‘The Deliverance’ – Andra Day and Glenn Close Talk Fear, Cycles of Abuse and the Unique Filming Experience [Interview]

Netflix’s possession horror movie The Deliverance centers on a single mother struggling to raise her kids while struggling with her inner demons, and that’s before the actual evil takes root in the new family home. Cycles of abuse lead to intense confrontations in this family, particularly between protagonist Ebony Jackson (Andra Day) and her mother Alberta (Glenn Close).

The Deliverance, out now in select theaters before arriving on Netflix August 30, is loosely based on a true story: that of Latoya Ammons and her 2011 haunting in the house that’s also known as the Demon House. While director Lee Daniels (Precious, The Butler), who also wrote with writers David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum, spends a lot of time establishing complex characters that stand apart from their real-life inspirations, the filmmaker previously told us in a recent interview that he wanted to really dig into the drama and get to know the characters first before pulling the rug out from under viewers with the horror.

Daniels also explained how Glenn Close’s character doesn’t have a real-life counterpart; Alberta is a wholly original character created for this story. Alberta is a deeply complex character, grappling with her own place in Ebony’s cycle of abuse, which leads to no shortage of explosive exchanges between mother and daughter. That The Deliverance really delves into this relationship means Andra Day and Glenn Close share a lot of intense scenes together, and their director afforded them the rare gift of ample rehearsal time to sink into their roles.

“Lee gave us that,” Close says of building that mother-daughter relationship with Day. “It was generous to give us that time, usually you don’t get that much time. I think we came to understand that these are two women who exist in this cycle of abuse. The movie, I think, then becomes almost a metaphor for breaking that cycle and the power and the courage that it takes to break it. You can translate that into so many different stories. But I think where there’s great tension, there’s also potentially great love.”

As for Day, she recounts how inspired she felt to work alongside not just Close but the entire cast. “I mean, it’s impossible not to learn more about your craft when you are on set with Glenn Close, when you are on set with Mo’Nique, with Anjanue Ellis, with Caleb [McLaughlin], Demi [Singleton] and [Anthony B. Jenkins],” Day gushes. “Again, these are all not just veteran actors, but these are legendary iconic performances that they have given time and again. One of the things that I learned, particularly from Glenn, is that there was zero ego on set. They deserve to have that. You know what I mean? When she walked on set every day because it was a new character, she approached every day as if it was almost her first day on set, trying to get this right and really wanting to do this well. When you see somebody who you admire so much, and you’re a fan of their work, for them to have the same hunger and almost the same, not necessarily fear, but that drive underneath, you go, oh, that’s what has kept her and what has made her so amazing and so iconic. All of them, you know what I mean?

“That is what I learned: to stay that way, keep it fresh and exciting and keep that sort of hunger in your belly. Once you lose that, you should probably let it go.“

Alberta may be a complex woman, but The Deliverance is Ebony Jackson’s story, and Andra Day’s character gets put through the emotional wringer as life throws every high-stakes obstacle her way with few allies to help. She’s also a character with a dark past that’s relayed piecemeal, revealing new facets late into the film. When asked at what point Andra Day felt like she fully understood who Ebony Jackson was, she revealed a surprising connection with her character. The actor even researched Latoya Ammons.

“Through multiple conversations,” Day said of finding her character. “As Glenn said, we did have ample time to prepare, and I actually knew about it on the set of The United States vs. Billie Holiday. So, it wasn’t until the end of filming Billie that he first brought it up to me. I was studying the woman. I was studying her family. But it was really through my conversations with Lee. I think the commonality, I have had a lot of fear in my life. Fear of not just failure, fear of just not being liked, not being accepted. Fear. Fear of showing up to every interview, to every set, to every show, to every, because I just am not good enough. I was reminded through her character that perfect love casts out fear.

“That was a theme for me through this project. Understanding who she was when she was sort of coming to her own understanding of faith. She was almost forced. It was like she had to be forced into this position in order to receive that and transform. I often find myself in that position. So, I think really understanding her came to finding those commonalities, which is like, it’s really, really hard for me to sort of change or receive different things or do different things unless I’m at this critical point, or unless I’m at critical mass and I have to. I think we have that in common, but once we do, then we are changed and we are transformed. We see that in Ebony. That’s what helped me to understand her.”

The Deliverance gives a new spiritual angle to possession horror, one that Lee Daniels wasn’t taking any chances with as he invited an apostle to set every day to anoint with prayer. It may have been an unconventional fixture on set, but it lent a calming presence and made the cast feel protected. 

The tenured Close remarks, “I’ve never seen that on a set. I’ve never witnessed this on a set. Never had somebody talking tongues before you start working. I loved it. I loved every single minute of it, every minute of it. I think it really did inform each day when he was there, and we did that. I felt protected.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly it,“ Day agrees.” That’s what I was going to say too. As she just said, I felt protected. I felt covered. I think we all did. Whether you engaged, not everybody had to engage with him if they wanted to or if they didn’t want to. But he’s done this. He has performed many deliverances here, in other countries, and in a lot of different places. He’s very familiar with the process, how it’s supposed to go, and the spirit from which it’s supposed to come if you are representing it from this perspective. So, I loved Apostle Louis. I loved praying with him and working with him on set. And it just reminded me that we’re here for a reason. We’re here for a purpose. And it’s not just to scare people. For me, I want people to encounter God. For people to encounter light. That was what that was for me.“

“It was great,“ Close adds. “Lee would say, okay, everyone, we’re going to pray now. Come if you want to; it’s okay if you don’t want to.”

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