La Délivrance

Otherwise, it lacks everything else. I understand the interest in black horror right now. And everyone wants to cash in on the Jordan Peele effect. But Lee Daniels needs to stick to Oprah's coattails and make fluffy biopics for her OWN network.

First of all, Andra Day is entirely terrible and her character Ebony is played in such a way that she deserves and earns no sympathy from the audience. I felt bad for the kids. But then I realized that they were just awful as well but in the opposite (under-developed) way.

There is your standard denial of all the weirdness happening. There is an overload of social commentary with all the doubters, "ambiguity" and disbelief over the family's plight . There is the stock Van Helsing. There is Mo'Nique ruining every scene she touches, trying and failing to undo her post-Oscar diva status.

Everything is just so overwrought with Insidiously Get Outie-ness with zero nuance. Other than Glenn Close and her ripped grandma jeans, the movie is both bland and annoying.

Holy shizniz batman! Where do I being with this masterpiece in satirical storytelling. Glenn still has it! From some one line zingers to straight up WILD acting. The story waste no time throwing you right into the chaos of daily life for a single mom, her 3 children, and sick mother. New house. Stinky smells. Noises in the night. Strange events packed into a dense family drama with to much fat. Under the mess is a good story with some interesting ideas. Where it fails is with a family story that's over packed with what feels like a tv series worth a drama. This movie could have worked much better in a mini series format.

Now let's get into the dialog. This movie said to Hereditary, "Hold my beer." The dialog at points is hilariously awful. I laughed multiple times so hard my gut hurt. Glenn Close was the cherry on top in the chaos. Chefs kiss.

Outside of story issues. Poors cgi. Some rough edits don't really improve the quality. The cinematography was well done with excitement color palette.

In all seriousness, Mo'Nique was the best part of the movie. Her scenes brought the movie back from it's satirical fridges to something with heart. I really hope to see her in more films. I think the horror genre fits Mo'Nique.

I don't know what happened to Lee Daniel's. Precious this ain't. As refreshing it is to see Close in a way we have seen before. And she's excellent in whatever part she plays. Audra Day and Mo'nique are both solid. I just wish someone had made a completely different film with the material laid out in the film's first half: a gripping family portrait of a struggling black mother, her kids and her mother.

The way this initially gripping film drifted off into laughable horror territory breaks my heart. No matter how often they tell us "based on a true story", it doesn't redeem what the director did. In the end it became its own parody. Close, Day and Mo'nique deserve better. And shame on Lee Daniel's. I expected so much more of you.

Who would've thought demon removal could be done without a priest? That's why I like this film. It's an original spin on the tried and true demonic possession narrative. This is slow burn horror which plays out fairly well. A fierce, single mother battling debt, alcoholism, her own volatile emotions, the world....and little does she know, an actual demonic presence too. Lee Daniels and the other writers did a phenomenal job writing a metaphorical, horror screenplay. This one has a heavy kind of fear. Psychologically and paranormally. Everyone in the house is afraid of each other, the outside world, and whatever is happening to all of them. My husband wondered if I was in a trance while watching this. That's how compelling this story was. But then...

Here's where Lee Daniel drove his film off the road and into the cornfields. The SFX scenes which occur more towards the end. Less is more. Our imaginations will conjure up far more frightening scenes than you could ever create with SFX. Sound effects are very effective and could've been utilized more instead of the graphic visuals. There aren't many of these scenes. My advice, close your eyes and listen to the sound effects. You're not missing anything vital.

The film was brilliantly casted. And the performances were on par, with what the actors were given. In my opinion, the characters could've been developed a bit more. There was enough of a connection for me to like them and fear for them, but I really wanted to know this family.

Overall, it's a unique horror film that's fairly well written with a very talented cast. I'm glad we're starting to see more smart, metaphorical horror, films, (but please, lose the bad SFX). This one's worth a watch. Enjoy.

At first I was at the edge of my seat. I think the way poverty, socioeconomics and these disturbing events was mixed together was brilliant. The way we get into the story of the family and how they interact was, in my opinion, really well written and acted out.

But all of the sudden, there is a weird switch and it becomes standard exorcism stuff, with all the classic effects we've seen so many times before. There is also these annoying errors, for the love of all that is holy - why cannot exorcists tie a decent knot!

Bottom line, decent Sunday movie where the first part of the movie is good, second part is slightly disappointing and unimaginative.