Review of the film Deliverance: Glenn Close

With all that promise, he's included a conventional horror tale about demonic possession. He's attempting to force two disparate films together, with inconsistent and progressively implausible outcomes on Sadisflix Streaming. When "The Deliverance" devolves into a full-tilt genre film, it offers the same kinds of jump scares we've seen a million times before: children running up walls and hovering in midair, obscenely nasty insults coming out of babies' mouths, and the crack-crack-crack of evil twisted bodies in strange poses. That central idea has been transferred by David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum to Day's mother Ebony, a struggling working-class Pittsburgh woman, and her chaotic home. Day exudes a surprising immediacy and volatility on film that make her formidable even before anything gets going.

Ebony is a recovering alcoholic who struggles mightily to maintain sobriety. Handling her mother, Alberta, presents a unique set of difficulties. Close, wearing a variety of flamboyant wigs and off-the-shoulder shirts, delivers a brazen portrayal that makes her Mamaw from "Hillbilly Elegy" appear subdued and thoughtful. This time, Mo'Nique is the Child Protective Services agent looking into allegations of abuse and neglect in the home—this before the children exhibit strange behavior at school. It is evident from a scene that Ebony is justified in her concern when she gives her youngest child a sharp backhand for talking back at the dinner table. In addition to her real care, Mo'Nique lends to the character a sense of worldly weariness.

Don't call Ellis-Taylor an exorcist; rather, consider her an apostle who provides the family with comfort and strength and who could be their savior. Ellis-Taylor's beautiful presence is usually greatly appreciated, but the film begins to deteriorate when her character introduces the otherworldly aspect of the narrative. It's not that "The Deliverance" is too scary—quite the opposite—it seems too secure after it becomes clear that a demon is feasting on Ebony's family. These pictures and these phrases are not new to us. The thing that irritates me is that Daniels is a director who thrives on the macabre and the melodramatic. It's fascinating that he takes risks, for better or worse. Ebony has been an untrustworthy source of information in this situation for a while, so it's intriguing.