The Deliverance (2024) Netflix | Spoiler Free Movie Review | Glenn Close is Iconic

hey guys and welcome to my non-spoiler discussion of the Deliverance the new film by Lee Daniels starring Andre day Glen clothes and Mo'Nique Mo'Nique is back baby she and Lee Daniels they broke bread they blamed everything on Oprah and she's back better than ever so I actually already filmed a full review video for this immediately after I watched the movie uh several days ago but I'm glad that I sat in my thoughts a little bit thought on it more I scrapped that video because I originally gave the movie a 6 out of 10 but I realized that was fully because I was just so happy to see Mo'Nique back back in a in a dramatic role I really think that she is a phenomenal talent but I was overlooking or ignoring things that really drag the quality of the film down those should not be ignored I should not softball this movie so we're going to talk about positives fairly and minuses I also think fairly in a spoiler way so starting with positives I still think that the core cast did a really good job I thought that Andre day was unexpectedly good I mean towards the end I just think that there were some things that got a little wonky and ridiculous but for the most part her character is very seething silently angry with occasional outbursts I really think she did a phenomenal job with that Glenn cloes was a riot an absolute riot you might have seen some of the memes going around of her with the long nails and the cigarette I don't know if she has a cigarette but the long nails the chunky jewelry the bare shoulders and the big gold bir a chain necklace I mean she was a vision she was that was an iconic Glen cloes performance I really we all need to be a little bit more like baa I don't think it's spoiling it to say like she is a little bit ghetto a little bit white trash but just an icon to completely does not give a crap when anyone else thinks about her we could all be a little bit more like baa Mo'Nique is back and I really think she did a solid job in an ironic swing so the last thing she was in with Lee Daniels I'm pretty sure was playing Mary in precious and now she's back as a social worker in this film and so she has to be very serious very to the point very dedicated to her work trying to help children I know a lot of people have a negative impression of DCFS or CPS but her character really is trying to do right by children at large I really think that she did a great job humanizing that role and destigmatizing because there's a DCFS let's just get real here has a terrible reputation um there are a lot of overworked people maybe people that are in it for the wrong reasons or just are not effective at their jobs are not great Advocates but they do not represent every agent in the system Mo'Nique is playing a good one she's still flawed and complex but like the the intent is good she's not just trying to rip children away or leave them in an obviously terrible situation it's just unfortunate that you know when demons are involved that's not a very scientific thing or a very easy thing to measure you know what I mean so it's sort she's sort of in a hard position but yeah for me I would say that the only other positive at this point that that I can really settle on is the house whoever scoped out the house and decided to film there like that's where we need to set this movie did a good job because I really think that the house had a lot of character a lot of Personality it was very creepy um it it worked well for the setting okay but I'm going to be kind of rapid fire on the negatives because I I just don't want to get into the spoiler details I get tempted to do that but it's unoriginal very clich shade Lee Daniels copied so many tropes from so many haunted house demonic possession movies the biggest issue though by far by far is that the film is just not scary I know that that's going to be subjective for some people this might be a horrifying chilling just unsettling experience but for me like I consider myself a seasoned horror lover I just need a little bit more from a horror film another thing too is the pacing never quite Finds Its footing um I don't think that I'm ruining it because like I said this film's very unoriginal so a lot of the same type of early Shenanigans are going on as the the Demonic force is building its strength and power but like we never actually get a sense of a building oppressive Force it's just like okay there's some weird things going on and then all of a sudden all hell breaks loose but it's still just not terrifying I don't know why Lee Daniels felt so had so much confidence in really horrible CGI for for critical moments and just just had no sense of like you know what there are ways that we could deliver really effective scares um deliver more visceral onscreen visuals with practical effects so much was left on the table I was really disappointed in Lee Daniels in that regard I also think that the writing was overall a mess I like I want to say that the the performances from the actors absolutely elevated the material that they were given I like it is not a good script in my opinion in my opinion if you think that like story-wise the dialogue and whatever if it feels like it has float that is purely because of the actors actually strip it back and like just if you were to transcribe and to then read those words on a page like trying to create the character in your head like in a book it would be ridiculous absolutely ridiculous there are absolutely some scenes that were meant I think in Lee Daniel's head were meant to evoke unspeakable horror and they have become they have become comedy memes on you know Twitter X threads Instagram there's one of Glenn clothes I'm not going to spoil it it is not the one on the porch that I already showed if I showed it earlier in the video there is another meme of her going around and it is just the most ridiculous I'm trying not to curse it is the most ridiculous thing on the internet as of the time of filming um Labor Day literally on Labor Day it is so just cra easy and I cannot believe I cannot believe that they did that to Glen cloes but you know what she shows up and she delivers she still put her all into that I would show the meme but I it needs the subtitles that go with it and I'm not about to put that on the screen on here it is just I would get in trouble another thing too this is not like a strong negative but films like this they they all do this they really stretch the based on a true story disclaimer I really feel though that this film probably stretched it extremely far like there are definitely there were aspects where I was like you know what like I'm Vaguely Familiar with the alleged true story I knew about some sequences that made it into the film that were in the lore of the original story but there were several moments where I was like I'm not Super Fresh on the alleged incidents but I know for a fact that [ __ ] did not happen oh sorry I'm trying not to curse but I was like I know for a fact that is just some something that Lee Daniels pulled out of wherever he gets his crazy ideas for these movies Ain't No Way ain't no way I know that this is nitpicky but one reason why I didn't say that the film was shot particularly well in the positive section is because I'm I I am a nitpicky [ __ ] there was a moment it takes place in a McDonald's I promise you that this I'm not spoiling or ruining things it's just a scene where Andre day the focus is on her face as it should be but then for a split second it it was either autofocus or intentional I don't know which but regardless the focus switches to the coffee cup on the table and then it switches back to being focused on Andre day's face that had no significance to anything going on