“The Deliverance,” out Friday on Netflix, tells the story of demonic possession, inspired by “true events.”

Director Lee Daniels (“Precious”) issued a statement: “I don’t see this as a typical horror film anymore. Rather, it’s a call to a higher power. Instead of making you jump out of your seat every two seconds, I’m here to scare you and find your faith.”

“This is about a family battling demons, both literally and figuratively. I hope audiences will be inspired to discover their higher power while enjoying the wild ride through hell and back that is ‘Everyone’s First to Die.'”

Andra Day was known as a singer until Daniels cast her in her first film and she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”

Ebony Jackson, 39, is reunited with her director, Day. Her husband is in Iraq – it is 2011 – and she has moved to a new house where her children are in danger and become possessed.

“Where do I start with Ebony?” Day began. “First I start with a prayer. But also with an intention, because that’s how Lee makes his films.”

“What is the goal here? What should people learn from Ebony? How should they empathize with her?

“That’s the first thing: you empathize with her character. You understand that this is a woman, a black woman, who is caught in a cycle of abuse. Her mother was abused. Her mother abused her. She’s trying to be the best mother she can be to these children. But because of all this unhealed trauma, she’s harming her children.

“It was important for Lee to develop her own spiritual relationship with Christ – I think that’s one of the reasons he cast me. I’m a believer.”

Ebony, Day continued, “is a complete meal. She is very defensive, and she seems to have earned it, when it comes to the way people make assumptions about her, judge her, and don’t believe her.”

The film’s attack on demonic possession is, as the title suggests, a release. How is this different from an exorcism?

“I don’t know much about that,” Day admitted in a Zoom interview. “We had a man on set named Apostle Lewis who was incredible and actually did a lot of deliverances.”

“From what I’ve found – I could be wrong – the difference is that it’s less about just exorcising a demon from someone. It’s more about the complete liberation of the person.

“It’s not just about getting rid of the demon, but actually bringing it into a relationship with God. Or with Christ. It’s a complete transformation thing.”

“The Deliverance” will air on Netflix on August 30