something called “The Deliverance.”
Once we get to the exorcism, sorry, deliverance, we see that it likes to break free from tradition or, at least, give the cliche its own spin. And this is something I wouldn’t have expected from Daniels. I don’t know much about the true events that inspired this film, so I can’t compare or contrast.
While the kids are mediocre, the adults are the one who win you over. Day, Close, Ellis-Taylor, and Mo’Nique all deliver with vibrant magnetism, and they seem like characters who would appear in a Daniels movie. And reminder: Mo’Nique won the Oscar for her performance in “Precious.” But it’s mostly Day who carries the film with her attitude and moods, and she does try to take the genre with a different approach.
I’m still damning the formulas to Hell, but I guess we’re going to keep seeing them. And the performances and direction keeps them at bay, so “The Deliverance” is something to see and talk about afterwards.
Now Playing in Select Theaters
Streaming on Netflix August 30
