‘The Deliverance’: Glenn Close in a Flamboyant Wig Is No Match for Satan

Not to be confused with John Boorman’s 1972 canoeing-trip-gone-awry classic, The Deliverance is a subpar exorcism movie that’s all the more depressing for being directed by Lee Daniels, whose distinctive flair is only sporadically spied amidst its shopworn clichés.

The story of a Black single mother whose domestic problems turn out to be of the devilish variety, Daniels’ first film since 2021’s The United States vs. Billie Holiday reunites him with that predecessor’s...