PHOTO BY AARON RICKETTS / NETFLIX

Director Lee Daniels is a Philadelphia native, but in 2022, he developed an appreciation for the Commonwealth’s other metropolis.

“Pittsburgh is just gorgeous,” Daniels says. “There is an oldness [to the city’s character] … I thought it would look closer to Philadelphia, but it has a uniqueness.”

Daniels spent the summer of 2022 in the Steel City, filming “The Deliverance,” a supernatural thriller that examines the tribulations of a family troubled in equal parts by demonic interference and economic hardships. It is the director’s first horror film; most of his filmography consists of prestige dramas such as “Precious” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”

“I had never done a horror movie before, and I was terrified,” Daniels says. He found resonance, however, in the way the script — co-written by David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum — pits the power of belief against very literal forces of evil.

“In this dark time we’re in,” he explains, “we need to find a higher power.” As “The Deliverance” developed, “It shifted from just a horror film to a faith-based thriller.”

The story is loosely based on a purported haunting that took place in 2011 in Gary, Indiana. There were two excellent reasons, he says, to move the location from the Hoosier State to Pittsburgh. First: “Money! A tax benefit that was incredible,” thanks to the efforts of Dawn Keezer and the Pittsburgh Film Office, who Daniels praises effusively. “I look forward to coming back to Pittsburgh to work again.”

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Secondly, though, the relocation allowed distance from the allegedly true story, previously depicted as part of the “Ghost Adventures” television series. “I wanted to separate myself from the actual events,” Daniels says, noting that he only spoke to the real-life victim, Latoya Ammons, “once or twice.”

It was not, however, a departure in terms of Daniels’ cast. “The Deliverance” features several performers he’s worked with before, including two he’s directed to Oscar nominations: Andra Day, who received a nod for the title role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” and Mo’Nique, who won a statuette for “Precious.”

“It was beautiful” reuniting with past collaborators, Daniels says. “Like going home.” The cast also includes Glenn Close, Omar Epps, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and “Stranger Things” star Caleb McLaughlin, all of whom Daniels praises effusively — though he reserves extra kudos for Mo’Nique. “I was really proud of her, because this is a completely different role for her — and the antithesis of ‘Precious.’”

Mo’Nique plays a social worker casting a wary eye on Ebony (Day), whose children have become entangled in their parents’ drama — not to mention a possible possession. It’s a story that carefully and incrementally transitions from real-world struggles to a spiritual battle — a shift that required Daniels to “step outside of my comfort zone.”

Fortunately, he says, Pittsburgh stepped up to help. “The crew was impeccable,” he says, raving about the many local artists and workers behind the scenes.

It wasn’t the only thing that stayed with him about the shoot, either.

“I put on weight there,” he admits. “The food is incredible.”

“The Deliverance,” which debuted last week in limited theaters — none in Pittsburgh, unfortunately — will begin streaming on Netflix on Aug. 30.