Support truly
independent journalism
Director Lee Daniels has spoken about the strange happenings that occurred on the set of his new Netflix horror movie, The Deliverance, which is based on a true story.
The film, starring Andra Day, Glenn Close, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Mo’Nique, follows Ebony Jackson (Day), a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons who moves her family into a new home for a fresh start.
But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.
It’s based on a 2014 Indianapolis Star article, “The Exorcisms of Latoya Ammons,” about a mother who claimed that she and her three children were tormented by shadowy figures and swarms of black flies.
In a recent interview with Sirius XM alongside his cast, Daniels said he organized prayer circles on set in a bid to prevent supernatural incidents.
“Things happen, and I was not gonna let things happen on my set, and also I needed it for me,” Daniels said.
“And even with that, there were still things that happened on the set that was – my sister is in every movie that I’ve ever done as my good luck charm, and she was in the scene with Glenn in the chemo scene, and she’s the one that sort of gave her attitude in the chemo scene,” Daniels said.
“And two days later, after being in the chemo scene, she was diagnosed with lung cancer – literally. My dog died on the set.”
Mo’Nique, who plays a social worker in the movie, added that she was hospitalized after filming one particularly dramatic scene.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
“Mr Daniels had me doing a scene, okay? And we’re outside. It was just, the demon was supposed to be on top of the building, so they kept blowing this… I mean, at one point I’m like, ‘Lee, do we have [to have] this s*** because I can’t breathe,’” Mo’Nique said.
She added: “So when I got finished, right, my thyroid was a big… I mean, it was just sick. Oh, baby. I was like, ‘What kind of s*** is this?’ It was a lot of things happening with The Deliverance.”
Stories of eerie goings-on have been commonplace on the sets of horror films since 1973’s The Exorcist.
During the shoot, several of the cast – and their family members – died unexpectedly, including star Linda Blair’s grandfather. Production also had to be halted after a sudden electrical fire burnt down the set, and a priest was called to exorcize the filming location.
The Deliverance is out now on Netflix.
