‘The Deliverance’ Lee Daniels Netflix Movie: Everything We Know So Far

The Deliverance cast and director – Pictures: Getty Images

Netflix has wrapped filming the highly anticipated next movie from Lee Daniels, The Deliverance (formerly known as Demon House), which is a feature film based on the haunting story of Latoya Ammons and her family that was widely reported in the US back in 2014.

Filmmaker Lee Daniels rewrote the script from earlier drafts and will direct the horror picture. His credits include Empire, Star, Good People, and The United States vs. Billie Holiday. It is said that Netflix paid a hefty sum of $65M to get the rights to the movie. The movie is along Netflix’s “mid-budget” film lineup.

Until July 2022, the movie was known as Demon House but likely to avoid conflicts with a 2018 movie of the same name, it’s now called The Deliverance.

Picture: Getty Images

Besides Daniels, also producing are Todd Crites and Jackson Nguyen of Turn Left Productions, and Greg Renker and Gregoire Gensollen are EPs. Elijah Bynum and David Coggeshall are writing the movie alongside Daniels.

Here’s everything else we know about Netflix’s The Deliverance:

What’s the plot of The Deliverance?

Picture: indystar.com

The thriller is based on Latoya Ammons and her family, whose life rights made this film possible. They claim to have been victims of a demonic possession that has spanned over two years and counting. Ammons and her family have received international media attention for their accounts, which have been witnessed and documented by the Department of Child Services (DCS), Gary (Indiana) Police Department, and hospital staff.

Picture: indystar.com

The experience began with unusual occurrences in her home over two years ago, including swarms of flies around her porch in the winter and unexplainable creaking sounds in her basement. The events progressed to possessive incidents, including her oldest daughter unconsciously levitating above her bed, and medical staff witnessing her middle son gliding backward on the floor, wall, and ceiling.

According to Relativity, the DCS case manager witnessed her youngest son growling with his teeth showing and eyes rolled back, locking his hands around his older brother’s throat with no recollection of the incident. Initial psychological exams and exorcism attempts failed to provide an explanation or solution for the bizarre events.

The full story can be read on Indystar here posted on January 25th, 2014.

Who is cast in The Deliverance?

The main character in this story is Latoya Ammons and she’ll be played by singer/songwriter Andra Day. It’s believed her character has been renamed to Ebony.

This is Day’s second major venture in film after her leading role as legendary four-time Grammy winner Billie Holiday in the 2021 movie The United States vs. Billie Holiday.

Day was meant to be originally joined by Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures, The Help) but was replaced at a later date (more on this in a second).

Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction, The Wife), Rob Morgan (Stranger Things, Daredevil), Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things) and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard, Lovecraft Country) rounded out the initial announcement.

In April 2022, Deadline reported that Mo’Nique had been cast to replace Octavia Spencer in the movie. This reunited the actress with Lee Daniels following the 2009 movie Precious. Her casting came during her public spat with Netflix over discrimination which was settled in June 2022.

In July 2022, we got even more cast announcements for The Deliverance.

• Omar Epps (Fatal Affair, Traffik)
• Demi Singleton (King Richard, Godfather of Harlem)
• Miss Lawrence (Bros, The United States vs. Billie Holiday)
• Anthony B. Jenkins (Chicago Med, The Wonder Years)

Pictured: Omar Epps, Demi Singleton, Miss Lawrence and Anthony B. Jenkins

What’s the production status of The Deliverance?

Netflix’s The Deliverance was in pre-production as of February 2022 and was planned to roll the cameras in March 2022 in Philadelphia, US, according to Production Weekly.

Filming for The Deliverance reportedly began on June 20th, 2022, and has been listed to run until August 29th, 2022. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is where The Deliverance is being filmed.

Several local news outlets picked up on filming throughout with CBS News Pittsburgh stating in late August:

“The Deliverance was being filmed on Munson Avenue, Ella Street, and the McKees Rocks Bridge overnight.”

Numerous other eyewitnesses caught wind of the production throughout Pittsburgh too:

It’s one of many Netflix productions to have been filmed in Pittsburgh over the years with others, including Sweet Girl, Archive 81, and The Chair.

The movie wrapped on September 3rd, 2022, per an Instagram post from Lee Daniels captioned:

“It’s a wrap for @therealmoworldwide for #TheDeliverance. Our journey continues…”

Picture: Lee Daniels/Instagram

In December 2022, Netflix’s Vice President of Film, Niija Kuykendall, spoke on the WeAreNetflix podcast giving an update on the movie, calling it an “event horror” movie adding:

This will be very unique because it’s very character driven and is really about the family dynamics of this family and how they come together to deal with possession and the horror aspects of the film. I think it’s going to be really cool to see Lee’s singular vision and taste in the way he approaches storytelling specifically in the framework of a horror, classic type, horror setting. I can’t wait. It’s looking beautiful and I can’t wait for people to see it.”

What’s the Netflix release date for The Deliverance?

Netflix hasn’t announced a release date for The Deliverance, but considering production began in June 2022, we could expect the movie to be released on the streamer in the first half of 2023.

Will you be watching The Deliverance on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!