Margaret Chrystall
Updated on: October 8, 2024 3:58 pm GMT
The Netflix film The Deliverance, directed by Lee Daniels, has garnered attention not just for its horror storytelling but also for its basis in real-life events. It explores the unsettling experiences of Latoya Ammons and her family, centered around reported demonic possession and a series of bizarre occurrences in their home in Gary, Indiana, during 2011-2012.
The narrative begins when Ammons and her family moved into a rental house, where they soon encountered strange activities like footsteps in the basement and vivid sightings of shadows. These incidents rapidly escalated, leading Ammons to claim her children exhibited signs of possession, including levitation, deep voices, and even violence against her. Despite seeking help from local churches and experts, many dismissed their pleas, attributing their case to mental illness.
A turning point came when Ammons visited family physician Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu, who also expressed fear about the situation after witnessing the children’s peculiar behaviors. The claims led to a police and Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) investigation, which initially suspected child abuse rather than supernatural influences. However, the supernatural narratives persisted, with accounts of children demonstrating extraordinary physical feats, reminiscent of paranormal phenomena, prompting a priest to conduct exorcisms.
Daniel’s adaptation takes creative liberties with the source material. He sought to convey Ammons’ story while also interpreting themes of faith and resilience, reflecting broader societal issues. Despite changing some elements, like character races and genders, Daniels aimed to honor Ammons’ experience while injecting his artistic perspective into the film.
The real question that arises from this compelling narrative is the intersection between mental health and beliefs in the supernatural. Much like the challenges other families face in understanding unexplained behavioral changes in children, Ammons’ story sheds light on the intricate balance between seeking medical explanations and grappling with deeply held beliefs in the paranormal. Both the film and the real-life events serve as a reminder of how society often grapples with narratives of demonic possession versus psychological struggles, particularly within marginalized communities.
In the end, *The Deliverance* makes us think about how faith, mental health, and what it means to be human can be really complicated, especially when we face scary or unknown things. The movie tells the tough story of the Ammons family, and while it does that, it also gets us talking about bigger ideas that we see in scary movies and in real life when things happen that we can’t explain.
