Ever since I saw the Demon House documentary in 2018 I’ve kind of been obsessed with this story. It is one of the best documented stories of the paranormal out there with a number of witnesses, many of whom are government officials, and people who you would consider reliable. It was inevitable that a film would be done about this house, and it seems Lee Daniels (Precious and The Butler) is the guy who got the job. This story is one that took a while to bring to the screen, and what kind of blows my mind when it comes to bringing these “true stories” to life is that they find these fascinating stories and then decide to just change things and make them more “Hollywood”, and for the most part that is never a decision that improves the story (like was it necessary to change the location from Indiana to Pennsylvania?). So I’m going to just say that if you want the “true” story, check out the documentary. It is at least a nice companion to the film … As for my review of the film, I’m just going to focus as much as I can on the film and ignore the true story.
Ebony (Andra Day) is a single mother trying to raise her three kids while also trying to help out her mother, Alberta (Glenn Close), who is going through chemo treatments. Ebony is dealing with a drinking problem and some abuse towards her children and has Cynthia (Mo’Nique), a DCS officer, looking in on her. The first half of this film for the most part is about the family dynamic, their struggles to get along under the same roof and deal with their finances. Ebony is far from a likeable character. It is clear her intentions are good, but she is on the brink of falling apart … and then the paranormal stuff kicks in.
First I want to say as much as I like Glenn Close, this was a bit jarring to see her in this role as like a hood-rat grandmother in torn jeans hitting on men half her age and having found Jesus while fighting cancer. She is great in the role; it is just something I never expected to see, and I imagine I’m not alone, and that is probably what attracted her to the role. The other casting bit of Mo’Nique was a pleasant surprise. She does a wonderful job at balancing her role as a sympathetic hardass, and really it is a shame we don’t see her in more challenging roles like this, because I feel she’s one of the better actors of her generation when she’s given the right part.
As for the kids, they are stuck doing a lot of the heavy lifting for this film. Nate (Caleb McLaughlin) plays the oldest brother. Shante (Demi Singleton) is the middle sister, and then there is Andre (Anthony B Jenkins), who is the younger brother. The haunting begins when Andre starts talking to an invisible friend named Trey, and this leads to familiar creepy incidents around the house like the basement door opening on its own …When the kids become possessed, this is definitely a tipping point in the film, and it is a well-executed moment, but the film starts to unravel from this point forward and go down the typical “possession film” route. It is a shame, because the kids still give great performances, and they are each creepy in their own ways which I won’t spoil, but the problem is the film makes a HUGE mistake, and it’s that all the focus suddenly shifts to just one kid, and the other two literally are ignored.
My knee-jerk reaction was that I liked the film, but the more I think about this film’s second half and especially the third act, I find it more and more problematic. It really does feel like two separate films, and the stories just don’t mesh well at all. At first I felt this film was trying to be about abuse, whether it is substance abuse or physical abuse, and how it impacts the family, and perhaps the paranormal aspect was going to be a manifestation of this turmoil …That was wishful thinking on my part. Then we have Ebony as the central character, and we are with her for her story arc; it just doesn’t fit. I mean, I like how she is a flawed character but is trying to do the right thing, and Andra Day does a great job in the first half of this film, but then that dang third act just tosses it out the window.
So much is brought up that isn’t addressed in this film that it is frustrating. Just watching the film at face value it is fun for what it is, but once you start thinking about it, this film has more holes than a colander. And this is where I feel they should have stuck to the source material. If the film was a little longer, it would have benefited from it. What is sad is that this really could have been the next Conjuring or perhaps the new Exorcist, but sadly it just ends up a bit of a fumble. This is worth checking out with Halloween season approaching if you are looking for something spooky to watch, but sadly it isn’t something that will stick with you after.
The Deliverance is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
