Review: The Deliverance
The Deliverance is inspired by the alleged demonic haunting of Latoya Ammons and her family in Gary, Indiana, back in 2011. After moving into a rental home, the family reported swarms of flies, strange voices, and physical possessions. This eventually led to multiple exorcisms performed on Ammons and her children. The case was famously investigated by police, social workers, and clergy.
Honestly, my main thought throughout this film was, “Am I watching two different movies?”
I’ll admit I didn’t look up what this was supposed to be about before diving in. I went in totally blind. I wanted to watch it because I saw a short reel on YouTube of a very suspenseful dinner table scene. The family was clearly dealing with deep issues and it immediately made me want to know more about what was happening.
When I started the film, I had no idea it was even a horror movie. I truly thought it was going to be a thriller about a family going through tough times, centered on a mother trying to control her anger and break a cycle of abuse. I was totally wrong. I’m still not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. I can’t quite decide if I liked this movie or not. It left me feeling confused and a bit disappointed, but I also kind of enjoyed parts of it.
“I need forgiveness for my sins, but I also need deliverance from the power of sin. I need forgiveness for what I have done, but I also need deliverance from what I am.”
The movie starts out with a great sense of suspense. The opening shows paintings on a wall that are eerie enough to make you uncomfortable while still feeling safe. It is obvious from the beginning that something is wrong with the mother. There is a tension in her that is written all over her face. The lead actress is incredible because she pulls you into every single scene. She makes you believe that what is happening is real.
You quickly realize this family is broken and everyone is on edge. That dinner scene I saw on YouTube happens pretty early on. The mother’s abuse is harsh but not unexpected because you can tell she is constantly seconds away from exploding into chaos. The grandmother is there as well. She has her own issues, but she is trying to help her daughter make better choices.
“I should have flushed your ass down the toilet when you were just a blood clot!”
Making those choices gets harder when things start going weird. Strange noises start up, flies swarm out of the basement, and there is banging on the walls. When the flies first appeared, my first thought was that there must be a dead body down there. I wondered if the film was actually about her hiding the fact that she killed her husband. Nope. Later on, we find out it was just a dead cat.
The children are very expressive and they make you care about them quickly. The oldest daughter tries to stay strong but is easily shaken when things get tense. The oldest son is trying to escape and is getting money from their father. It took me forever to figure out the father was in Iraq. At first, I thought he had just abandoned them because the daughter hinted that he was gone. I might have misread that initial tension.
The youngest son eventually starts experiencing very strange things. He begins going into the attic, banging his head, and becoming forgetful. The mother grows more paranoid and frustrated. After one terrifying night where she loses her temper with the kids, she starts to wonder if there is something supernatural happening in the house.
Child services is involved frequently, and there is clearly a lack of trust there. Mo’Nique does a fantastic job showing her character’s worry and internal struggle. She fit perfectly in this role. I also have to mention that Glenn Close was phenomenal as the sickly, blunt grandmother. She made the role believable and you could tell she truly cared about making a difference.
“I just saw a little boy break his restraints, crawl out of that bed, crawl backwards on the floor, and climb up the fucking wall! What button should I push, Doctor?”
By this point, I still wasn’t sure what type of movie I was watching. Again, I thought it was a drama about an abusive mother. Then I thought maybe it was a psychological horror where the “supernatural” events were actually being caused by her own deteriorating mental state. I was wrong about that too.
It is wild that it took over an hour to realize this was a religious supernatural movie. And it gets very heavy into the religious aspect. I know most possession movies involve faith, but this one dove in headfirst. It felt like I was suddenly watching a Christian film. There is nothing wrong with that, but the movie definitely veered off course and turned into something else entirely.
“This house is making ’em sick.”
When I say it felt like two different movies, I mean it. It was as if two different directors had different ideas and just decided to mash them together. The second half felt rushed, hurried, and a little tacky. It relied on clichés and jump scares that made the grounded intensity of the beginning feel wasted.
The first half was phenomenal. It set up a stressful, on edge atmosphere where you didn’t know what to expect.
Then, a possession movie suddenly popped up and left me feeling confused and a bit betrayed.
I really enjoyed that first hour. But the rest? Maybe if I had known the genre beforehand, I would feel differently. The son is possessed by a demon and it even kills the grandmother. That was unexpected and actually made me a little angry because she was my favorite character.
The young boy did the best he could with the script. Some of it was a bit awkward, but he did a good job overall. There were some decent visuals and spooky moments, but other parts were cheesy and made me roll my eyes. The scene with the boy jumping off the bed and crawling up the wall felt like it belonged in a different, lesser film.
“It wants your baby… and everybody in that house dead and gone.”
The film leans hard into the mother finding her way back to God. A woman helps her through this process to the point where she basically uses her faith to defeat the demon. Again, the religious heavy handedness made me a bit uncomfortable only because I wasn’t expecting it.
My final verdict is that I’m conflicted. I loved the first half and was baffled by the second. As a possession movie, the second half is fine. It has your typical jump scares. But if I could pull the two halves apart and make them two separate movies, I think I’d like both of them more.
“We command every unclean spirit, every familiar spirit, every territorial spirit to leave this boy in the name of Jesus.”
Unfortunately, this is all one movie. I felt like the director didn’t quite know which direction to take and just put everything on the page at once. It was good, but it also wasn’t. It is worth a watch, but it feels much longer than it is because of that tonal shift.
I’d have to give it 2.5 stars. It isn’t a horrible movie, but it isn’t great either. The acting in the first half is phenomenal and so suspenseful, but the conclusion is a bit lackluster.
That’s my shaky review of The Deliverance. It is worth at least one watch if you’re curious.
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“Souille is a riveting novella that artfully blends elements of horror and science fiction to craft a high-stakes adventure that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. When Natalie’s life is thrown into chaos after a terrible hurricane leaves her hometown in ruins, she’s thrust into a deadly face-off against strange and malicious entities in her desperate struggle for survival.”
Coushatta LaRue 
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