Lee Daniels' Netflix-trending horror movieThe Deliverancecontinues a “rotten” streak with critics that’s prevailed since the director’s 2013 historical drama,The Butler.Netflix’sThe Deliverancesucceeds several Daniels-directed films that have either sank or swam with critics. Daniels' directorial debut,Shadowboxer, was his first critical flop - but he was able to follow it up with the sensational book-to-movie adaptation,Precious, which was a big success with critics, who scored it with a Certified Fresh approval rating of 92% onRotten Tomatoes. Despite Daniels' rough directorial introduction,Precioushelped raise anticipation for his 2013 movie,The Butler.
Daniels was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Directing forPrecious.
For the most part,The Butlermet the expectations of critics, as demonstrated by a positive 78% RT Tomatometer score. Even more, the film became Daniels' highest-grossing movie to date, earning $177.3 million worldwide (viaBox Office Mojo). However, the rapport Daniels built with critics as a result ofPreciousandThe Butler’soutstanding performances would come to take a stark turn.SinceThe Butler, Daniels has yet to direct a movie that’s made an impact with critics, even though the films have either drawn impressive crowds or rated high with general audiences.
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The Deliverance Continues Lee Daniels' “Rotten” Score Trend After The Butler
The Deliverance Was Given A 32% Approval Rating By Critics
The Deliverancehas performed well ever since its August 30 release on Netflix. For the week of August 26 to September 1,The Deliveranceranked third on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart with 14.5 million views and 27.3 million hours viewed. Currently, it sits in the No. 1 spot onNetflix’s Top 10 U.S. movies. Despite all this,critics have come to a condemnatory consensus about Daniels' supernatural horror, bestowing it with a frightful 32% RT scoreand continuing a “rotten” streak that began withThe United States vs. Billie Holiday.
2024
32%
49%
2021
55%
79%
2013
72%
78%
2012
45%
33%
2009
92%
2005
17%
38%
WhereasThe Deliverancehas proven its ability to draw crowds,The United States vs. Billie Holidayplayed its hand at impressing general audiences. The 2021 biographical drama about singer Billie Holiday earned itself a 79% audience approval score. Nevertheless,it didn’t hold up as well with critics. Combined,the disappointing critical scores ofThe DeliveranceandThe United States vs. Billy Holiday -which possesses a low 55% critical approval rating - formed a trend that can only be broken by a future Daniels-directed project. At the moment, Daniels does not have any upcoming projects queued under his direction.
Why The Deliverance’s Reviews Are So Negative
Critics Slam The Deliverance As Unoriginal
UnderneathThe Deliverance’smostly negative reviews, critics could find some bright spots.The Deliveranceaims to document the haunting of the Jackson family, and amid its supernatural occurrences, critics gave props to the film’s layered family story and cast performances. FromThe Deliverance’scastof characters came standout performances from Andra Day as Ebony Jackson and Glen Close as her mother, Alberta Jackson. Unfortunately,the film’s clichéd genre tropes and predictable plot line overpower the potentialThe Deliverancehad in its cast and family drama, making it hard to gauge it as anything but another unoriginal horror movie.
The audience reception ofThe Deliveranceshared the same sentiments altogether but gave it just a little more credit. With 250+ ratings, general audiences granted Daniels' film a 49% score, citingThe Deliverance’snostalgic feel and exploration of themes of faith and family trauma as additional strengths. All that said, none ofThe Deliverance’sstrengths could save the film from the “rotten” territory that Lee Daniels has found himself in once again.
The Deliverance
Cast
A woman returns to her childhood home to confront dark secrets from her past. As supernatural forces emerge and family tensions rise, she must uncover the truth behind her haunting visions and protect her loved ones from an ancient evil threatening their lives.
