Some horror movies are built around jump scares, while others linger because of the story they tell beneath all the supernatural chaos. The Deliverance falls somewhere in between, using demonic horror as a way to explore a deeply troubled family and the forces threatening to tear it apart. Directed by Lee Daniels, the 2024 Netflix horror film brings together a powerful cast, a disturbing real-world inspiration, and a story that blends faith with family drama.

If one is wondering whether The Deliverance deserves a place on your Netflix watchlist, here are three reasons to give the movie a chance.

One of the biggest reasons to watch The Deliverance is its cast, particularly Andra Day and Glenn Close. Day plays Ebony, a troubled single mother struggling with addiction, poverty, family conflict, and her own personal demons while trying to protect her children. Her performance gives the character plenty of vulnerability without making her struggles feel one-dimensional, helping ground the movie's more outrageous supernatural moments.

Glenn Close, meanwhile, embraces the role of Alberta, Ebony's judgmental and deeply religious mother, with an intensity that makes her impossible to ignore. Her performance brings an almost campy energy to the family conflict, while Mo'Nique and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor add further weight to the ensemble. Even when the movie's story becomes uneven, the performances give The Deliverance enough emotional weight to remain engaging.

What makes The Deliverance particularly unsettling is that its supernatural premise draws inspiration from the widely reported Ammons haunting. The case involved Latoya Ammons and her children, with claims of strange occurrences, possession, levitation, injuries, and other disturbing incidents that reportedly attracted the attention of police, medical professionals, and child protective services.

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Knowing that the film takes inspiration from a documented case adds another layer of curiosity to the story. While The Deliverance dramatizes and fictionalizes the events for the screen, its real-world connection makes some of the family's experiences feel even more disturbing. Viewers interested in the story can also explore the case further through Demon House, the documentary connected to the reported haunting.

Rather than functioning solely as a traditional horror movie, The Deliverance spends considerable time exploring Ebony's complicated family life. Addiction, generational trauma, poverty, strained relationships, and the pressures faced by the family all play an important role in the story. These elements give the supernatural conflict a more personal dimension, turning the fight against evil into a struggle that is also about family and survival.

Faith is another major part of the movie, particularly as the supernatural events become increasingly difficult for the family to understand or control. The later possession and deliverance sequences lean into familiar exorcism-horror territory and can become deliberately over-the-top, but they fit into Lee Daniels' larger focus on emotional and social drama. If you're looking for a straightforward scare-fest, this may not completely satisfy you, but viewers who enjoy character-driven horror with religious themes may find plenty to appreciate.

The Deliverance may not work equally well as a pure horror movie for every viewer, but its strengths go beyond scares. Strong performances, a disturbing real-life inspiration, and its combination of family drama and supernatural horror make it an intriguing watch for anyone looking for something different from a conventional possession movie. With Lee Daniels behind the camera and a cast willing to fully embrace the material, the film delivers a messy but memorable blend of emotional drama, faith, and demonic horror. It is currently available to stream on Netflix.

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What do you think about The Deliverance? Would you watch a horror movie inspired by a real-life haunting? Let us know in the comments!