The Deliverence

Have you ever wondered what a horror film from Tyler Perry would look like? With The Deliverance, director Lee Daniels has provided that answer. Drawn from a purported case of real life haunting, the film is set in Gary, Indiana, in 2011, and follows the lives of Ebony, her three kids and her mother, as they struggle to make ends meet and battle through the traumas of past and current alcohol and physical abuse.  Andra Day, so good in The People vs. Billie Holiday, is given a truly thankless role, as Ebony, while Glenn Close has apparently entered the “just the paycheck” phase of her career, as Ebony’s mother, Morgan. Mo’Nique shows up as Cynthia, a DCS officer assigned to Ebony’s case, while Omar Epp’s gets a couple meaningless scenes as a potential sexual conquest for Morgan. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor turns up late in the film as an “apostle” who believes she was “Sent by God” to save the family.

For a character as important as Taylor’s, she gets little screen time and yet is probably the best thing in the film. Determined this time to fight and win her battle with the demon haunting the family-she had lost a previous battle to the demon, in the same house, nearly twenty years prior-Taylor is as wasted in the film as the rest of the cast. But this is not unexpected, given the problems Daniels has always had as a film maker. What good was in Empire, was clearly not down to him, and what very little good was in The Butler or Precious, was not, either. Daniels is like a young, not yet matured Ryan Murphy, except without the ability to weave a coherent plot or pull entertaining ham performances from his actors. He also lacks any real visual flair. The end of the film descends into a chaotic mess of cross cutting and boring imagery pretending at a deeper meaning.

One problem this reviewer often has with horror films is when they suddenly veer into the realm of mindless action, typically in the third act. This papers over, the film makers hope, the holes in logic, story., plot and characterization that they are unable, or unwilling, to overcome. In the case of Daniels, his lack of intelligence as a film maker is met only by the limits he will not set himself in terms of taste, which he apparently believes to be bravery and imagination. Now, remember when Tyler Perry making a horror film got mentioned? That is the third act of this film, where the central character suddenly, literally, finds Jesus, and defeats the Devil. Complete with handing out crosses to other people and “making a fresh start” at the very end. It is a shame, too, because despite the way this ended, there was some good materi9al early on.

Unlike most of Daniels other work, he almost achieved a decent mood and almost got out of the way of the script. Yet, he could not sustain this and gave in to his worst instincts. Much like M.Night Shyamalan. In fact, had that director handled the duties here, we might have had something special, but again, that final act. That they changed so many details from the original case-which appears to be an instance of a desperate family trying to break a lease in order to avoid paying rent-does not help the cause of the film. Now, this review has dammed Daniels, as a film maker. Let this reviewer be very open, in that while they admire the passion and love Daniels has for his material, it has yet to translate to anything beyond mediocre film making. Indeed, this reviewer looks forward to the day when Daniels finally gets out of his way and makes a movie worth talking about and seeing. This is not that time.

The Deliverance is now streaming on Netflix