The twitchy face makes sense, because Edward is still in there when the demon is in control, so the twitching could represent Edward's will clashing with the Demon's, causing the strange facial expressions. It's just the demon is 99% in control.
@@colewilliams9432 True. It might be how he just is or maybe he's constantly in shock and is twitching all the time out of fear and trauma. When not possessed he has even more fear of being taken over again. When possessed he's stuggling inside because he has no control. I don't know. Just a film theory.
I'm atheist and they did, unfortunately what all christians do when casting an atheist.. make it seem like a stereotypical costume. lol. But other than that and many ethically questionable decisions made by the person whos supposed to be a Doctor of Psychiatry, it was a great film. The dude playing Nefarious needs awards and recognition for that performance.
So it's fair that any religious person in any horror movie seems to be insane and irrational? If atheists have problems how "christian" films depicts atheists, you have no idea how religious people feel when they are given such negative light in almost every horror movie imaginable. But I digress, I agree that the dude playing Nefarious is such a hell of an actor!
You're just mad you got called out on your backwards beliefs. Guaranteed you're the same kind of person who will try and save an evil killer from execution yet have no problem hearing about an innocent baby being aborted. You think men can be women, you think the same gender being attracted to one another is normal. Your precious atheism has murdered over 100 million people over the last 100 years and it's not going to slow down. Stop pretending you're more intelligent because you clearly aren't.
@@silenthero2795 I agree, you dont really think about it bc the only religious folks that are highlighted in films are typically through a sci-fi lense. I'm okay with that. most people dont wear there religion or lack therof as a costume to be front and center. "Im christian.. cool... - i'm not... cool.. - wanna grab lunch?"
@@silenthero2795 Christians are presented along a scale like everything else in movies. Same with mental health conditions, and other identities. For example most people have elements of various disorders just few are far along the scale enough to meet the clinical definition of the disorder. Same goes for Christianity and every other religion. Part of the issue is that preachers across all religions can sometimes feed a persecution complex, which can be exaggerated so their congregation can identify strongly as a victim, and that can be destructive. victimhood, and grievance can have similar effects to drug addiction. We see a rise in 'Christian terrorism' is in the US for years now. I see these people as giving Christianity a bad name, and they should be blamed for the negative stereotypes depicted in 'horror movies,' not others really. Christianity is a wonderful faith, just when it comes to being used for violence or terrorizing others then it becomes more of an issue.
Respect your view on it.. At first when i saw horror i thought it was really going to be scary like with ghost and so forth.. But i still enjoyed it, it's one of those movies i would watch again.
I thought it was good. I’ve seen it twice. I didn’t agree with everything theologically but at its core message I’d say I agreed with just about everything. I also agree that Glen Beck should not have made a cameo. Maybe an actor portraying a conservative talk show host. Or someone who isn’t conservative or liberal. Just someone in the middle. And the lady at the dumpster at the very end. That was extremely predictable. But I get the point. Nefarious isn’t going anywhere and will haunt James for the rest of his life. But other than that. It kept my attention and I really enjoyed it. It was nice seeing a different spin on that type of movie from a different perspective.
I wouldn't even classify it as horror. But i would't say that it was a bad movie either. I really enjoy when lower budget movies come out and provide an alternative to the predictable, boring and easily forgotten sludge that pours out of the mainstream constantly. Also, I rented it on VUDU, where i noticed this huge gap between the critics score of 35 percent and the audience score which when i watched it was at 96. Not that much of a surprise given the nature of the film. All in all, I liked it. But I certainly would not call this a horror movie.
@@1048Kane Definitely not their existence, but promoting their lifestyle - sure, that goes against thousands of years of our society's values and represents unrepentant sin. There are many anti-Christian messages and agendas that have been pushed and normalized in cinemas.
I’m noticing a theme with the negative reviews about this film. Outside of the Glenn Beck cameo which I thought was a poor choice due to his polarizing nature, it seems like people are offended that their stance on social/moral issues are being challenged. When a movie makes you think or question or creates dialogue, isn’t it accomplishing something?
This movie isn’t challenging them at all, because it was just reiterating the same weak arguments I’ve heard about them from evangelicals for a long time. I’m annoyed that the marketing of the movie was deceptive and it was a total bait and switch on the content. The director has the audacity to gloat about this and keeping your money if you’re not happy. I got my rental refund, but I’m not getting that time back. Being angry that the director was intentionally deceptive with the advertising is valid grounds for criticism. If you have to lie to your audience to go watch your movie, it speak volumes about your confidence in your beliefs and value system (or lack thereof). This was an objectively *bad* movie. Plot holes, script writing, and overall acting were bad. Good movies don't gross a measly $5.4M worldwide at the box office and good directors don't need to lie to the consumer to dupe them in watching their crappy movie. I'm noticing a theme with the positive reviews about this film. They're all from religious people who are the target audience and were going to praise this movie regardless how bad it is, because they have an agenda.
It makes me think, for sure. Of how bad it was. By invoking any metric of your choosing. Shallow, boring, bad acting, no moral or philosophical complexity. Uninteresting characters. A good idea. Terrible execution.
Just watched this movie. Enjoyed your review, thought you made some very good points. My own view, as an agnostic rather than a "devout atheist" as James was, is that this was a very good horror film. Because it scared me. Tapped into questions, fears, beliefs, doubts that I have long held and will probably always hold. I think that's why it was so effective, at least for me. Most of us know the basic story of the battle between angels and demons, and what a demon would have to say about the things we do and decisions we make as human beings. I've seen some refer to it as "proselytizing", which I suppose it is, but that didn't bother me in this case because of course a demon would say those things. As a character. You don't have to believe any of it's real or true to enjoy the story and the performance. And I thought all the performances were amazing. Especially Sean Patrick Flannery. I didn't find the stuttering to be distracting or over the top. My take was that it was Edward's tic, so it came out strongest when Edward was present, because he was scared shitless. I am not a fan of the directors' other work, but here, I just thought they made a damn good movie, pun kinda sorta intended.
I respect your views and opinions on the movie. As someone who also is more agnostic these days, the movie did tap into some of the old fears about death and the afterlife that I have. Again, thank you for watching and for the kind words.
@@GavinLovesHorror You're response is accurate. If murder (euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment, suicide) can be defined as evil then darbyogill5771 is right. If not then you're right.
I enjoyed the acting of the demon. The acting and writing of the hyper-skeptical atheist doctor is what kills it for me, because he just doesn't behave like a _real person_ would in this situation. In the hands of a different studio, it surely would have been a much more powerful story with greater presentation than this mid daylight horror we got. I agree that the abortion scene was a little over the top, but I also found it incredibly unsettling; how the demon gives power to the situation by peeling away the layers of softened language that makes it seem more palatable than out-and-out murdering an unborn child (which it is), and how all the creatures of Hell openly celebrate every time humanity unwittingly commits another "sacrifice" upon their defiled altar. It's hard to not think about it for a while when it's laid bare like that, and I found it astonishingly creepy. Even if you think the demon was hamming it up, that can be seen as intentional in-character: the demon is actively mocking the analyst by giving so much emotion and expression where the analyst would typically give none, showing him that they're two ends of a reactionary spectrum-- and that's likely far closer to demonhood than the analyst would appreciate being.
“Out-and-out murdering an unborn child (which it is)” 😂 Let’s have a little thought experiment. You’re in a room that is on fire and in one corner is a 5 year old child, screaming and crying, begging you to save him. In the other corner is a table with 100 Petri dishes filled with fertilized embryos. You only have the capacity to rescue the child or the 100 embryos. Not both. Which one do you pick?
@JewMMA How about we just live in the real world where such a bizarrely-specific instance has virtually no reason to occur, whatsoever, and we just avoid the desanctification of life all around? In what way is that disagreeable? I find it odd that you believe yourself to be the one in the right, yet you find something laughable about the situation. I always found bullying, mockery, and verbal derision to be the actions of a decisively bad person. Human life is human life, yet for some reason that is not readily-apparent to a total stranger like myself, you seem to have a vested interested in disconnecting other people's perception of humanity. It's very peculiar behavior, if you ask me. If you're not outright evil, you're extremely confused and spiteful.
@@CorundumDevil If we want to talk about the real world then let’s talk about how evangelicals mischaracterize every single abortion as some third trimester elective procedure which is done out of convenience and not necessity. But you refusing to answer my question and instead going into some deflective diatribe tells me everything I need to know. You know it too.
@@hellsonly8908 every time I pose this question to pro-birthers they never want to answer it. When they seldomly do, they short-circuit. They arrogantly suggest people don’t like this 90 minute movie, because it “challenges their views.” I pose one question which should take 5 seconds to answer and they floor it to the off-ramp 😂
I felt absolutely tricked by the marketing of this movie. The preview looked interesting enough for me to watch it, but halfway through the movie it became obvious that this was a propaganda film. The dialogue ran down a checklist of christian hot button topics. At a certain point the plot was totally eclipsed by the preachy monologues and terrible acting. Like you mentioned for an R rated horror movie, there was a suspicious absence of blood, violence, or swearing. Having right wing extremist Glenn Beck at the end was the cherry on top that confirmed it. I never would have paid money to watch this movie if I knew he was involved, so I think this was absolutely deceptive.
@@Smellslikegelfling I saw the trailer, too! I had no idea it was a Christian movie until I saw a review on it. I had forgotten the movie had come out. I can't stand when movies, Christian or not, aren't honest with their trailers, especially with this one.
@@GavinLovesHorror Not really. Real horror doesn't come from viscera, it comes from "little things" like the demon canceling the last meal of a condemned guy that was trapped in his body due to possession.
I watched it as it was recommended by a colleague. Went in blind and alos thought the first 20-30 minutes was very decent and I was intrigued. But then, yeah, I quickly realized what this movie was when they started talking about certain things and a quick google search confimred by suspition. Then the final scene with the interview just felt like a church service pastor telling you to accept Jesus if you are a "logical" person! lol
I think it qualifies as horror. Even if you aren’t Christian, the idea of a supernatural entity that is SO EVIL that it would take control of your body to deny you a bacon cheeseburger as your last meal on death row is horrifying. Even that last, simple pleasure was denied. I take bacon cheeseburgers for granted. I can get them at Wendy’s.
I didn't realize it was Christian propaganda until I had already paid for it. If they hadn't made the psychologist such a shit character (he's practically straight out of a chick tract), I might have finished the film. I prematurely terminated... ahem... turned it off after the abortion scene. [edit: forgot to conclude my statement about the psychologist]
Considering the people behind this mess are no strangers to making atheists look like idiots in their movies like God's Not Dead or Unplanned, it makes perfect sense
Can I just take a moment to say that I love how civil the comments are from those who like and don’t like the film. We all have our opinions and that’s what makes the movie viewing experience such a wonderful thing. I personally liked it and it was intriguing to me.
