Is The Deliverance based on a true story? Explained

Netflix's The Deliverance, directed by Lee Daniels, has set the bar high for horror movies that depict demonic possession and supernatural terrors. Right from the movie's opening shot, there's a title card indicating that it's "inspired by true events."

The movie is about the terrorization of the Jackson family by unexplainable events once they move into a new home. While the film is liberally laced with fiction, it has its roots in a real-life story, the Ammons family haunting in Gary, Indiana, in 2011.

The real incident involved claims of demonic possession, exorcisms, and other bizarre events that were said to have been witnessed by several officials and medical personnel. Like many movies based on real-life events, The Deliverance is full of fabrication; it takes some important facts and changes them to make the story even more interesting.

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The real story behind The Deliverance

The events that inspired The Deliverance are drawn from the alleged haunting of Latoya Ammons and her family in Gary, Indiana. Shortly after Ammons and her three children moved into the new home in 2011, they reportedly began experiencing supernatural phenomena.

According to Ammons, those range from swarms of flies infesting their porch during the dead of winter to claims that her children showed signs of demonic possession. The kids reportedly spoke in deep, unnatural voices and levitated while being flung across rooms by unseen forces.

Matters became so dire that local Gary authorities, including police, the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), and doctors at a local hospital, started intervening. These officials report witnessing some strange events themselves, bolstering Ammons' claims.

Not everyone, though, was convinced that it was supernatural. People even believed that some collective mental problem existed within the family; even the DCS took temporary custody of the children, citing concern for the children's safety.

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Creative changes in the film

While these real events inspire the film, The Deliverance takes several creative liberties with the story. The family, for example, is made to be named the Jacksons in the movie; also, the setting moves from Gary, Indiana, to Pittsburgh. Finally, the role of the grandmother, played by Glenn Close, is white, which adds an element of race and identity that was never touched upon in the original case.

Director Lee Daniels has defended these diversions by saying that such diversions were necessary to delve into the story for other aspects while necessarily appealing to the audiences at a spiritual level. The nature of the exorcism rituals is also different from what happened in real life.

Whereas the exorcisms of Latoya Ammons were performed in a church by a priest, exorcisms in this film are far from being like that. However, these become a dramatic "deliverance" held at the family's home in the movie. These changes were made to enhance the horror and drama of the film for viewers.

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The cultural impact of the Ammons haunting case

The Ammons haunting has left an indelible mark on popular culture, particularly in horror. The events first received widespread attention from a detailed investigation by the Indianapolis Star in 2014. The story gained further notoriety when it became the subject of Zak Bagans' 2018 documentary Demon House, about the haunting and subsequent demolition of the Ammons' former home.

It has since become one of the most famous cases of modern-day alleged demonic possession in the United States, influencing not only The Deliverance but also discussions around the intersection of faith, mental health, and the supernatural.

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In conclusion, The Deliverance is a true story with quite a few changes for added drama. Core to the movie is the terrifying experience of the Ammons family in 2011, who reported their home was haunted by demonic forces.

However, the movie introduces new characters and changes in setting and some events for a more entertaining horror tale. While the story's core is fact, The Deliverance ultimately blurs the line between reality and fiction, offering a dramatized version of a story that is quite chilling.