Last Updated on September 6, 2024 by
The Deliverance is a (2024) Horror movie Directed by Lee Daniels. The film stars Andra Day, Glenn Close, and Anthony B. Jenkins with a rum time of 1h 52m theater released August 30, 2024.
The Deliverance, which ended up playing in theatres for about two weeks before hitting Netflix on August 30th, claims that it draws from “true events. ” At the very end of the film, one is shown pictures of the real-life woman as well as the house depicted in the film. Nothing in this movie is very realistic. The plot is set in Pittsburgh in 2011 and focuses on Ebony, played by Andra Day, who lives with her children Nate (Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things), Shante (Demi Singleton), Andre (Anthony B. Jenkins), and the kids’ grandmother, Alberta (Glenn Close). Alberta is quite a character. She wears skimpy sexy clothes with her cleavage showing and very tight tops, most of the time naked in front but fully covered at the back; putting on thick lots of makeup with red lipstick; she has wigs because she is undergoing chemotherapy.
Her character is that of a ‘fiery’ grandmother who flirts with her medical technician, Melvin played by Omar Epps but is a church-going Baptist. Alberta as a character brings some shade of energy to the film which otherwise looks quite plain and careless. As for the female character, Ebony, she has her problems as well. She is a drunkard and once she assaults her children, for instance when she strikes young Andre on the head as he eats at the dinner table. This makes Nate, her older son angry with her, and all the children miss their father who is in Iraq. The only reason Ebony gets to be with her children is because she agreed to allow a social worker, Cynthia, played by Mo’Nique, to come to her house to visit the kids. Ebony has not informed Cynthia about their recent move and cannot explain the presence of bruises on her children, which makes such visits nerve-wracking.
The movie suggests that Ebony differs from her mother as she appears to have no faith, but the provided information is quite sketchy. The script was written by David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum fails in giving the viewers any hints, making us think that a couple of hints will be enough for us to figure out what is going on.
There is a door to the basement that opens and shuts by itself and is accompanied by flies, which is a Scoop from the movie The Amityville Horror. But curiously no one tries to investigate this, except for Andre who is once seen aggressively hitting his head on the door.
André also has an imaginary friend named Tre, which is quite bizarre, but Ebony does not care about what is happening to him since she has her issues to deal with—until all three children begin to misbehave at school. Nate sarcastically teases his teacher for having a son who died of AIDS and at another time he tries to fling his feces on the teacher.
The movie also reminds us that Nate fell for this stunt and also ate their feces, strangely enough, this episode is only described and never depicted, making one wonder if there was something left on the cutting room floor. It is something that rammed through the entire movie and was especially rife in the subplot of Ebony’s character. At times, she is depicted as a reckless, out-of-control mom; at others, she can be a loving parent who cares for her family, as seen when she invests in Alberta’s chemo therapy or buys Shante the iPhone she desires for her birthday.
Director Lee Daniels seems to need the audience to view Ebony as both a victim and a villain, and the film doesn’t address this effectively. Consequently, it is difficult to know who Ebony is as a character as well as the distinction between her being abusive to others and the demon inhabiting the house. This greatly detracts from Andra Day’s performance and does not allow her to make as deep of an impression. The twist begins when reverend Bernice James (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) comes in claiming she missed an opportunity to deliver the former occupants of the house from evil combating the spirit once more. She says one should perform what she terms as ‘deliverance’, which she clarified as not being an exorcism because it can be done by anyone with true faith.
But in fact, both are similar to a great extent. Due to past experiences with Alberta, and her mom’s boyfriend, Ebony does not trust in God. However, as is typical in these types of movies, the film goes down the conventional path and Ebony gains her faith right before she can confront a demon who intends to take her son and bring an end to her family. This results in lots of growling, foaming at the mouth, and prayers. Certainly, Glenn Close’s outstanding performance of her character’s creepiness is one of the few genuinely shocking things in the film.
A lot of horror clichés are presented in Lee Daniels’ work, such as flashbacks, distorted faces, characters floating, and people’s eyes turning black. However, The Deliverance is not very scary because it feels like a replica of other horror movies including The Conjuring, which copies ideas from previous movies. He attempts to introduce a new spin by making the family a Black single mother and her children, but it’s not nearly enough to invigorate the film. The only remarkable performance I can identify is that of Glenn Close, who embodies the character and brings some sort of energy into the movie. Sadly, even these dance moves are not enough to raise this movie beyond the level of a standard low-budget horror film with well-known actors.
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The Deliverance 2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
The Deliverance is Rated R by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for violent content, language throughout, and some sexual references.
Violence and Gore: The movie scenes describe cases of child physical abuse in a family setting. Although the show tries to depict a black family, Ebony the mother is portrayed as violent by spanking her children and even slapping her youngest son Andre at the dining table. This could be alarming to some viewers most especially to those who are so sensitive to cases of domestic violence. : As mentioned in the plot, some scenes include parts that look as though they are part of supernatural fiction like frantic behavior caused by the possession of evil spirits. For instance, Andre is depicted slamming his head onto a door of the basement and the other two children, mimicking their brother, display violent behaviors at school as the one scene depicts a child throwing feces at a teacher. There are connections to self-harm associated with demonic possession, though some acts, such as Nate consuming his feces, are only discussed and not depicted. These themes can be rather distressing and potentially confusing for young audiences to come to terms with. There is a deliverance scene where the characters are subjected to both physical and emotional distress. Possible aims of the characters flying in the night include growling, thrashing, and foaming at the mouth, which are behavioral signs that suggest possession and may be alarming to the audience. There is a part where characters are tossed around, clawing their skin, and having the ability to levitate. As these are scenes of horror, they can prove to be appalling to watch in a movie.
Language: It has instances of violence, the genre of which can be briefly described as a crime thriller, and contains numerous instances of cursing. Some coarseness of language is used in stress or conflict situations which is typical of the characters and is also responsible for the R rating. This may not be appropriate for children or teenagers. The dialogue contains the use of abusive language and vulgar language such as when Nate provokes his teacher about the death of her son due to AIDS. Such language can be perceived as verbally abusive and unsuitable for children and teenagers, in particular.
Sexual Content: Unfortunately there are some sexual jokes in the film, however, they are not very vulgar. For instance, Alberta, the grandmother, is a woman who likes much younger men, and her interaction with them is depicted as somewhat provocative. There are no specific sexual scenes, yet the motives are evident and some scenes hint at sexual relationships between adults. Certain scenes may portray improper sexual conduct or affairs, such as Alberta’s advances toward a significantly younger male medical technician. These could be provocative or even misleading to young audiences.
Substance Use: Ebony is quite often depicted taking alcohol, and that is a part of her character. Binging is depicted negatively in the movie as it is shown that she is abusive, and regularly drinks while caring for children. This could be a concern for parents who would not want their children to be exposed to scenes involving substance use.
The Deliverance is a horror movie that contains aspects of both domestic drama and supernatural horror. As it contains various scenes and themes that are rather mature the show is rather useful for teen audiences and grown-ups as there is severe cursing, violence, and sexual innuendos.
