‘The Deliverance’ ending explained: what happens to Ebony and her children?

Andra Day and Glenn Close star in supernatural horror film The Deliverance.

Directed by Lee Daniels (Precious, Empire), the horror thriller follows a struggling single mother who, after moving her family into a new home, starts to witness strange demonic occurrences.

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A synopsis reads: “Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.”

Alongside Day and Close, the film’s cast includes Caleb McLaughlin, Mo’Nique, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Demi Singleton and Omar Epps.

What happens at the end of The Deliverance?

After taking her son Andre (Anthony B. Jenkins) from hospital, Ebony (Andra Day) and apostle Bernice go back to the house to perform a deliverance to rid the demon possessing both him and her two other children, Nate (Caleb McLaughlin) and Shante (Demi Singleton).

During the deliverance, Andre morphs into Ebony’s dead mother Alberta, who manages to kill Bernice when Ebony goes upstairs. When she comes back down, Ebony sees Bernice before she dies, and follows possessed Andre down into the basement.

As she confronts Andre, the demon morphs into a mirror version of Ebony to reflect the personal demons she has to overcome. Just as the demon looks to kill her, stepping on her neck, Ebony has a spiritual reawakening where she appears to see God, giving her renewed strength to fight back against the demon.

Ebony manages to remove the spirit from Andre, which subsequently rids the evil entity’s grasp over Nate and Shante in the hospital.

After saving her children, we see Ebony meeting her social worker Cynthia (Mo’Nique), where the latter explains how they have a battle on their hands to ensure Ebony maintains custody of her children. Ebony, with her renewed faith, states it’s now in the hands of God.

Six months later, Ebony gets custody of her children once again after juvenile courts grant a petition from the department of children’s services. In the final scene, we see Ebony with her children in the car on the way back to Philadelphia, where she explains how she’s reconnected with their father and is “going to try and work things out”.

Is The Deliverance based on a true story?

The film is inspired by the life of Latoya Ammons, whose family was allegedly subject to demonic possession in Gary, Indiana in 2011.

As shown at the end of the film, the original house where the Ammons’ family stayed was bulldozed in 2016. ‘Strange occurrences are still reported around the property until this day,’ an ending card reads.

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