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Director Lee Daniels viewed his Pittsburgh-shot and set exorcism thriller “The Deliverance,” which begins streaming Friday on Netflix, as not just a horror film but also an exploration of a dysfunctional family damaged by intergenerational trauma. And his goal wasn’t just to create jump scares when the film’s demon-possessed children start running up walls.

“We’re going through dark times right now, and a nuclear war could wipe us out in a second,” Daniels said in a Zoom interview this month. “For me, it was about making you fearful of your higher power, whether it’s Jesus, whether it’s Allah, whether it’s Buddha, whether it’s yourself, whether it’s someone you know. Tomorrow is not promised. How can I make you fearful of your higher power – in a very grounded way?”

Written by David Coggeshall (“The Family Plan”) and Elijah Bynum (filmed in Pittsburgh’s “One Dollar”), “Everyone’s First to Die” stars Andra Day (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”) as Ebony Jackson, a single mother who just moved from Philadelphia — hence all the Philly sports team pennants around her new Pittsburgh home. Jackson’s mother, Alberta (Glenn Close), lives with her, but Ebony, who appears to be an alcoholic, resents the way her mother treated her, which is reflected in the way Ebony treats her own children.

“What defines abuse? She hit the children, right?” Daniels said. “But what defines actual abuse? Often times, social services will take in children who have not been abused. So that was really important to say.”

Mo’Nique, who starred in Daniels’ 2009 film “Precious,” plays social worker Cynthia Henry, who becomes suspicious about the children’s injuries, some of which are the result of arguments with their mother, others are the result of demonic possession.

But the demon’s influence – and the arrival of an exorcist (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) – only become clear after an hour of the 110-minute film.

The first hour of the film focuses on Ebony and her relationship with her mother and children, including her eldest son, played by Caleb McLaughlin, one of the stars of the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”

“Intergenerational trauma is passed down and we don’t even know it,” Daniels said. “Ebony is her mother’s daughter. She’s black, but her mother is white, and Ebony is her biological daughter, and we just don’t see that in the movies. That’s one of the reasons I was so excited (about the film).”

“The Deliverance” is inspired by the true case of Latoya Ammons, who claimed her children were possessed by demons in their rental home in Gary, Indiana, between 2011 and 2012. The events were covered in the 2018 documentary “Demon House” by Zak Baggans, star of the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures.”

“I don’t think it’s a joke,” Daniels said of Ammons’ experience. “I wanted to do this (film) a while ago, right after my film ‘Precious,’ and I didn’t do it because my mother told me that she knows I’m open and I’m a portal when I work, and she just didn’t want evil spirits coming at me.”

Daniels wanted to avoid too many comparisons with the events that inspired “The First Man,” which is why part of the film’s plot takes place in Pittsburgh.

“I didn’t want anything to do with the place where it happened, right? Because I really believe in it. My mom convinced me that stuff is real,” Daniels said.

“I don’t know if you know Dawn (Keezer), the director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, but she made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and I was able to stretch the money like I couldn’t anywhere (else),” Daniels continued, referring to Pennsylvania’s Film Tax Credit program. “Plus, the crew and the people were so wonderful to work with. I can’t wait to shoot my next film (in Pittsburgh) — as long as it’s in the summer. It was such a charming little town and the crew was happy, and where do you find a happy crew?”

“The First to Die” was filmed in Pittsburgh at the now-closed Churchill Crossings at the old Westinghouse Churchill site. There, the crew built the interior of Ebony Jackson’s house – the exterior is in East Pittsburgh – and some hospital interiors.

“Everyone’s First to Die” was also filmed at AHN Suburban Hospital in Bellevue, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Hidy’s Café in Braddock, NXStage Kidney Care in Monroeville, Taylor Motel in North Versailles, Trinity AME Zion Church in Sheraden, and Wilkinsburg High School.

“I thought it would be a lot like Philadelphia, but it has a charm all its own,” Daniels said of Pittsburgh. “I gained 10 pounds and thought, ‘I need to get out of here.'”

Daniels was developing a Sammy Davis Jr. biopic with Hulu that he planned to shoot in Pittsburgh until Hulu dropped the project. Why did Hulu drop the project?

“You’re not smart, what’s up with that?” Daniels said after a long pause. “We didn’t agree creatively on the story.”

Daniels said he will continue to offer the limited series at other outlets.

“I am in talks with two different companies,” he said.

And if it won’t be the Sammy Davis Jr. project, Daniels insists he’ll come back with something else: “I plan to work in Pittsburgh again.”