You should see the comments for Cody Leach's review of the film, there is nothing civil about them, while there are a few that agree with him, the rest are attacking him because he doesn't like the movie
Flawed on many fronts, even foundational. Why would a demon wish an atheist to know the existence of god and demons ? Isn’t the atheist already doomed through rejecting this knowledge?
I could rip into this film but ill leave it short and sweet Nefarious manages to take an ultimately fantastic book and premise, and entirely waste the time the audience spends watching to use the film as a platform to basically scold viewers who don’t live by certain principles of Christianity. One of the worst things you can do as a director is take a personal moment many of the viewers have probably experienced “like abortion.” and essentially shame them publicly. I won't even mention the number of flaws this film includes just on the basis of the film’s more realistic tone and setting. Overall this film feels like you are sitting in a Ben Shapiro podcast for an hour and a half, about 95% of the film takes place in front of two actors simply talking in a one set up scenario. The premise of a non-believer slowly falling under the grips of a man whom we are unable to distinguish from being crazy or genuinely demonic... Such a cool concept, completely ruined by the amount of telling this film does while essentially showing the audience absolutely nothing of value that this film builds up. If all talk and no action was a film, this would get the award. Nefarious gets a 3/10 for me simply because the acting from the main actors was good for the material and direction they were given.
Great points, this movie isn’t even about theology or Christianity. It’s about politics, particularly: contemporary American right wing 2020s Christian identity politics.
@@premiumbitter Evangelicalism and politics have merged. That is what the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition with figures like Jerry Falwell Sr., Paul Weyrich, Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, and Paige Patterson were set on doing since the late 1970s. Personally, I view the Christian faith as being hijacked by those that see it as a means to wealth and power. Some in the evangelical movement have been talking about how there is a major split in the church right now between those that want to go back to what they see as Christian Principles and others that want to continue in the current direction.
I'll give the movie this credit and that it at least tried to go into horror. With that said, yeah, I'm skipping this, and this is coming from a Christian. Btw, even though I'm supposed to hate the atheist, his gf was going to have an abortion just because she thought he'd stay with her. Why should he be in a relationship he isn’t happy with just to keep the baby alive? You can’t force someone to stay in a relationship they aren’t happy with. If she decides to have the abortion, it's out of his hands. What did the movie want the guy to do in order to keep the baby, kidnap her and force her to give birth?!
@@Monkeyshine911 well, then that's impractical. And dangerous. But then again, I'm trying to make sense of a bad movie made by a group of Christians who made another bad Christian movie, God's Not Dead.
I just don't want downright religious propaganda disguised as a movie, it has nothing to do with Christianity: I remember seeing a Spiritist drama that was so religiously overt and over the top it could pass as a parody. The Exorcist, for example, portrays Father Karras struggling with his faith whilst being simultaneously a priest and a man of science; it also works with themes of redemption and sacrifice - but we never feel preached to. Christian-oriented films can be allegorical and beautiful (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, for example), or downright disturbing (Mother! comes to mind). A filmmaker trying to convert the audience will just end up alienating them.
Putting propaganda aside this was a crap movie . It had nothing to do with what we were promised, and I could see the guy who played Nefarious acting, the first scene with the suicide basically kills any and all tension as to the is he or isn't he by having unseen forces fuck with the diploma on the wall. And then the movie proceeded to t take the kills promised in the blurb and informed us that both of them had already take place OFF SCREEN. I don't watch a movie to watch two guys talk about the plot while not showing it.
While I don't think it is too preachy (like it was said in the movie, we've been desensitized to sin over time) I do agree that some scenes like the timing of the abortion were over the top. I grew up Catholic and stopped practicing for a few years and just recently came back to Christ, and this movie does a good job of displaying the basis for that return. If anything, I think this movie will get people to think about how the devil (or evil or whatever secular people want to call it) plays a role in our everyday lives. Compared to most other possession movies, while this was still in a murderer on death row, the possession is a lot more realistic and isn't just your typical levitations and speaking fluent in ancient languages. It shows how demons can act within us all without necessarily subjugating its victim and taking full control. It portrays the demon as extremely intellectual. I also thought it had its flaws like all movies but overall is an extremely thought-provoking movie from a perspective that has been drowned out in mainstream media and culture.
It’s not too preachy to you, because you are the audience it’s targeting and already have theological alignment with the directors. To everyone else outside that box it is SUPER PREACHY. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but the demon says Edward’s soul is going to hell despite the demon controlling his body and committing the acts. Does that sound like a morally good message of loving god to you? Besides the hard eye roll I did when he mischaracterized reproductive rights and euthanasia as “murder,” I found that particular statement morally repugnant.
@@JewMMA yea Edward going to hell makes no sense. He has no control, he is not choosing to do anything. The whole thing is ridiculous because the movie is stating how people go hell for making sinful choices. Edward never made any choice let alone sinful. It's retarded.
I really like how this is a Christian movie because demons and demonic entities is basically Christian religion or Satanism whichever you fall under. And following scripture and or grimoires is following the source material. The more Spider-Man takes from its source material the better it is. After watching a movie like this thinking how there's all these movies about demons and they're not Christian movies is kind of weird to me now. Also having a movie that just monologues and is conversation driven is a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed it a lot.
I liked the film until it becomes preachy. If Jesus died for our sins, why was a fetus sent to hell? Why are people still born with original sin if Jesus died to wipe the slate clean? That's just one of many reasons why I don't take any form of religion seriously. You don't need a church, synagogue, priest, pastor or rabbi just talk directly to God if you believe in such a being.
Original sin means fallen nature, meaning by that that as you grow up, you still face the option to do good or evil, idk baut you but in my experience we all have a problem with evil. We struggle to do the right thing but when you follow your heart, your instincs, you end up making the selfish call, the wrong call, jesus in the cross offers grace and forgivness himself payinng your punishment, that's why we say sinner under grace, that adressing your excellent point, as for the last statement, i agree you dont need anyone to contact good, you can directly, jesus came and claimed to be God, he either its nuts or telling the truth, either he resurrected, or he did not. So i leave you with this we all choose to wipe God off, at the end he will grant or request, honoring our free will, but that means we ought to be responsible for our un transgresions, leaving us separated from God, or you can turn to Jesus, and ask for forgivness in repentance thus making him the one to carry the responsability of your sins. But then againg dont believe it from me, do your research, find out if this man Jesus was really who he said it was. Is he rellayable, or is he not?, if he is not reject him, that's what paul says in Corinthians as a matter of fact, but if the evidence points to Jesús being rellayable put you faith in him , sir you're right in not fully trusting religión, that's not the issue, the issue is trust in crhist, cause the overhealmimg evidence is that he is rellyable. God Bless! ✌️
Jesus died for our sins but we still have to accept him in order to be saved. And the only way to forgive original sin is to be baptized, which is why Catholics baptize babies. Because then, if the baby dies, they are now forgiven of original sin and being that babies don’t really have the mental capacity to sin, they are saved until they are old enough to sin on their own, which will happen because we are all sinners.
I don't see it as Christian. I'm sure Christians do. I see it in vane of "The Screwtape Letters". It describes weaknesses we all have, temptations we all have, how we can be manipulated, and how we can let ourselves be lead away from what we really would like to do with our lives. I was actually hoping when the prisoner was asked for his last words, we would see great conflict in his face, a struggle between the 2 entities, and then Edward would manage to utter, "Forgive me Jesus!" Then the demon would just start screaming, really pissed off, left empty handed.
I love exorcism/ possession movies , this one is my favorite. It’s not pure horror as we are used to, and of course you will have theology in a possession film , this is more of a thriller, is more psychological and it gives another perspective on possession. Loved it, the acting was great in my opinion, 5/5👍
Every since Nefarious claimed that James would’ve commited three murders when he left that day, in my head immediately sounded: “it’s going to be something related to euthanasia, abortion and death row penalty, isn’t it?” Plus, the Christian undertone is very obvious, and it’s basically spoonfed to the audience. Also, the shots are very dull, essentially being a constant back and forth sermon between the skeptical doctor (who lost professionalism in various scenes), and the demon (which in my opinion was made to work as some sort of reverse psychology with the audience (?)). Prejudice aside, the movie is a very interesting take on a TID patient and its psychiatrist. It could’ve exploited more the psychological thriller to pursue a “is it actually a demonic possession or is this person just mentally ill?”, but chose to go down the Christian propaganda way. At least the ending isn’t vanilla happy, which is kinda surprising and kudos for a Christian movie to have the guts to do that! It’s a good movie if you’re into that kind of content, but to me it was a predictable attempt of Christian horror (I’m still surprised they went down that path!! It’s good that christian directors are exploring different genres for their movies!!)
Thank you for this write up! And I agree, it's actually a very well put together movie with some good performances and a compelling story. It just goes off the rails towards the middle and never fully gets back on track. Thank you for watching!
You're just trying to seem above the movie by saying you predicted it. Interesting. Why not just say "I'm not willing to stop sinning.. so I'm going to kick and scream.." murdering children is satanic.. its literally happened in every civilization. and look they're doing it in the USA because satan tricked you into thinking sex was recreational. once you thought it was recreational.. then you didnt want to take any responsibility from it, right? So killing the unborn child in your belly.. hey if it means you keep keep having sex... thats how bad peoples addictions are.. that they'll bad mouth movies, telling the obvious truth.. and then claim they predicted all of it, to make themselves feel better. Funnily everything in this movie is pretty much true. The greatest trick the devil has ever pulled and will ever pull, is getting you pseudo-intellectuals to think hes symbolic or a made up character. Even better.. is if you think hes a red guy who lives underground(the Bible has never described satan in any such manner) so why does the media seem to want to make him a big joke? so that nobody believes satan is real. Oh look I found 2 idiots who already buy that nonsense.. these people are not stupid.. they've literally changed the world so incrementally that you dont even know anything is wrong, until its wrong. Look around. And you don't think our world is being ran by satan? Children being mutilated, homosexuality being pushed into everyones faces to the point people have to go down to the schools to fight with people to keep sex out of childrens textbooks. But yeah.. this is fiction.. keep telling yourself that, before you know it, you'll be with satan yourselves. and I love you.. I wouldnt bother writing this if I didnt care what happens to you. and I can assure you.. these demons have done the same thing to every civilization we've had.. first popularize sex, then abortion will follow.. then homosexuality.. then trans.. and then finally pedophilia being accepted. and before you say "Oh that'll never happen!" It already has happened.. go look at ancient Rome.. go look at Nero.. he married a little kid and named him "sperm".. so yeah these people are highly satanic.. they always have been.. and the reason you dont know, is because they control your knowledge and what you learn. public schooling/college.. then TV.. "PROGRAMMING" you people just dont get it, but thats okay.. I will never stop fighting.. because I know you would never let me roll around in my own filth like a pig... you would tell me. right?
