The cast of The Deliverance says that audiences can see how generational trauma can be its own type of demonic force.
The cast and director Lee Daniels talked with Blavity/Shadow and Act Managing Editor Trey Mangum about the deeper spiritual and familial themes in the horror film. Glenn Close, who plays Alberta, said how her character has given her life to God in order to heal herself from her past abusive tendencies. Before she was saved, she passed the abuse she experienced to her daughter, Ebony (Day).
“I think Alberta was a woman who had always known abuse. She knows the cycles of abuse,” said Close, adding now that Alberta has changed her life, she wants Ebony to do the same. But, she said, “you can’t force somebody to do that.”
Close also added that despite the abuse both women have suffered, they were able to survive because of “the community of strong women” around them.
“I think what I love about the movie is that it not only talks about a family, and a very real family, but how you stop the cycles of abuse,” she said.
Day also talked about the cycle of abuse plaguing her character, adding that the main storyline about demonic possession can also be “a metaphor for the generational traumas that we don’t face and we don’t deal with, that we don’t talk about, that we don’t heal from.”
“They will infect our kids and they will possess our children, in a way,” she said.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who plays Rev. Bernice James, said that her character is like someone from a time when neighbors regularly checked on each other.
“I just feel like she wants to protect this family,” she said. “She knows what happened in that house and she wants to stand in the way of it happening again. It harks back when we felt safe to protect teach other in that way, that we would see this child and that family in trouble and we would come to their aid…without them having to ask.”
She also said she wanted to make her Baptist grandmother proud with her character by invoking the traditions she grew up with. She said that even though her Baptist upbringing didn’t involve casting out demons, she realized that this film was “really, really important” to Daniels to make. Daniels himself said that it was on his heart to make the film after finding himself on his own spiritual journey.
He said that the film was brought to him after he finished Precious, but he didn’t make it on account of his mother, who felt that making a film about demons would invite demons into his life.
“As years progressed, I realized [it is about] finding your higher power. I personally needed to find my higher power, and for me it’s Jesus,” he said.
“I come from Episcopalian world so this is a new world for me, but this world is real…I’ve seen demons myself, and it’s terrifying. It’s spooky,” he continued. “But I thought it was important…Fake Christians that don’t think we should be seeing a faith-based thriller with curse words and all of that are unaware that Jesus walked with whores, and with drunks and with the derelicts of the world, and they’re caught up in the church as opposed to the spirit.”
Listen to the whole interview below. Also starring Mo’Nique, Caleb McLaughin, Anthony B. Jenkins, Demi Singleton, Miss Lawrence and Omar Epps, The Deliverance is now streaming on Netflix.
