Netflix took a big swing with Lee Daniels’ foray into the supernatural. Honestly, when you look at the cast of The Deliverance, you aren’t seeing your typical "scream queen" ensemble or a group of B-list actors padding out a jump-scare fest. It’s actually pretty wild. You have Oscar winners and nominees sharing screen time with breakout kids in a story that's supposedly based on the real-life Latoya Ammons haunting.
The movie centers on Ebony Jackson. She's a struggling single mom dealing with her own demons—both the liquid kind in a bottle and the literal kind in her basement.
It's heavy.
Lee Daniels has this specific way of directing that makes everything feel raw, almost uncomfortably so. He doesn't just want you to be scared of a ghost; he wants you to feel the weight of poverty, systemic failure, and family trauma. Because of that, the cast of The Deliverance had to do some heavy lifting. If the acting didn't feel grounded, the whole "demon possession" thing would’ve just looked silly.
Andra Day is Doing the Most as Ebony Jackson
Andra Day isn't just a singer who happens to act. After her turn as Billie Holiday, she proved she could disappear into a role. In The Deliverance, she plays Ebony. Ebony is messy. She’s loud, she’s defensive, and she’s trying to keep her kids while CPS—represented by a very stoic Mo'Nique—breathes down her neck.
What’s interesting is how Day handles the physicality of the role. There’s a scene where she’s just sitting at a table, and you can see the exhaustion in her shoulders. It’s not just "horror acting." It’s a character study. She’s playing a woman who is already haunted by her past long before the house starts acting up.
Most people don't realize that Day actually lost weight and changed her gait for this. She wanted Ebony to feel like someone who was constantly on the edge of a breakdown. It works. When the possession elements finally kick in, you’re already so invested in her survival that the supernatural stuff feels like a betrayal by the universe.
Glenn Close Like You’ve Never Seen Her Before
Okay, we have to talk about Alberta.
When the first trailers dropped, the internet went into a collective meltdown over Glenn Close’s look. She’s wearing these heavy wigs, bold makeup, and playing Ebony's mother who is undergoing chemotherapy while trying to find Jesus. It’s a lot. Some critics called it "camp," but if you've ever spent time in specific parts of the Midwest or the South, you know women exactly like Alberta.
Close is a legend for a reason. She takes a role that could easily have been a caricature and makes it human. Alberta is a white woman who has spent her life in Black spaces, and the nuance Close brings to that cultural crossover is fascinating. She’s not "playing Black," she’s playing a woman who has been shaped by her environment and her daughter’s life.
There's a specific tension between her and Andra Day. It’s that "I love you but I can't stand you" energy that feels very real.
The Kids: Caleb McLaughlin and Anthony B. Jenkins
Caleb McLaughlin, who everyone knows from Stranger Things, plays the eldest son, Nate. It’s a much more somber role than Lucas Sinclair. He’s the protector. He’s the one trying to shield his younger siblings from their mother’s outbursts and the weird stuff happening in the basement.
Then there’s Anthony B. Jenkins as Andre.
Kid actors in horror are a gamble. Usually, they’re just there to look creepy or cry. Jenkins, however, has to do some genuinely disturbing physical acting. The "crawler" scenes and the vocal shifts he performs are top-tier. It reminds me a bit of what we saw in the early 2000s horror era, where the kids were the most terrifying part of the movie.
The Mo’Nique and Lee Daniels Reunion
The big story behind the scenes of the cast of The Deliverance was the reconciliation between Mo’Nique and Lee Daniels. For years, they were at odds after Precious. Seeing them work together again is a huge deal for film nerds.
Mo’Nique plays Cynthia Henry, a social worker.
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She isn't the villain. Often in these movies, the government worker is just a nuisance. Here, Cynthia is the voice of reason, even if that reason is threatening to Ebony’s family structure. Mo’Nique plays it very close to the chest. She isn't doing the "big" acting we saw in Precious; she’s being a professional observer.