I think you nailed it! My day brought it up so watched it. In end it just got to preachy and political. It was good for just a one room talking flick but jumped in to things it didn't need to. Once the mom and abortion thing happened, I new were to was going. Then Glen Beck was cherry on cake. Game over man! I asked my dad why he told me about this propaganda and he said he never saw it but good reviews. I would give 3 out of 5 and watch it with my dad for second watch.
As someone who is a Christian but critical of most Christian films I actually really liked this one. Found it genuinely compelling and pretty horrifying in a thematic way. As far as your actual review your opinions are your own of course, but your description of the abortion scene is very misleading. He just asks to speak with her and they said "Not possible, she's in recovery" ... Would they give that much info? Maybe? Maybe not? But it was relatively plausible and you made a caricature out of that scene. I found that to be very misleading.
Long time horror film fan of all genres. I actually really liked this film and I'm not religious. I don't think they were overly Christian in this film, in fact they never mention Jesus, except for referring to the Carpenter. I knew there would be a lot of anti Christian backlash against this movie just because any modern movie hint of Christianity seems to fill Hollywood with horror and loathing, kind of like the reaction of the demon to the relics of the church. Funny, the real life reaction to the film is sort of a life imitates art type thing. At any rate I enjoyed this thought provoking movie quite a bit.
crazy movie, could've definitely done without the euthanasia & abortion are murder nonsense, but I like how he slowly starts believing it's actually a demon & against his better judgment clears him mentally for execution in the end.
I’m not going to come with a bunch of hate. The internet is far too toxic already to add to it. This is just my opinion. But I do think people have a point where the public either liked or loved this movie. 6.3 on IMDB, 4.7 on Google, 4.7 on Amazon, but it was panned by critics. The reason for that IMO is a sort of rebellion by the public over the fact that 99% of movies have a woke agenda, and this is the one in a million that is the reverse but all of a sudden propaganda is a problem. Is it propaganda? Yes. But I don’t think it’s any more propaganda than Woke Hellraiser, or let’s say I Spit on Your Grave 1-3 that portray LITERALLY all men as predators. It’s like having chicken every night for 364 days straight. Of course a steak is going to be super tasty on New Year’s Eve. By the way, I’m a pro choice atheist. I just think this was an extremely well made psychological horror film. And it DOES get you to think that secularism has an extreme as well, now growing up in a culture where social media lead by TikTok twerking is eating away at our minds like a parasite
This is an incredibly well thought out take and I respect it. I didn't hate the movie by any means, just the over the top abortion stuff was too much for me. But I appreciate your opinion and thank you for watching
Thanks! I think religion is an important metaphor despite none of it being real. A secularist could still make the argument that Judeo Christian values in moderation are good for society, not because it’s anti LGBT or women’s rights, because it encourages restraint in the face of temptation. I said tiktok and social media was eating away at our minds like a cancer. The movie switches mind for spirit. But I don’t think they’re totally wrong
this movie could've been so much better if they didn't try so hard to make it about religion & the atheist being wrong. I so wish they would've left the audience wondering if it was just a dissociative identity & if the guy sent a genuinely mentally ill man to be executed.
maybe your just the wrong audience? like me saying "horror sucks because the plot or idea is good but I don't like the jump scares, so its not bad"@@GavinLovesHorror
It’s a demon, those are inherently part of religion to a large population of people in the west where this was released lol. And I agree the ending would have been powerful if they left it ambiguous like that. The book interview scene would have been more fun if it was after the credits imo. Felt tacked on tbh but we do see the demon won in the end, I kinda appreciated that it wasn’t a happy ending, it stuck with me way more for that
Every movie portraying demonic possession is then Christian propaganda? I think people have a problem remembering that, but it's the conversation that the movie has that people are attacking. I liked the movie and never expected it to change any view points. The conversation hit home for the average abortionist, and it seems those people cannot handle hearing their actions being looked at like that. I suppose they would be more comfortable with turning heads and a priest. I've heard people say it's preachy which I find super funny. So making demons associate themselves with abortion or assisted suicide is definitely not contemplatable, but possessing people for murder or sacrificial ceremonies, or anything else is more realistic? It's clear why some have argued the preachy context of this movie, and I'm sure there are a few "clinically" given definitions on the kind "self defense" an individual would utilize when put face to face with their personal choices in life. People would say or do almost anything to justify what they've done and that's what gives this movie gravity at least for me, because that is what the demon is saying and it's quite horrific. Imagine being a person who has been through an abortion, and the demon says, "Imagine how the carpenter weeps when we rip an unborn child apart inside its' own mother's womb, because that what we do, you and us, we do that together." Yeah, I'd say that's really horrifying.
You summed it up well, Gavin. And where did you get your t-shirt? (I'm sure I'm not first to ask ^_^) ETA: Oh, as to my opinion! Yeah see there is actual harm though, in that one-sidedness. You have to remember that laws are made with religious intent which do indeed violate the sanctity of our bodies, lives and relationships. And there are millions of kids with parents indoctrinating and brow-beating them as we speak. Judging them and making them deeply ashamed of their bodies. This idea of "sin" and do as I say or BURN. It's truly hideous, very negative and not innocent in any way. Certainly someone can focus on bright and beautiful and generous aspects of any religion. There were some Christian hippies back in the day doing humble good deeds and living close to the land etc. but that's not what most tend toward. There's a larger context of power structures like patriarchy and capitalism/imperialism that have stronger influence over culture, and organized religion has long provided a key ideological lynchpin to these dominant structures.
@@noelliebtsie thank you for watching! And I got my shirt here (it looks out of stock at the moment though) www.discountcemetery.com/collections/mom-and-pop-video/products/mom-pops-halloween-86-raglan?variant=36527521300636
@@GavinLovesHorror Did you have to battle a load of religious defenders in the comments? I'm scared to wade in at all. I haven't even looked. Lol. I mean, the movie doesn't hold together, it trips over its own agenda. As you said, they could have actually made an interesting back and forth, could have gotten spooky and supernatural etc. But instead, the demon ends up sounding just like a right-wing christian foamer at the mouth. Which, I suppose is a fair comparison? Ha.
You too, it actually happened to me the second time I watched this on Tubi, haven't been this bored to sleep with a film since Atlas Shrugged, though it does mean that there is a positive to this film, it's a good cure for insomnia
I remember seeing this thumbnail when this came out and it completely turned me off from watching this movie. I ended up watching it last night and I loved it. I’m not religious at all. Possibly one of my favorite movies I’ve ever seen
3:36 that’s actually funny because I agree with that for other pureflix garbage like gods not dead 2 but this one was actually really dynamic and you really got to connect with the atheist he wasn’t obviously one of the bad people. Like spaghetti westerns how Sergeo Leone (excuse me on the spelling) portrayed the west as a morally gray time in American life which is a really bold route to take it and the actors were incredible! And the funny thing is, is that the same person who made that crappy gods not dead 2 movie made this one which is a real big step up for him.
The USA truly is a special place, take any thing or idea from anywhere in the world and you'll find the most sensational, exaggerated version of it right there in the US of A. I can't really say how good or how bad it is, what should be celebrated and what condemned, but it is unique, and also beautiful, and sometimes horrifying - Depending on your temperament I guess. Anyway, I was gonna write something else, however this seemed a tad nicer.. About the movie though.. There should have been some twist at the end, reformed atheist? Alright fine, demons possess homeless people? Sure. How about the prison pastor was actually the big boss, Lucifer himself, and he only hints at it towards the end, Nefarious wasn't scared of a priest, It was Edward, and he was scared of his master? I don't know.. And excuse my theology but Satan revolted AFTER the creation of man, and the world for that matter..? How can he be cast down to earth ''Long before what you call the universe existed''? That revolt was BECAUSE of the creation of man and Gods favour towards us, but in this film the ''pre-fallen'' angels are resentful at the moment of their creation? What? If you're going to rearrange biblical canon maybe set it up somehow. And for the love of GOD, watch a youtube video with people speaking Latin, ANY type of Latin. Because saying ''legio mihi nomen est quia multi sumus'' with a North American accent was the most insane thing I heard Edward/Nefarious say, and he said abortions are akin to throwing babies into pits of fire (How late can you get abortions over there?) Valeas quam optime (may you be as well as possible)
You basically just nailed what it is like to live in the USA. We currently have a controversy because craft store Michael's placed Ouija board themed merchandise in their Halloween section and now everyone is boycotting because they are un-Christian.
I dont know, I kind of liked the fact that the marketing didnt say it was a solidly Christian movie, because, as a pagan, I dont know if I would have seen it in that case. But, besides the interview with Glenn Beck I really liked the Nefarious character, Sean made him seem very threatening. I am a conservative, so I have some overlap with the opinions, but I think that for a film that was basically two guys sitting in a room I was pretty captivated. I love horror movies, and if that weird Glen Beck scene was removed I would still consider this mostly horror. To be honest, one of the bigger problems I had, and you mentioned this with the rating, was that Nefarious was hyped up as this immense power and we only see a fractional ammount. I think that getting a bigger finale would have made the end more impactful.
I agree that the ending could have been better. As for power, I think it's shown not through anything like the cliche "look at this thing move by itself" but in his power of manipulation that he uses through the film. He gets him to do just about everything he wants simply by talking
@@Daily_Outdoor_Sports_Channelhealth care, that's what it should be, that and should be only be a woman's choice, instead of being banned by a corrupt and stupid governor of a state with shit conditions
I thought it was good. But it should have been rated pg-13. You don't have to be a Christian to agree with the morality or the philosophy of the movie. I thought that aspect of it was pretty straightforward, black and white and obvious
So, it was definitely a propaganda movie, unfortunately. However, the acting was solid, and some of the messages and emotional provocations were also great. The ending, imo, was pretty dumb. It was the middle of the movie that really gripped me, where the plot wasn't ruined yet and the actors were in full swing. I agree that there is an inherent sense of morality in everyone (whatever that may be), and I think this movie plucked at the roots of that, even if only a little bit. That little bit still made out for a great watch.
All movies are propaganda. This has been the case since ancient Greece. Look up the most famous plays Lysistrata, and Assemblywoman. Now days most people would say those are Nazi plays. It's ironic that people can think otherwise. Even a movie like Rocky has a certain philosophical bend. There is no avoiding it. If you make a movie about a women just getting over depression and losing weight all the fat depressed people will call it propaganda. You just disagree with the message.
I agree that the premise of the movie was misleading. I saw Horror fim, Rated R, good user reviews on RT and had a certain expectation. I thought the movie was okay, but definitely a little preachy. I don't think I would recommend it. 6/10
@GavinLovesHorror exactly! The professional critics hate both remakes to Black Christmas, 2019's Charlie's Angel's, that awful Left Behind remake, Exodus: God's and Kings, all the 50 Shades of Gray movies, all of the Twilight movies, ect. There is healthy criticism in both the critics AND the audience. No one should be demeaned because of status. In both parties, there are people too easy to please and too hard to please. Do you want to make a great movie? LISTEN TO HEALTHY CRITICISM. Not everyone's gonna like it, and that's fine. But that doesn't mean we throw healthy criticism out the window.
