The Haunting True Story Behind Netflix’s Possession Movie ‘The Deliverance’

“We’re living in dark times,” Daniels says. Rather than creating just another horror film, he aimed to make a “faith-based thriller” that encourages audiences to connect with a higher power. “Whether it’s Buddha, Allah, Jesus Christ, or simply learning to love yourself more, finding that connection is crucial for finding peace. Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us.”

Daniels separates the eerie facts from the fictional elements in “Deliverance,” a film that focuses on a struggling Black mother battling both personal demons and those of a more hellish nature.

Both ‘The Deliverance’ and the case of Latoya Ammons begin with a fly infestation

Ammons’ nightmare began with black flies invading their rental home, followed by strange noises and the appearance of a shadowy figure. This is also how “The Deliverance” unfolds, starting with seemingly harmless bugs and foul smells from the basement that escalate into something far more sinister. However, before the horror fully sets in, Daniels dedicates significant time to exploring the dysfunctional relationships within the family, focusing on the struggles of alcoholic Ebony (Andra Day), her three children, and her ailing mother, Alberta (Glenn Close).

“That was initially an issue for Netflix,” Daniels admits. “They wanted more jump scares, but that’s not the kind of movie I know how to make. It has to be grounded.” For Daniels, it was more important to explore “the broader concept of what defines abuse, especially since Ebony does hit her kids, and to delve into the family’s dysfunction, which has been passed down through generations.”

“It feels like ‘Precious’ at first, but then it takes a very different turn.”

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Yes, a young boy did crawl up a wall backward (seriously)

In “The Deliverance,” Ebony’s youngest son, Andre (Anthony B. Jenkins), is the first to show signs of demonic possession, followed by his older siblings Nate (Caleb McLaughlin) and Shante (Demi Singleton). Strange and violent incidents at school and home eventually lead to their hospitalization.

The film’s most harrowing moments are based on real events, including a chilling scene where Andre crawls up a hospital wall backward. In the movie, this is witnessed by child services agent Cynthia (Mo’Nique). In reality, Ammons’ mother, a nurse, and the family’s case manager all saw her 7-year-old grandson do something equally unexplainable. “Not only did they see it, but the social worker who was trying to take the kids from the mother told the judge, ‘This actually happened,’” Daniels says. “You can’t make it up.”

In both real life and “The Deliverance,” children were taken from their mothers

Child services investigated Ammons for possible abuse or neglect, and although she was deemed of “sound mind,” the agency took custody of her children without a court order. “We’d already endured so much and fought so hard for our lives,” she told the Indianapolis Star in 2014. This scenario is portrayed with emotional intensity in “The Deliverance.”

“It happens,” says Daniels, who raised his brother’s children from infancy. “Many children are taken from their families, sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes not. In this case, it wasn’t for good reasons. Ammons is battling both the system and the demon in her home. It’s a unique story to tell because it’s real.”

Casting Glenn Close marked a departure from the real-life grandmother

While making the movie, Daniels altered the names and setting. Ammons’ “demon house” was located in Gary, Indiana, whereas Ebony and her family in the film live in Pittsburgh. The casting of Glenn Close as Alberta also diverged from reality. In the movie, Alberta is a white woman with a history of friction with her daughter Ebony. She has found God and seeks redemption later in life, unlike Ammons’ mother.

“I enjoy giving a voice to those who often go unheard and a face to those rarely seen,” Daniels explains. “I grew up knowing many white women like Alberta, and I wanted to pay homage to them. A lot of African Americans haven’t seen a character like her on screen before, and I believe they will relate to her.”

The mom turned to deliverance ministers to win the day in both the movie and in life

In the film, Ebony receives crucial help from the Rev. Bernice James (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), a deliverance minister—a clergy member who cleanses people or places of evil spirits, distinct from an exorcist who focuses on demonic possession. Daniels recalls that the deliverance minister who worked with Ammons was actually a man, but he was eager to work with Aunjanue and knew that women also performed this role. Ammons herself consulted various “healers,” including a Catholic exorcist, though a scene involving an exorcist didn’t make it into the final cut of the film.

Initially, Daniels was skeptical of Ammons’ story. However, after speaking with her and doing his own research, along with hearing his mother’s account of something she had witnessed, he became a believer. “This stuff happens, and it’s unsettling,” says Daniels, who took precautions by having a deliverer on set every day, inspired by the strange occurrences reported during the filming of “Poltergeist” and “The Exorcist.” “Not today, Satan!” he adds.