Warning! This post contains spoilers for The Deliverance.
In its opening moments itself, The Deliverance establishes that it is based on a true story. This makes it hard not to wonder what happened to the real family that experienced the events of the film and how they dealt with the central hauntings. It also raises several questions about whether the movie closely follows the real-life events it was inspired by or takes creative liberties to overly dramatize what happened. Given how the horrors the central Jackson family experiences in The Deliverance are terrifying, it is worth exploring how the film balances fact and fiction.
Directed by Lee Daniels, the Netflix horror movie stars Andra Day, Glenn Close, Caleb McLaughlin, Anthony B. Jenkins, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as its primary characters. While the film has not performed too well among critics, its "based on a true story" motif makes its demonic possessions and complex drama more intriguing to audiences. After watching the film, it becomes hard to believe its supernatural events could have actually happened. The truth, however, is quite surprising.
The Deliverance Cast & Character Guide
Although The Deliverance's appeal comes from its jumpscares & terrors, its storyline is primarily driven by its characters, played by talented actors.
The Deliverance Is Inspired By The Real-Life Ammons Haunting Case
The Ammons House Was Reportedly Haunted By Over 200 Demons
Like Ebony, her mother, and her three children moved to a new home in The Deliverance, Latoya Ammons, her mother, and her three kids moved to a new neighborhood at 3860 Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana in November 2011. As per the family's claims, it was not long before they started noticing swarms of big black flies on their porch. No matter what they did to get rid of the flies, they kept coming back. After the initial signs, things got stranger when they heard creaking and walking sounds from the basement.
...while one was thrown across the room by something or someone, the other was found levitating over her bed.
Latoya Ammons' mother, Rosa Campbell, even claimed that she once saw a shadowy figure in the kitchen and was even choked by an invisible force. According to the family's s, even the three children experienced disturbing phenomena — while one was thrown across the room by something or someone, the other was found levitating over her bed. As shown in The Deliverance, the Department of Child Services (DCS) came to know about the family and did not believe their claims.
The family's of the hauntings even reached the mainstream media, and a DCS personnel also claimed (via Skeptical Inquirer) to have seen the youngest child in the family "walking up the wall backward." The family later reached out to clairvoyants who claimed their house was haunted by more than 200 demons, earning it the name 200 Demons House. Eventually, a priest, Reverend Michael Maginot, performed three exorcisms in their house, while Latoya Ammons performed one.
The Ammons Haunting Case Explained: What Experts Have Said About The Ammons Haunting Case
The Family's Claims Met With Doubt & Skepticism
Although many believed that that family's home was really haunted, Latoya Ammons' claims also raised immense skepticism. For instance, a paranormal investigator, Joe Nickell, looked into the case and even interviewed multiple witnesses before concluding that several aspects of the case were incorrectly reported, blown out of proportion, or backed up with no proof. Even the incident, where the boy walked backward up a wall, did not mention that his grandmother was holding his hand when he did that.
Even the family's landlords and the home's previous tenants before the Ammons experienced no paranormal events in the house.
In his investigative file, The 200 Demons’ House: A Skeptical Demonologist’s Report (via Skeptical Inquirer), Joe Nickell also mentions that a psychologist named Tracy Wright interviewed the youngest son. According to the psychologist, the young boy only "acted possessed" every time he was questioned and even avoided answering several questions about the family's paranormal experiences. Even the family's landlords and the home's previous tenants before the Ammons experienced no paranormal events in the house.
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What Happened To The Ammons Family After The 2011 Hauntings
The Family Moved Out Of The House
After living in the house for a little over six months, from November 2011 to May 2012, the family reportedly (via The Deliverance's ending moments, Loyota Ammons' children were removed from her care after she was reported to the Department of Child Services. However, she later regained custody of her children in November 2012. Much later, Ghost Adventures' producer and host, Zak Bagans, purchased the house and demolished it, saying, "There was something there that was very dark yet highly intelligent and powerful."
During her preparation for the film, Director Lee Daniels also reportedly (via The Hollywood Reporter) met Loyota Ammons. She said that the movie was only an interpretation of Ammons' story and that Ammons "was at peace." Although Loyota Ammons and her family have stayed away from the limelight, Daniels' assures they are well and living peacefully.
The Deliverance's Primary Cast & Characters |
|
Actor |
Role |
Andra Day |
Ebony Jackson |
Glenn Close |
Alberta |
Anthony B. Jenkins |
Andre Jackson |
Caleb McLaughlin |
Nate Jackson |
Demi Singleton |
Shante Jackson |
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor |
Reverend Bernice James |
Mo'Nique |
Cynthia Henry |
What The Deliverance Changes From The Real Ammons Haunting Case
The Deliverance Seemingly Takes Several Creative Liberties
The Deliverance accurately captures many terrifying moments recounted by the Ammons family. For instance, it shows how the youngest son crawls backward up a wall in a hospital and flips down to the floor. It also shows how the daughter in the family was found levitating over her bed. However, when it comes to the character beats, the film seems to significantly change its portrayal of the people its story is based on. It attempts to add more layers to its drama by drawing parallels between Ebony's childhood traumas and the home's hauntings.
...The Deliverance seems to exaggerate the events of Ebony's showdown with the demon in its closing moments.
In The Deliverance's final arc, Ebony's mother and the priest who helps her die while fighting the demon haunting their home. There were no such casualties in the real-life incident experienced by the Ammons family. Although reports suggest that Loyota Ammons did perform one exorcism, The Deliverance seems to exaggerate the events of Ebony's showdown with the demon in its closing moments.
A woman returns to her childhood home to confront dark secrets from her past. As supernatural forces emerge and family tensions rise, she must uncover the truth behind her haunting visions and protect her loved ones from an ancient evil threatening their lives.
- Cast
- Andra Day, Glenn Close, Tasha Smith, Omar Epps, Christina Wren
- Director
- Lee Daniels
- Writers
- Elijah Bynum, David Coggeshall, Lee Daniels
- Main Genre
- Horror