Good review! Saw it just now too with no prior context. Didn’t realize how preachy it was gonna get, but I did overall like it. I think it had so much potential but they kinda just squandered it by going hard on ten religious angle. They could’ve conveyed the same message if it was less clear what the demon was. Like if it was some kind of higher dimensional force that takes hold of people for selfish gain and that we would know them as demons because that’s the way people historically made sense of the absurd. Something like that would’ve been interesting and would appeal to a greater audience
@@Dizdik Yes, you definitely get to decide who is and isn't a Christian. The most Christian thing you can do is judge others on how Christian they are!
I realized that I watched this within the last 3 months and can't recall a single detail. SPF, bless his heart, has studied at the Nic Cage of Acting by Chomping the Scenery. This isn't a horror movie. Christian movies would get better traction if they were better. There's no reason they can't be more subtly done and marketed without subterfuge. The Seventh Sign (1988) starring Demi Moore is a good example, or the Narnia movies.
I am a recovering Christian, however, I love deep, theological and philosophical conversations. I also love movies that are two people talking in a room. However, this movie was much more about contemporary conservative American evangelical Christian politics, than it was about the timelessness of faith and religion. The A-word thing is perplexing, Yahweh is very much NOT “pro-life”, especially for children. He flooded the world and everything in it, including all those wicked toddlers, and children, except for one family, he “eliminated” first born children in Egypt, and his book even gives us a prescription for how to induce a miscarriage (Numbers 5:11-31). Very weird that this would be a talking point of a demon.
Firstly, stating you are “recovering” says it all. Secondly, your name bitter is very accurate. I understand anger with/ questioning god for all the evil that happens in this world (the movie actually explains most of man-generated evil, outside of seemingly meaningless tragedy in the form of accidents, natural disasters, etc.)
@@brians2811 The Yahweh kills more people than satan, according to his Bible. Satan only kills Job’s family, and only after Yahweh approved the killings. Yahweh constantly sins and breaks his own commandments. Yahweh was made in man’s image, not the other way around. Premium bitter is a style of British ale, for what it’s worth.
@@brians2811 and again, the movies is not about Christianity, it’s about America right wing political Christianity. The book is based on was written by a man that makes his living ranting about Biden and worshipping Trump. Mormon Glenn Beck at the end only proves my point even more. This movie is hateful and gross.
@@josiah7672 how about "thou shalt not kill" and then flooding the entire earth? Or murdering babies because they were unlucky enough to be born under a tyrannical leader? How about bearing false witness by telling Adam and Eve they would "surely die" when they ate from the tree, when they did not. How about commanding the Israelites to commit genocide and rape, multiple times against other civilizations? How about stating the the punishment for rape is that the rapist has to marry the woman he rapes?
Fantastic movie, some people give it poor reviews because it doesn’t align with their social beliefs. The most controversial being Abortion that is murder. Or that there is Christian references.
What makes this movie different from other faith-based Christian films is that this was marketed differently and to a different audience. The writer of the book, Steve Deace stated that he wanted the movie to convert those who weren't fundamentalist Christians and so they deliberately marketed the film as something else to mislead that audience into watching it, and I probably wouldn't have watched it otherwise. Typically faith-based films don't really circulate outside their demographic of fundamentalist Christians and this one lays on the preaching really thick. Looking beyond the preaching though, I found the movie rather subpar. I thought the acting from the murderer was intense, but over-the top. I felt it misrepresented dissociative disorder with how he could switch back and forth between identities, and the exaggerated tremors. Remember that the first Psychologist, who mysteriously committed suicide diagnosed him with dissociative disorder so this is the mental health condition the filmmakers were attempting to convey. I thought the Psychologist's acting was weak as he was quite flat and his expressions and reactions didn't match the material. He did not act like a Psychologist for much of the time and so as someone who works in mental health and cares a lot about that I find it to be furthering the stigma against the profession and mental health conditions. With preachy movies even with moral and political views that I agree with I like it to be done in a natural and thoughtful way, and present opposing sides too. I didn't find either here, and beyond the faith messaging I didn't find anything else of substance here as the movie was built around the messaging so much. I also wouldn't label this as horror. It's more of a thriller Just my opinion though, and it's cool if the message resonates with others. :)
Straight facts here. The movie was terrible. Full of plot holes, generally terrible acting, and deceptively marketed. I can't buy my time back, but I'm requesting a refund from Prime because the description of the movie didn't match the content. That's generally called "fraud." This inspired me to donate multiples of the rental cost to Planned Parenthood. Thanks Nefarious for contributing to reproductive rights!
@@ryanalving3785 well gee willikers, I don't know... like "Hey, I'm going to schedule a patient for a psychiatric appointment on the exact same day my girlfriend is getting an abortion." Or when the demon is telling the psychiatrist that Edward is damned to hell when it's the *demon* controlling his body and killing people? Edward has a book all about the psychiatrist including some of his childhood original polaroid pictures? When the fuck was that supposed to have happened? Edward was raiding his family home or apartment while on death row? lol. Detective can bring his gun into the execution chamber but the psychiatrist can't even bring his cell phone?
@@JewMMA Let me debunk you. "Hey, I'm going to schedule a patient for a psychiatric appointment on the exact same day my girlfriend is getting an abortion." That’s not a plot hole. You might argue that it's a narrative convenience, but it’s objectively not a plot hole. If you paid attention, James wasn’t fond of Melanie anymore-their relationship was already deteriorating. So why would he cancel this psychiatric appointment for something he didn’t even consider important? Especially since Nefarious mentioned that James already had someone else in mind to replace her. "Or when the demon is telling the psychiatrist that Edward is damned to hell when it’s the demon controlling his body and killing people?" There’s a clear dialogue where Edward says, "At least I didn’t kill my mother."meaning that he probably killed people or at least he made a series of decisions that led him to get possessed, it's all explained in the movie. "Edward has a book all about the psychiatrist, including some of his childhood original Polaroid pictures?" Ah yes, now for the sake of your argument, you’re saying it was Edward who did this, even though the entire movie shows he has barely any control over his own body while in prison. "When was that supposed to have happened? Edward was raiding his family home or apartment while on death row?" Why does that matter when the movie already showed that the demon was the one taking action? It's heavily implied that the demon compiled the book, not Edward. At this point, you’re just complaining for the sake of it. Also, the movie addresses the fact that demons possess a level of comprehension and focus that seems impossible to humans. "Detective can bring his gun into the execution chamber but the psychiatrist can’t even bring his cell phone?" There's certainly a law about it like not filming the thing or taking pictures and I'm pretty sure you're nitpicking, because that's pretty much visible in your other criticisms, you're just hating for the sake of hating.
Gavin - "Don't use your beliefs to persicute or hurt others" Also Gavin - abortions are a silly thing to try and stop. I'm gonna make fun of the Christian movie for wanting to stop abortions.
I'm not stopping you from trying to stop abortions. Buy the way the movie tried to stop it was ridiculous and over the top to the point of parody. Thanks for watching!
Just FYI, “thou salt not lie” is not a commandment. You’re probably thinking of “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”, which is not exactly the same thing.
8. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR. COMMANDS: truthfulness; respect for the good name of others; the observance of secrecy when required. FORBIDS: lying; injury to the good name of others; slander; talebearing; rash judgment; contemptuous speech and the violation of secrecy. www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ten-commandments-10336
@@GavinLovesHorror It says what it says. But no, it’s a misread to say it’s a blanket commandment to never say or do anything that isn’t entirely truthful. But for the sake of argument, even if I were to grant you that point, I would say that a film marketing itself one way only to shoehorn in “messaging” along with its entertainment is…well…welcome to our world. It’s quite the critique, and not one that anyone but the most hard-lined right wingers levy at the vast, vast majority of *other* films out there that push *their* messaging. It may be messaging that aligns more closely with your opinions than does this film, but it’s no less grating / dishonest. Now, if we’re to apply this criticism, then that’s fine. But I’d argue that we should do so equally. I find the singular criticism of a film with *this particular* messaging oblivious at best and hypocritical at worst.
I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5. Yea, there were some things that were pretty much unbelievable, and could have been different, or left out, but overall, it was great entertainment, which is especially surprising, considering a large portion of the movie took place with two guys sitting on both sides of a table in a prison interrogation room. The fact that so much of it was accurate to Christian beliefs helped. For anything that wasn't, again, it was just a movie. Not based on a true story.
(Late to the party) Well, I really liked it. the abortion stuff was fine. They took it to the extreme, and thats good. Its solid world/rules building. It may have been a convenience, but you needed it to make the prophecy stuff work, and it was a way to do it. My problem is the limp wristed attempt at a hopeful ending. Not the way to go, and this is where being a christian film bites it in the ass. (Spoilers) He should have either accepted the deal or (and much better) it should have been a bloodbath followed by finding himeslf in the same shoes as Edward. What we got turned the whole movie into youth group movie night instead of in most peoples hidden gem list. Still, best christian movie ive ever seen.
That's debatable when The Prince of Egypt exists, that's the best Christian movie ever made, mainly because it focuses more on what makes a movie work by not shoving the message down your throat during the runtime and sticks to what makes it work, story and character
I respect everyone’s beliefs even if I don’t agree with it, but calling it Christian propaganda sounds about exaggerated in my opinion but believe what you want, there’s a lot of movies that you probably like and I’ll consider it propaganda and you’ll probably disagree with me and like I said believe what you want and finally I don’t feel like I’m welcome in this channel/community because of what I believe and if you want me to leave then I’ll do it
I don't want you to leave at all! I appreciate you having your beliefs and respect them, as long as they aren't hurting anyone else. Thank you for being open and honest. I appreciate you.
This was a great film and i hope people will see it. I understand not everyone will like every movie. We're all different. Wouldn't call it propaganda, though.
Dude whats wrong with everybody this movie is just like devils advocate jesus watch it and enjoyed it wow people could be so annoying this movie is badass and is not a christian mobie is just a movie thats good simple dont take it so serious propoganda only if u take urself so serious the movie is bad ass
@@rpratka7337 To be honest everything. The dialogues were very preachy. The rule 'show, don't tell' wasn't applied there at all. It was visible, that it's not a plot that somebody constructed with passion and love for creating movies, it was written only to preach. Which in my opinion is very ungodly, because as a christian I believe, that whatever you do you should do with love. I am a storyteller myself and I like to analyse stories. In this one especially when they revealed what the 3 murders were I rolled my eyes, because it was exactly what I expected. They have to push this abortion thing EVERYTHERE. Writing was just very cheap.