in the plot so it was either an error with autofocus on on the cameras or worst case scenario me being cynical McDonald's was maybe like a finance year for the film and so they had to make sure that the focus for just a split second was on a McDonald's coffee cup and then it could switch back cuz maybe that was those were the terms like McDonald's was like okay we'll let you film in a restaurant and you have to feature a product doesn't matter what but for a split second a McDonald's menu item better be in damn Crystal Clear 4K Ultra HD so that really bugged the crap out of me it kind of has me wanting to do a rewatch to check for other wonky camera things that might have been going on like if you're not a nitpicky [ __ ] like me then the film looks fine other than CGI issues but that just grinds my gears in conclusion I really think that this film functions best as a family drama in that sense I really think that Lee Daniels just based on what he has done well in the past would have been better served here to approach this film more as a did it happen or was it just a collective family psychiatric event you know what I mean like with or potentially even um a a media claim for attention you know what I mean I really think that if Lee Daniels had left it open-ended then I think that it would have served his strengths better I think that it would have given us more of those internal family stress Dynamics I really think that that would have been just a more solid picture overall the fact that he does start with his strengths you know like strained family drama and then he just busts right up into whatever his vision is of a demonic haunted house possession film it just doesn't work that is too far outside of his comfort zone he really bit off more than he could chew horror is not his genre and that's okay I still commend him for giving it a shot giving it an old College try but if he's going to do horror again he either has to do more homework study the craft that goes into good horror more learn from some of the greats that have come before him and really dive in give it 300% more effort the next go round either that is what would be required from me to like like going into another Lee Daniels horror film to really feel like he learned and he grew from this experience otherwise I really think he needs to stick to drama okay I need to cut it here I there are more things I could talk about but I think you get the general idea the gist of it I do want to end though spoil small spoiler warning because I'm going to explain a trigger warning potentially I know some people roll their eyes at trigger warnings but I do want to respect that for people who might you know be interested in seeing this film despite what I've said or they might be like is it really that bad is it really that non-scary so the trigger warning is CSA especially within a family unit uh CSA is short for child abuse um and then within a family unit implying there was some either family involvement or family permitting others knowing that others are conducting that activity on a child that does come up as a recurring theme for one of the Poe characters and so if that's something that is too upsetting for you to take in then you need to skip this film so that'll be my final discussion point my final takeaway just you know do be kind to yourself gauge your own Comfort level and comfort limits but with all that said even though I have a harsher view on this film now and some of that you know just happiness seeing Mo'Nique back some of that has withered and I can kind of see the film more for what it truly is I still am so happy that everyone came together to make this film I think that this was a good Launchpad for Andre day to explore more acting performances if you don't know Andre day she is a phenomenal very Soulful recording artist her voice is amazing she sang that song from many year several years ago the rise up and she also does a hymn or gospel Style song that plays at the beginning and the end of this film and so that's her if you hear her if you hear that beautiful silky singing voice that is Miss Andre day and again I I still am so happy to see Mo'Nique back I really want to see her in more drama roles and I do like Le Daniels overall and I love many of his works I mean going all the way back to Shadow Boxer and I do want him to continue making movies I really think that he does he he does tell um uniquely black stories and oh that is something that I wanted to talk about real real quick this is an interesting film because in real life the principal players involved in this alleged true haunting it was a black family or an African-American family and that is not something that you really see in a lot of these high-profile hauntings like think about um the sneakers or um the Rhode Island situation Amityville um any number of The Conjuring films that have been made like a lot of these profile cases focus on a white family that seems perfect on the surface but are harboring little fractures and cracks in the health of their family unit this was important in that sense if you're looking at it from the faith angle in the sense like it's not just quaint white families in Connecticut and Vermont and Maine and North Carolina that are getting haunted it this can happen to any family unit it doesn't matter what you look like the devil is not picky I'm not saying that I personally believe that statement but I'm just saying I think that that was integral into Lee Daniel's approach of this film like we're not seeing like like if you believe in evil and Supernatural hauntings and whatever then there just has not been much representation for black families that believe they have encountered true paranormal evil I strongly believe that black stories of all types need to be told including encounters with the devil I just wish that this particular story had been told more effectively thanks for watching if you made it this far and let me know in the comments what you thought of the film if you had a chance to see it was Glen clo iconic in this I mean if you know you know and uh let me know just let me know any thoughts you have what other films should I watch I think that the next thing I'm going to start watching is probably rings of power season 2 cuz I binged season 1 over um over Labor Day weekend that was a like it was a lot it was a lot to take in but I'm ready now for season two but there's a lot to watch another thing I want to watch is it's called like Lady of the Lake or something because I went on a dance mom's binge I I actually skipped the performances don't judge me but like I skip through all the dancing stuff and I just like listening to Abby the moms just bark at each other back and forth and be all crazy so but Nia Miss Nia from Dance Moms Nia Sue professionally that's her professional name she starred in a I don't know if it's a horror film or more of like a suspense mystery but it's called Lady of the Lake I think and it's out for rental and on VOD and digital and all that so I might give that a shot and um yeah but let me know anything else that you would love to hear me talk about I'll see you soon soon bye last little tidbit before I go I also have a music channel I'll link this in the description the link to it and I also have an Instagram where I live a very boring life but if you want to follow I would love to have you over there and I'm planning on starting a horror gaming channel down the road I have stuff filmed already it's just I haven't gone through and edited it yet because editing is just the bane of my existence but I would love to see it over there when I actually have content up there some day so that'll all be in the description but have a great day I hope you had a good Labor Day weekend and carry on