It’s an interesting contrast. You have the chaotic energy of Ebony’s house and then the cold, bureaucratic reality of Cynthia’s office.
Supporting Players Who Anchor the Story
The cast of The Deliverance is rounded out by some heavy hitters in smaller roles.
- Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: She plays Reverend Bernice James. If you’ve seen her in King Richard or Origin, you know she brings a certain "gravitas" to everything. She’s the one who eventually believes Ebony.
- Omar Epps: He has a smaller role as a love interest/ex-figure, and while he isn't the focus, his presence adds to the feeling of a lived-in community.
- Demi Singleton: She plays the daughter, Shante, and does a great job portraying the quiet fear of a child who realizes their mother might not be able to protect them.
What People Get Wrong About the Acting in This Movie
People tend to dismiss horror performances. They think if someone is screaming or wearing demon makeup, it isn't "prestige" acting. That’s a mistake here.
This movie is basically a family drama that gets interrupted by a demon. The cast of The Deliverance treats the script like a play. They focus on the cycles of abuse and the difficulty of faith. When Alberta talks about her cancer or her relationship with God, Glenn Close isn't "acting in a horror movie." She’s acting in a drama about a woman facing her mortality.
That’s why the movie feels so polarizing. Some people want the scares every five minutes. Others are here for the powerhouse performances.
Why the Casting Choices Mattered for the Real Story
The real story of Latoya Ammons happened in Gary, Indiana, in 2011. It was documented by local police and DCS (Department of Child Services). By casting high-caliber actors like Day and Close, Daniels is trying to validate the emotional reality of that story.
Whether or not you believe in demons, the people involved believed it.
The actors have to sell that belief. If Caleb McLaughlin looks at a wall and screams, we have to believe he’s seeing something that’s actually there. If he fails, the movie fails.
Behind the Scenes: The Chemistry
Reports from the set suggest it was an intense shoot. Lee Daniels is known for pushing his actors into uncomfortable places. Andra Day has mentioned in interviews how draining the role of Ebony was, especially dealing with the themes of alcoholism and child endangerment.
The chemistry between the cast of The Deliverance feels authentic because they spent a lot of time building that family unit. You can tell they aren't just actors who met five minutes before the cameras rolled. There’s a shorthand between the kids and Andra Day that feels like a real, stressed-out family.
The Role of Faith and the Cast's Perspective
A lot of the actors have spoken about their own faith in relation to the film. In a story about deliverance and exorcism, that matters. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, in particular, brings a sense of spiritual authority to her role as the Reverend. She doesn't play it like a "movie priest." She plays it like a woman of God who is genuinely terrified for this family's soul.
It’s this layer of sincerity that separates it from something like The Conjuring.
How to Approach Watching The Deliverance
If you’re going in expecting Insidious, you might be confused. But if you watch it for the cast of The Deliverance, you’ll get a lot more out of it.
- Watch the eyes: Pay attention to Andra Day’s expressions when she’s looking at her kids versus when she’s looking at the social worker. It’s two different people.
- Listen to the dialogue: Notice how the cadence of the speech changes when the "entities" take over. The voice work by the younger actors is actually quite impressive.
- Look past the makeup: Glenn Close is under a lot of prosthetic work and wigs, but her performance is in her stillness.
The movie is a testament to what happens when you put Oscar-level talent into a genre that is usually reserved for jump scares. It’s gritty, it’s loud, and it’s deeply uncomfortable.
The takeaway here is pretty simple. If you want to see a masterclass in how to ground a supernatural story, look at how this ensemble handles the material. They don't wink at the camera. They don't act like they're in a "scary movie." They act like they're in a fight for their lives.
To get the most out of your viewing, it’s worth looking up the original case files from the Gary, Indiana haunting. Seeing how the cast of The Deliverance mirrors the real-life figures—specifically the social worker and the mother—adds a whole new level of "creep factor" to the experience. Stick with the performances even when the plot gets wild; that's where the real value of the film lives.