I found it horrifying that Nefarious had so much control over Edward's body, that he put *just* enough effort at putting Edward at the helm at the worst moments.
The movie was fantastic it showed the truth of this world and the reality we live in it showed how much of a hold to the devil has on humanity without us even knowing my favorite line from the movie has to be “I didn’t know there was a war” “That’s why you losing!” I recommend this movie to everyone in this planet it has so much truth in it and the actors were out of this world
The truth that God exists and demons exist? Guess that mean all gods from all different cultures are real as well, and the one you call "the one true God" is just as much of an a-hole as Zeus or Odin
Such a cool concept and setup which could explore so many interesting philosopical avenues. Yet it is a fiesta of platitudes and shallow writing. Pretty much a Christian cheerleading pamphlet sprinkled with really, really bad acting. Sean’s artistic interpretation of a “lord high prince” is pretty much having endless meth tics and sobbing for 1:40 h. #notgood
I’m a hard leftist and atheist, this movie strikes the most perfect balance for atheists/theists I feel. Even Glen Beck, I hate the guy to death. He’s so corny, even in his scene but I think it works perfectly. Glenn is helping the demons spread their message in the end. The only reason the main psychologist’s gun didn’t work in the end was because he accepts the deal, god doesn’t intervene from a Christian prospective at least. Acting was 10/10 from everyone, I even like abortion shit (besides the phone call where he calls himself a friend) I actually sympathize with the demon. Pointing out that even gods and demons are ruled by revenge and spite. Which I akin to our leaders. I’m a big boondock saints fan so I was predisposed to like the demons actor. But still giving it an unbiased 9/10. The ending could have fleshed out more of what the devil was offering. And the last scene was a little corny. But we’ll worth the watch all the same:)
The movie was good up until the final 20 mins, last 10 mins were just cringe. Thought flannery did an amazing job in his role. So mad about the last 20 mins of film, they tanked the film with just that part. I get this film was made by catholics or christians and has that worldview which is fine and honestly 80% of the movie felt like something CS Lewis could have written and then they just went stupid. The Film should have ended with the prison scene (watching for spoilers) and then had a gap in time where he is outside and the last 30 seconds of film happens. Yes i would suggest watching the movie its much more interesting and creative than anything hollywood can do, but damn they had it and just dropped the ball.
What is your favorite possession movie?
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Exorcist 3. And Mister Frost that is if he was possessed. Watch the movie if you have. Jeff Goldblum is at his best.
Exorcist 1 and 3, The Conjuring, Ghostbusters
Fallen with Denzel Washington. Excellent movie unlike this pile of crap.
@@JewMMA when I watch that movie I think of the first power with lou diamond Phillips. I think it was 1989. If you have not watched it, check it out.
The twitchy face makes sense, because Edward is still in there when the demon is in control, so the twitching could represent Edward's will clashing with the Demon's, causing the strange facial expressions. It's just the demon is 99% in control.
Even when he was Edward his face was twitching just as much
@@colewilliams9432 True. It might be how he just is or maybe he's constantly in shock and is twitching all the time out of fear and trauma. When not possessed he has even more fear of being taken over again. When possessed he's stuggling inside because he has no control. I don't know. Just a film theory.
I'm atheist and they did, unfortunately what all christians do when casting an atheist.. make it seem like a stereotypical costume. lol. But other than that and many ethically questionable decisions made by the person whos supposed to be a Doctor of Psychiatry, it was a great film. The dude playing Nefarious needs awards and recognition for that performance.
So it's fair that any religious person in any horror movie seems to be insane and irrational? If atheists have problems how "christian" films depicts atheists, you have no idea how religious people feel when they are given such negative light in almost every horror movie imaginable. But I digress, I agree that the dude playing Nefarious is such a hell of an actor!
You're just mad you got called out on your backwards beliefs. Guaranteed you're the same kind of person who will try and save an evil killer from execution yet have no problem hearing about an innocent baby being aborted. You think men can be women, you think the same gender being attracted to one another is normal. Your precious atheism has murdered over 100 million people over the last 100 years and it's not going to slow down. Stop pretending you're more intelligent because you clearly aren't.
@@silenthero2795 I agree, you dont really think about it bc the only religious folks that are highlighted in films are typically through a sci-fi lense. I'm okay with that. most people dont wear there religion or lack therof as a costume to be front and center. "Im christian.. cool... - i'm not... cool.. - wanna grab lunch?"
@@silenthero2795 Christians are presented along a scale like everything else in movies. Same with mental health conditions, and other identities. For example most people have elements of various disorders just few are far along the scale enough to meet the clinical definition of the disorder. Same goes for Christianity and every other religion. Part of the issue is that preachers across all religions can sometimes feed a persecution complex, which can be exaggerated so their congregation can identify strongly as a victim, and that can be destructive. victimhood, and grievance can have similar effects to drug addiction. We see a rise in 'Christian terrorism' is in the US for years now. I see these people as giving Christianity a bad name, and they should be blamed for the negative stereotypes depicted in 'horror movies,' not others really. Christianity is a wonderful faith, just when it comes to being used for violence or terrorizing others then it becomes more of an issue.
@@silenthero2795Majority of you are irrational and insane. When you think Jesus is delivering you from 1 billion demons though a deliverance video.
Respect your view on it.. At first when i saw horror i thought it was really going to be scary like with ghost and so forth.. But i still enjoyed it, it's one of those movies i would watch again.
Thank you for watching!
If the actor who played the prisoner wasn’t exponentially better than the psychiatrist’s actor, this would’ve been a much much better movie.
That and the film needed a better script that took out all the obvious shit conservative Christians believe
I thought it was good. I’ve seen it twice. I didn’t agree with everything theologically but at its core message I’d say I agreed with just about everything. I also agree that Glen Beck should not have made a cameo. Maybe an actor portraying a conservative talk show host. Or someone who isn’t conservative or liberal. Just someone in the middle. And the lady at the dumpster at the very end. That was extremely predictable. But I get the point. Nefarious isn’t going anywhere and will haunt James for the rest of his life. But other than that. It kept my attention and I really enjoyed it. It was nice seeing a different spin on that type of movie from a different perspective.
I wouldn't even classify it as horror. But i would't say that it was a bad movie either. I really enjoy when lower budget movies come out and provide an alternative to the predictable, boring and easily forgotten sludge that pours out of the mainstream constantly. Also, I rented it on VUDU, where i noticed this huge gap between the critics score of 35 percent and the audience score which when i watched it was at 96. Not that much of a surprise given the nature of the film. All in all, I liked it. But I certainly would not call this a horror movie.
I think it's horror. Just not jumpscare horror. More on the side of the horror you feel with hopelessness.
As opposed to all the anti-Christian propaganda in 99% of other movies. I'll check this one out.
Was just about to post this
Like what? Gays existing?
@@1048Kane Definitely not their existence, but promoting their lifestyle - sure, that goes against thousands of years of our society's values and represents unrepentant sin. There are many anti-Christian messages and agendas that have been pushed and normalized in cinemas.
@@sechrima9998 Why should anyone give a shit about your values that you inherited from desert goat herders.
@willham1427 And? Gay people existing(unlike magic man in the sky) is propaganda? Careful, your bigotry is showing. I can tell you want them all dead.
I’m noticing a theme with the negative reviews about this film. Outside of the Glenn Beck cameo which I thought was a poor choice due to his polarizing nature, it seems like people are offended that their stance on social/moral issues are being challenged. When a movie makes you think or question or creates dialogue, isn’t it accomplishing something?
That is a very accurate assessment .
This movie isn’t challenging them at all, because it was just reiterating the same weak arguments I’ve heard about them from evangelicals for a long time. I’m annoyed that the marketing of the movie was deceptive and it was a total bait and switch on the content. The director has the audacity to gloat about this and keeping your money if you’re not happy. I got my rental refund, but I’m not getting that time back. Being angry that the director was intentionally deceptive with the advertising is valid grounds for criticism. If you have to lie to your audience to go watch your movie, it speak volumes about your confidence in your beliefs and value system (or lack thereof). This was an objectively *bad* movie. Plot holes, script writing, and overall acting were bad. Good movies don't gross a measly $5.4M worldwide at the box office and good directors don't need to lie to the consumer to dupe them in watching their crappy movie. I'm noticing a theme with the positive reviews about this film. They're all from religious people who are the target audience and were going to praise this movie regardless how bad it is, because they have an agenda.
Seems like you are offended that people are challenging your Christian propaganda.
It makes me think, for sure. Of how bad it was. By invoking any metric of your choosing. Shallow, boring, bad acting, no moral or philosophical complexity. Uninteresting characters. A good idea. Terrible execution.
@@JewMMA all we hear from tbhe mainstream is the weak argument in favour of coomer baby killing lol
Just watched this movie. Enjoyed your review, thought you made some very good points. My own view, as an agnostic rather than a "devout atheist" as James was, is that this was a very good horror film. Because it scared me. Tapped into questions, fears, beliefs, doubts that I have long held and will probably always hold. I think that's why it was so effective, at least for me. Most of us know the basic story of the battle between angels and demons, and what a demon would have to say about the things we do and decisions we make as human beings. I've seen some refer to it as "proselytizing", which I suppose it is, but that didn't bother me in this case because of course a demon would say those things. As a character. You don't have to believe any of it's real or true to enjoy the story and the performance. And I thought all the performances were amazing. Especially Sean Patrick Flannery. I didn't find the stuttering to be distracting or over the top. My take was that it was Edward's tic, so it came out strongest when Edward was present, because he was scared shitless. I am not a fan of the directors' other work, but here, I just thought they made a damn good movie, pun kinda sorta intended.
I respect your views and opinions on the movie. As someone who also is more agnostic these days, the movie did tap into some of the old fears about death and the afterlife that I have. Again, thank you for watching and for the kind words.
This movie was brilliant and brings to light alot of real evil in the world, nobody needs the warrior until the enemy is at the gate
Depends on your definition of evil
I liked the movie a lot especially considering the pathetic movies out now.
@@GavinLovesHorrorso just like James, you believe good and evil are subjective. Be very careful with that belief.
@@GavinLovesHorror You're response is accurate. If murder (euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment, suicide) can be defined as evil then darbyogill5771 is right. If not then you're right.
@@GavinLovesHorror You clearly didn't watch the movie, just stood there looking at the scenes and images moving.
I enjoyed the acting of the demon. The acting and writing of the hyper-skeptical atheist doctor is what kills it for me, because he just doesn't behave like a _real person_ would in this situation. In the hands of a different studio, it surely would have been a much more powerful story with greater presentation than this mid daylight horror we got.
I agree that the abortion scene was a little over the top, but I also found it incredibly unsettling; how the demon gives power to the situation by peeling away the layers of softened language that makes it seem more palatable than out-and-out murdering an unborn child (which it is), and how all the creatures of Hell openly celebrate every time humanity unwittingly commits another "sacrifice" upon their defiled altar.
It's hard to not think about it for a while when it's laid bare like that, and I found it astonishingly creepy. Even if you think the demon was hamming it up, that can be seen as intentional in-character: the demon is actively mocking the analyst by giving so much emotion and expression where the analyst would typically give none, showing him that they're two ends of a reactionary spectrum-- and that's likely far closer to demonhood than the analyst would appreciate being.
“Out-and-out murdering an unborn child (which it is)” 😂
Let’s have a little thought experiment. You’re in a room that is on fire and in one corner is a 5 year old child, screaming and crying, begging you to save him. In the other corner is a table with 100 Petri dishes filled with fertilized embryos. You only have the capacity to rescue the child or the 100 embryos. Not both. Which one do you pick?
@JewMMA How about we just live in the real world where such a bizarrely-specific instance has virtually no reason to occur, whatsoever, and we just avoid the desanctification of life all around? In what way is that disagreeable?
I find it odd that you believe yourself to be the one in the right, yet you find something laughable about the situation. I always found bullying, mockery, and verbal derision to be the actions of a decisively bad person.
Human life is human life, yet for some reason that is not readily-apparent to a total stranger like myself, you seem to have a vested interested in disconnecting other people's perception of humanity.
It's very peculiar behavior, if you ask me. If you're not outright evil, you're extremely confused and spiteful.
@@CorundumDevil If we want to talk about the real world then let’s talk about how evangelicals mischaracterize every single abortion as some third trimester elective procedure which is done out of convenience and not necessity. But you refusing to answer my question and instead going into some deflective diatribe tells me everything I need to know. You know it too.
@@CorundumDevil human life is actual life of a person. And yea the situation JewMMA is a hypothetical but one grounded in reality as it can happen.
@@hellsonly8908 every time I pose this question to pro-birthers they never want to answer it. When they seldomly do, they short-circuit. They arrogantly suggest people don’t like this 90 minute movie, because it “challenges their views.” I pose one question which should take 5 seconds to answer and they floor it to the off-ramp 😂
I felt absolutely tricked by the marketing of this movie. The preview looked interesting enough for me to watch it, but halfway through the movie it became obvious that this was a propaganda film. The dialogue ran down a checklist of christian hot button topics. At a certain point the plot was totally eclipsed by the preachy monologues and terrible acting.
Like you mentioned for an R rated horror movie, there was a suspicious absence of blood, violence, or swearing. Having right wing extremist Glenn Beck at the end was the cherry on top that confirmed it. I never would have paid money to watch this movie if I knew he was involved, so I think this was absolutely deceptive.
Boom, all of this
Lmfao "Right-wing extremist Glenn Beck"
You people realty have no idea.
@@Smellslikegelfling I saw the trailer, too! I had no idea it was a Christian movie until I saw a review on it. I had forgotten the movie had come out.
I can't stand when movies, Christian or not, aren't honest with their trailers, especially with this one.
@@GavinLovesHorror Not really. Real horror doesn't come from viscera, it comes from "little things" like the demon canceling the last meal of a condemned guy that was trapped in his body due to possession.
I watched it as it was recommended by a colleague. Went in blind and alos thought the first 20-30 minutes was very decent and I was intrigued. But then, yeah, I quickly realized what this movie was when they started talking about certain things and a quick google search confimred by suspition. Then the final scene with the interview just felt like a church service pastor telling you to accept Jesus if you are a "logical" person! lol
I think it qualifies as horror. Even if you aren’t Christian, the idea of a supernatural entity that is SO EVIL that it would take control of your body to deny you a bacon cheeseburger as your last meal on death row is horrifying. Even that last, simple pleasure was denied. I take bacon cheeseburgers for granted. I can get them at Wendy’s.
I agree that was the scary part and just plain evil. Give the man a bacon cheeseburger!
I didn't realize it was Christian propaganda until I had already paid for it. If they hadn't made the psychologist such a shit character (he's practically straight out of a chick tract), I might have finished the film. I prematurely terminated... ahem... turned it off after the abortion scene.
[edit: forgot to conclude my statement about the psychologist]
Chick tract is a great way to describe his character lol
Considering the people behind this mess are no strangers to making atheists look like idiots in their movies like God's Not Dead or Unplanned, it makes perfect sense
baby killer
@@erichfiedler1481 Oh I had no idea it was the same people. That would make a lot of sense considering how dumb they made James look.
@@Fortnite_is_Trash abortion isn't murder
Can I just take a moment to say that I love how civil the comments are from those who like and don’t like the film. We all have our opinions and that’s what makes the movie viewing experience such a wonderful thing. I personally liked it and it was intriguing to me.
You should see the comments for Cody Leach's review of the film, there is nothing civil about them, while there are a few that agree with him, the rest are attacking him because he doesn't like the movie
Flawed on many fronts, even foundational. Why would a demon wish an atheist to know the existence of god and demons ? Isn’t the atheist already doomed through rejecting this knowledge?
I could rip into this film but ill leave it short and sweet
Nefarious manages to take an ultimately fantastic book and premise, and entirely waste the time the audience spends watching to use the film as a platform to basically scold viewers who don’t live by certain principles of Christianity. One of the worst things you can do as a director is take a personal moment many of the viewers have probably experienced “like abortion.” and essentially shame them publicly.
I won't even mention the number of flaws this film includes just on the basis of the film’s more realistic tone and setting.
Overall this film feels like you are sitting in a Ben Shapiro podcast for an hour and a half, about 95% of the film takes place in front of two actors simply talking in a one set up scenario. The premise of a non-believer slowly falling under the grips of a man whom we are unable to distinguish from being crazy or genuinely demonic... Such a cool concept, completely ruined by the amount of telling this film does while essentially showing the audience absolutely nothing of value that this film builds up.
If all talk and no action was a film, this would get the award.
Nefarious gets a 3/10 for me simply because the acting from the main actors was good for the material and direction they were given.
Nailed it!
Great points, this movie isn’t even about theology or Christianity. It’s about politics, particularly: contemporary American right wing 2020s Christian identity politics.
@@premiumbitter Evangelicalism and politics have merged. That is what the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition with figures like Jerry Falwell Sr., Paul Weyrich, Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, and Paige Patterson were set on doing since the late 1970s. Personally, I view the Christian faith as being hijacked by those that see it as a means to wealth and power. Some in the evangelical movement have been talking about how there is a major split in the church right now between those that want to go back to what they see as Christian Principles and others that want to continue in the current direction.
I'll give the movie this credit and that it at least tried to go into horror. With that said, yeah, I'm skipping this, and this is coming from a Christian. Btw, even though I'm supposed to hate the atheist, his gf was going to have an abortion just because she thought he'd stay with her. Why should he be in a relationship he isn’t happy with just to keep the baby alive? You can’t force someone to stay in a relationship they aren’t happy with. If she decides to have the abortion, it's out of his hands. What did the movie want the guy to do in order to keep the baby, kidnap her and force her to give birth?!
This is actually a very good point!
@GavinLovesHorror thanks!
Yes. The answer is yes to both questions. That’s exactly what they want.
@@Monkeyshine911 well, then that's impractical. And dangerous.
But then again, I'm trying to make sense of a bad movie made by a group of Christians who made another bad Christian movie, God's Not Dead.
@@jacindaellison3363 Exactly
Considering this movie is a Glenn Beck/blaze tv style movie (didn't know that before going into it) this is what they'd consider rated R
I just don't want downright religious propaganda disguised as a movie, it has nothing to do with Christianity: I remember seeing a Spiritist drama that was so religiously overt and over the top it could pass as a parody. The Exorcist, for example, portrays Father Karras struggling with his faith whilst being simultaneously a priest and a man of science; it also works with themes of redemption and sacrifice - but we never feel preached to. Christian-oriented films can be allegorical and beautiful (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, for example), or downright disturbing (Mother! comes to mind). A filmmaker trying to convert the audience will just end up alienating them.
Putting propaganda aside this was a crap movie . It had nothing to do with what we were promised, and I could see the guy who played Nefarious acting, the first scene with the suicide basically kills any and all tension as to the is he or isn't he by having unseen forces fuck with the diploma on the wall. And then the movie proceeded to t take the kills promised in the blurb and informed us that both of them had already take place OFF SCREEN. I don't watch a movie to watch two guys talk about the plot while not showing it.
While I don't think it is too preachy (like it was said in the movie, we've been desensitized to sin over time) I do agree that some scenes like the timing of the abortion were over the top. I grew up Catholic and stopped practicing for a few years and just recently came back to Christ, and this movie does a good job of displaying the basis for that return. If anything, I think this movie will get people to think about how the devil (or evil or whatever secular people want to call it) plays a role in our everyday lives. Compared to most other possession movies, while this was still in a murderer on death row, the possession is a lot more realistic and isn't just your typical levitations and speaking fluent in ancient languages. It shows how demons can act within us all without necessarily subjugating its victim and taking full control. It portrays the demon as extremely intellectual. I also thought it had its flaws like all movies but overall is an extremely thought-provoking movie from a perspective that has been drowned out in mainstream media and culture.
Omg the I grew up catholic story
Welcome back!
It’s not too preachy to you, because you are the audience it’s targeting and already have theological alignment with the directors. To everyone else outside that box it is SUPER PREACHY. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but the demon says Edward’s soul is going to hell despite the demon controlling his body and committing the acts. Does that sound like a morally good message of loving god to you? Besides the hard eye roll I did when he mischaracterized reproductive rights and euthanasia as “murder,” I found that particular statement morally repugnant.
@@JewMMA yea Edward going to hell makes no sense. He has no control, he is not choosing to do anything. The whole thing is ridiculous because the movie is stating how people go hell for making sinful choices. Edward never made any choice let alone sinful. It's retarded.
demons aren't so smart if they managed to get themselves to rebel against their almighty creator and then get kicked out of heaven
I really like how this is a Christian movie because demons and demonic entities is basically Christian religion or Satanism whichever you fall under. And following scripture and or grimoires is following the source material. The more Spider-Man takes from its source material the better it is. After watching a movie like this thinking how there's all these movies about demons and they're not Christian movies is kind of weird to me now. Also having a movie that just monologues and is conversation driven is a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed it a lot.
Just like real life or Christian or not there is no middle term
I liked the film until it becomes preachy. If Jesus died for our sins, why was a fetus sent to hell? Why are people still born with original sin if Jesus died to wipe the slate clean? That's just one of many reasons why I don't take any form of religion seriously. You don't need a church, synagogue, priest, pastor or rabbi just talk directly to God if you believe in such a being.
Original sin means fallen nature, meaning by that that as you grow up, you still face the option to do good or evil, idk baut you but in my experience we all have a problem with evil. We struggle to do the right thing but when you follow your heart, your instincs, you end up making the selfish call, the wrong call, jesus in the cross offers grace and forgivness himself payinng your punishment, that's why we say sinner under grace, that adressing your excellent point, as for the last statement, i agree you dont need anyone to contact good, you can directly, jesus came and claimed to be God, he either its nuts or telling the truth, either he resurrected, or he did not. So i leave you with this we all choose to wipe God off, at the end he will grant or request, honoring our free will, but that means we ought to be responsible for our un transgresions, leaving us separated from God, or you can turn to Jesus, and ask for forgivness in repentance thus making him the one to carry the responsability of your sins. But then againg dont believe it from me, do your research, find out if this man Jesus was really who he said it was. Is he rellayable, or is he not?, if he is not reject him, that's what paul says in Corinthians as a matter of fact, but if the evidence points to Jesús being rellayable put you faith in him , sir you're right in not fully trusting religión, that's not the issue, the issue is trust in crhist, cause the overhealmimg evidence is that he is rellyable.
God Bless! ✌️
No fetus was sent to hell. Literally that is nowhere in the movie. Also I've never met a Christian who believed that and also that's not in the Bible.
Jesus died for our sins but we still have to accept him in order to be saved. And the only way to forgive original sin is to be baptized, which is why Catholics baptize babies. Because then, if the baby dies, they are now forgiven of original sin and being that babies don’t really have the mental capacity to sin, they are saved until they are old enough to sin on their own, which will happen because we are all sinners.
I don't see it as Christian. I'm sure Christians do.
I see it in vane of "The Screwtape Letters". It describes weaknesses we all have, temptations we all have, how we can be manipulated, and how we can let ourselves be lead away from what we really would like to do with our lives.
I was actually hoping when the prisoner was asked for his last words, we would see great conflict in his face, a struggle between the 2 entities, and then Edward would manage to utter, "Forgive me Jesus!" Then the demon would just start screaming, really pissed off, left empty handed.
I love exorcism/ possession movies , this one is my favorite. It’s not pure horror as we are used to, and of course you will have theology in a possession film , this is more of a thriller, is more psychological and it gives another perspective on possession. Loved it, the acting was great in my opinion, 5/5👍
Every since Nefarious claimed that James would’ve commited three murders when he left that day, in my head immediately sounded: “it’s going to be something related to euthanasia, abortion and death row penalty, isn’t it?”
Plus, the Christian undertone is very obvious, and it’s basically spoonfed to the audience. Also, the shots are very dull, essentially being a constant back and forth sermon between the skeptical doctor (who lost professionalism in various scenes), and the demon (which in my opinion was made to work as some sort of reverse psychology with the audience (?)).
Prejudice aside, the movie is a very interesting take on a TID patient and its psychiatrist. It could’ve exploited more the psychological thriller to pursue a “is it actually a demonic possession or is this person just mentally ill?”, but chose to go down the Christian propaganda way.
At least the ending isn’t vanilla happy, which is kinda surprising and kudos for a Christian movie to have the guts to do that!
It’s a good movie if you’re into that kind of content, but to me it was a predictable attempt of Christian horror (I’m still surprised they went down that path!! It’s good that christian directors are exploring different genres for their movies!!)
Thank you for this write up! And I agree, it's actually a very well put together movie with some good performances and a compelling story. It just goes off the rails towards the middle and never fully gets back on track. Thank you for watching!
You're just trying to seem above the movie by saying you predicted it. Interesting. Why not just say "I'm not willing to stop sinning.. so I'm going to kick and scream.." murdering children is satanic.. its literally happened in every civilization. and look they're doing it in the USA because satan tricked you into thinking sex was recreational. once you thought it was recreational.. then you didnt want to take any responsibility from it, right? So killing the unborn child in your belly.. hey if it means you keep keep having sex... thats how bad peoples addictions are.. that they'll bad mouth movies, telling the obvious truth.. and then claim they predicted all of it, to make themselves feel better. Funnily everything in this movie is pretty much true. The greatest trick the devil has ever pulled and will ever pull, is getting you pseudo-intellectuals to think hes symbolic or a made up character. Even better.. is if you think hes a red guy who lives underground(the Bible has never described satan in any such manner) so why does the media seem to want to make him a big joke? so that nobody believes satan is real. Oh look I found 2 idiots who already buy that nonsense.. these people are not stupid.. they've literally changed the world so incrementally that you dont even know anything is wrong, until its wrong. Look around. And you don't think our world is being ran by satan? Children being mutilated, homosexuality being pushed into everyones faces to the point people have to go down to the schools to fight with people to keep sex out of childrens textbooks. But yeah.. this is fiction.. keep telling yourself that, before you know it, you'll be with satan yourselves. and I love you.. I wouldnt bother writing this if I didnt care what happens to you. and I can assure you.. these demons have done the same thing to every civilization we've had.. first popularize sex, then abortion will follow.. then homosexuality.. then trans.. and then finally pedophilia being accepted. and before you say "Oh that'll never happen!" It already has happened.. go look at ancient Rome.. go look at Nero.. he married a little kid and named him "sperm".. so yeah these people are highly satanic.. they always have been.. and the reason you dont know, is because they control your knowledge and what you learn. public schooling/college.. then TV.. "PROGRAMMING" you people just dont get it, but thats okay.. I will never stop fighting.. because I know you would never let me roll around in my own filth like a pig... you would tell me. right?
this is such a lie, u say that now that u watched the movie, u are a whole fool
I think you nailed it! My day brought it up so watched it. In end it just got to preachy and political. It was good for just a one room talking flick but jumped in to things it didn't need to. Once the mom and abortion thing happened, I new were to was going. Then Glen Beck was cherry on cake. Game over man! I asked my dad why he told me about this propaganda and he said he never saw it but good reviews. I would give 3 out of 5 and watch it with my dad for second watch.
All films today are preachy and political just in another way and are more cloaked.
Glenn Beck showing up. . . Now there is the real horror!
I always checked under the bed and in the closet for Glenn Beck.
😂
Truly the scariest part of the entire movie
As someone who is a Christian but critical of most Christian films I actually really liked this one. Found it genuinely compelling and pretty horrifying in a thematic way.
As far as your actual review your opinions are your own of course, but your description of the abortion scene is very misleading. He just asks to speak with her and they said "Not possible, she's in recovery" ... Would they give that much info? Maybe? Maybe not? But it was relatively plausible and you made a caricature out of that scene. I found that to be very misleading.
Long time horror film fan of all genres. I actually really liked this film and I'm not religious. I don't think they were overly Christian in this film, in fact they never mention Jesus, except for referring to the Carpenter. I knew there would be a lot of anti Christian backlash against this movie just because any modern movie hint of Christianity seems to fill Hollywood with horror and loathing, kind of like the reaction of the demon to the relics of the church. Funny, the real life reaction to the film is sort of a life imitates art type thing. At any rate I enjoyed this thought provoking movie quite a bit.
Bro accepted Nefarious’ offer.
crazy movie, could've definitely done without the euthanasia & abortion are murder nonsense, but I like how he slowly starts believing it's actually a demon & against his better judgment clears him mentally for execution in the end.
I’m not going to come with a bunch of hate. The internet is far too toxic already to add to it. This is just my opinion. But I do think people have a point where the public either liked or loved this movie. 6.3 on IMDB, 4.7 on Google, 4.7 on Amazon, but it was panned by critics. The reason for that IMO is a sort of rebellion by the public over the fact that 99% of movies have a woke agenda, and this is the one in a million that is the reverse but all of a sudden propaganda is a problem. Is it propaganda? Yes. But I don’t think it’s any more propaganda than Woke Hellraiser, or let’s say I Spit on Your Grave 1-3 that portray LITERALLY all men as predators. It’s like having chicken every night for 364 days straight. Of course a steak is going to be super tasty on New Year’s Eve. By the way, I’m a pro choice atheist. I just think this was an extremely well made psychological horror film. And it DOES get you to think that secularism has an extreme as well, now growing up in a culture where social media lead by TikTok twerking is eating away at our minds like a parasite
This is an incredibly well thought out take and I respect it. I didn't hate the movie by any means, just the over the top abortion stuff was too much for me. But I appreciate your opinion and thank you for watching
Thanks! I think religion is an important metaphor despite none of it being real. A secularist could still make the argument that Judeo Christian values in moderation are good for society, not because it’s anti LGBT or women’s rights, because it encourages restraint in the face of temptation. I said tiktok and social media was eating away at our minds like a cancer. The movie switches mind for spirit. But I don’t think they’re totally wrong
this movie could've been so much better if they didn't try so hard to make it about religion & the atheist being wrong. I so wish they would've left the audience wondering if it was just a dissociative identity & if the guy sent a genuinely mentally ill man to be executed.
Exactly! The premise is actually really good, but the "execution" is done all wrong.
maybe your just the wrong audience? like me saying "horror sucks because the plot or idea is good but I don't like the jump scares, so its not bad"@@GavinLovesHorror
It’s a demon, those are inherently part of religion to a large population of people in the west where this was released lol.
And I agree the ending would have been powerful if they left it ambiguous like that. The book interview scene would have been more fun if it was after the credits imo. Felt tacked on tbh but we do see the demon won in the end, I kinda appreciated that it wasn’t a happy ending, it stuck with me way more for that
Every movie portraying demonic possession is then Christian propaganda? I think people have a problem remembering that, but it's the conversation that the movie has that people are attacking. I liked the movie and never expected it to change any view points. The conversation hit home for the average abortionist, and it seems those people cannot handle hearing their actions being looked at like that. I suppose they would be more comfortable with turning heads and a priest. I've heard people say it's preachy which I find super funny. So making demons associate themselves with abortion or assisted suicide is definitely not contemplatable, but possessing people for murder or sacrificial ceremonies, or anything else is more realistic? It's clear why some have argued the preachy context of this movie, and I'm sure there are a few "clinically" given definitions on the kind "self defense" an individual would utilize when put face to face with their personal choices in life. People would say or do almost anything to justify what they've done and that's what gives this movie gravity at least for me, because that is what the demon is saying and it's quite horrific. Imagine being a person who has been through an abortion, and the demon says, "Imagine how the carpenter weeps when we rip an unborn child apart inside its' own mother's womb, because that what we do, you and us, we do that together." Yeah, I'd say that's really horrifying.
You summed it up well, Gavin. And where did you get your t-shirt? (I'm sure I'm not first to ask ^_^) ETA: Oh, as to my opinion! Yeah see there is actual harm though, in that one-sidedness. You have to remember that laws are made with religious intent which do indeed violate the sanctity of our bodies, lives and relationships. And there are millions of kids with parents indoctrinating and brow-beating them as we speak. Judging them and making them deeply ashamed of their bodies. This idea of "sin" and do as I say or BURN. It's truly hideous, very negative and not innocent in any way. Certainly someone can focus on bright and beautiful and generous aspects of any religion. There were some Christian hippies back in the day doing humble good deeds and living close to the land etc. but that's not what most tend toward. There's a larger context of power structures like patriarchy and capitalism/imperialism that have stronger influence over culture, and organized religion has long provided a key ideological lynchpin to these dominant structures.
@@noelliebtsie thank you for watching! And I got my shirt here (it looks out of stock at the moment though) www.discountcemetery.com/collections/mom-and-pop-video/products/mom-pops-halloween-86-raglan?variant=36527521300636
@@GavinLovesHorror Cheers for the tip, hope they get it back in!
@@GavinLovesHorror Did you have to battle a load of religious defenders in the comments? I'm scared to wade in at all. I haven't even looked. Lol. I mean, the movie doesn't hold together, it trips over its own agenda. As you said, they could have actually made an interesting back and forth, could have gotten spooky and supernatural etc. But instead, the demon ends up sounding just like a right-wing christian foamer at the mouth. Which, I suppose is a fair comparison? Ha.
@@noelliebtsie Yes, for the past year and a half
@@GavinLovesHorror Egads! You're way braver than me.
Didn't Fallen do the posessed death row inmate thing, too?
Reading the IMDB for it now and it seems to be the same premise as this movie. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@GavinLovesHorror Love the podcast, too.
@@thejonner2036 thank you so much! We have a lot of fun stuff coming up!
FALLEN was very good IMO.
Ya, but infinitely better.
This shit was garbage on a level all it's own.
One of the those movies I’d fall asleep to again.
You too, it actually happened to me the second time I watched this on Tubi, haven't been this bored to sleep with a film since Atlas Shrugged, though it does mean that there is a positive to this film, it's a good cure for insomnia
I remember seeing this thumbnail when this came out and it completely turned me off from watching this movie. I ended up watching it last night and I loved it. I’m not religious at all. Possibly one of my favorite movies I’ve ever seen
I still don't understand why it got an R rating
3:36
that’s actually funny because I agree with that for other pureflix garbage like gods not dead 2 but this one was actually really dynamic and you really got to connect with the atheist he wasn’t obviously one of the bad people. Like spaghetti westerns how Sergeo Leone (excuse me on the spelling) portrayed the west as a morally gray time in American life which is a really bold route to take it and the actors were incredible! And the funny thing is, is that the same person who made that crappy gods not dead 2 movie made this one which is a real big step up for him.
The USA truly is a special place, take any thing or idea from anywhere in the world and you'll find the most sensational, exaggerated version of it right there in the US of A.
I can't really say how good or how bad it is, what should be celebrated and what condemned, but it is unique, and also beautiful, and sometimes horrifying - Depending on your temperament I guess.
Anyway, I was gonna write something else, however this seemed a tad nicer..
About the movie though.. There should have been some twist at the end, reformed atheist? Alright fine, demons possess homeless people? Sure.
How about the prison pastor was actually the big boss, Lucifer himself, and he only hints at it towards the end, Nefarious wasn't scared of a priest, It was Edward, and he was scared of his master?
I don't know..
And excuse my theology but Satan revolted AFTER the creation of man, and the world for that matter..? How can he be cast down to earth ''Long before what you call the universe existed''?
That revolt was BECAUSE of the creation of man and Gods favour towards us, but in this film the ''pre-fallen'' angels are resentful at the moment of their creation? What?
If you're going to rearrange biblical canon maybe set it up somehow.
And for the love of GOD, watch a youtube video with people speaking Latin, ANY type of Latin.
Because saying ''legio mihi nomen est quia multi sumus'' with a North American accent was the most insane thing I heard Edward/Nefarious say, and he said abortions are akin to throwing babies into pits of fire (How late can you get abortions over there?)
Valeas quam optime (may you be as well as possible)
You basically just nailed what it is like to live in the USA. We currently have a controversy because craft store Michael's placed Ouija board themed merchandise in their Halloween section and now everyone is boycotting because they are un-Christian.
Propaganda? Nefarious thanks you for your view.
And I thank you for yours.
Please give a rational explanation as to how its not.
I dont know, I kind of liked the fact that the marketing didnt say it was a solidly Christian movie, because, as a pagan, I dont know if I would have seen it in that case. But, besides the interview with Glenn Beck I really liked the Nefarious character, Sean made him seem very threatening. I am a conservative, so I have some overlap with the opinions, but I think that for a film that was basically two guys sitting in a room I was pretty captivated. I love horror movies, and if that weird Glen Beck scene was removed I would still consider this mostly horror. To be honest, one of the bigger problems I had, and you mentioned this with the rating, was that Nefarious was hyped up as this immense power and we only see a fractional ammount. I think that getting a bigger finale would have made the end more impactful.
I agree with the assessment that Nefarious didn't seem very powerful aside from smashing that one light.
I agree that the ending could have been better.
As for power, I think it's shown not through anything like the cliche "look at this thing move by itself" but in his power of manipulation that he uses through the film. He gets him to do just about everything he wants simply by talking
It's rated R because it's psychologically terrifying.
My flags went up as soon as he started talking about abortion is murder.
So yeah, i agree that this is Christian propaganda
Thank you!
If abortion isn’t murder then what is it?
@@Daily_Outdoor_Sports_Channelhealth care, that's what it should be, that and should be only be a woman's choice, instead of being banned by a corrupt and stupid governor of a state with shit conditions
I thought it was good. But it should have been rated pg-13. You don't have to be a Christian to agree with the morality or the philosophy of the movie. I thought that aspect of it was pretty straightforward, black and white and obvious
So, it was definitely a propaganda movie, unfortunately. However, the acting was solid, and some of the messages and emotional provocations were also great. The ending, imo, was pretty dumb. It was the middle of the movie that really gripped me, where the plot wasn't ruined yet and the actors were in full swing. I agree that there is an inherent sense of morality in everyone (whatever that may be), and I think this movie plucked at the roots of that, even if only a little bit. That little bit still made out for a great watch.
All movies are propaganda. This has been the case since ancient Greece. Look up the most famous plays Lysistrata, and Assemblywoman. Now days most people would say those are Nazi plays. It's ironic that people can think otherwise. Even a movie like Rocky has a certain philosophical bend. There is no avoiding it. If you make a movie about a women just getting over depression and losing weight all the fat depressed people will call it propaganda. You just disagree with the message.
Although this is a "Christian movie" It doesnt give off cringe vibes. Its very well made.
I will say, it is very well made. It gets a bit too over the top for me at times.
Listening to this guy you see what he's all about
It’s just one of those films where you can 100% say the villain is pure evil, it just has a Christian spin to it
Glenn Beck, conspiracy nonsense AND an anti-abortion lecture? 😃 Wow, this movie has it all!
It truly does
🤣
This was a great film that shows how you can make a good story that's essentially just a conversation.
I agree that the premise of the movie was misleading. I saw Horror fim, Rated R, good user reviews on RT and had a certain expectation. I thought the movie was okay, but definitely a little preachy. I don't think I would recommend it. 6/10
Loved it, need more movies like that. When the "professional" critics hate it you know you have a winner on your hands!
LOL that's not true at all but glad you enjoyed it
@GavinLovesHorror exactly! The professional critics hate both remakes to Black Christmas, 2019's Charlie's Angel's, that awful Left Behind remake, Exodus: God's and Kings, all the 50 Shades of Gray movies, all of the Twilight movies, ect.
There is healthy criticism in both the critics AND the audience. No one should be demeaned because of status. In both parties, there are people too easy to please and too hard to please. Do you want to make a great movie? LISTEN TO HEALTHY CRITICISM. Not everyone's gonna like it, and that's fine. But that doesn't mean we throw healthy criticism out the window.
This was a Rated R version of Sunday School 😅...just GARBAGE
NEFARIOUS was a deep movie the back and forth between the two main stars I was on my edge of the seat waiting for the next reply Yeah is a good movie
Good review! Saw it just now too with no prior context. Didn’t realize how preachy it was gonna get, but I did overall like it. I think it had so much potential but they kinda just squandered it by going hard on ten religious angle. They could’ve conveyed the same message if it was less clear what the demon was. Like if it was some kind of higher dimensional force that takes hold of people for selfish gain and that we would know them as demons because that’s the way people historically made sense of the absurd. Something like that would’ve been interesting and would appeal to a greater audience
I’m a Christian but the whole abortion scene was crazy🤣. I was like, wtf did he say?
Huh? What did you disagree with as a Christian?
You’re not really a Christian!
@@Dizdik Yes, you definitely get to decide who is and isn't a Christian. The most Christian thing you can do is judge others on how Christian they are!
How is it crazy? Do you think God is happy when a mother and father abort their child? Or do you think demons rejoice? Ask yourself that fr
@@michaelbourgeois2713 Didn't God put them in that position to begin with though? And already knows the outcome? Does free-will even exist?
I realized that I watched this within the last 3 months and can't recall a single detail. SPF, bless his heart, has studied at the Nic Cage of Acting by Chomping the Scenery. This isn't a horror movie. Christian movies would get better traction if they were better. There's no reason they can't be more subtly done and marketed without subterfuge. The Seventh Sign (1988) starring Demi Moore is a good example, or the Narnia movies.
I am a recovering Christian, however, I love deep, theological and philosophical conversations. I also love movies that are two people talking in a room. However, this movie was much more about contemporary conservative American evangelical Christian politics, than it was about the timelessness of faith and religion. The A-word thing is perplexing, Yahweh is very much NOT “pro-life”, especially for children. He flooded the world and everything in it, including all those wicked toddlers, and children, except for one family, he “eliminated” first born children in Egypt, and his book even gives us a prescription for how to induce a miscarriage (Numbers 5:11-31). Very weird that this would be a talking point of a demon.
Firstly, stating you are “recovering” says it all. Secondly, your name bitter is very accurate. I understand anger with/ questioning god for all the evil that happens in this world (the movie actually explains most of man-generated evil, outside of seemingly meaningless tragedy in the form of accidents, natural disasters, etc.)
@@brians2811 The Yahweh kills more people than satan, according to his Bible. Satan only kills Job’s family, and only after Yahweh approved the killings. Yahweh constantly sins and breaks his own commandments. Yahweh was made in man’s image, not the other way around. Premium bitter is a style of British ale, for what it’s worth.
@@brians2811 and again, the movies is not about Christianity, it’s about America right wing political Christianity. The book is based on was written by a man that makes his living ranting about Biden and worshipping Trump. Mormon Glenn Beck at the end only proves my point even more. This movie is hateful and gross.
@@premiumbitter 1. What is sin? 2. Which commandments does God break?
@@josiah7672 how about "thou shalt not kill" and then flooding the entire earth? Or murdering babies because they were unlucky enough to be born under a tyrannical leader? How about bearing false witness by telling Adam and Eve they would "surely die" when they ate from the tree, when they did not. How about commanding the Israelites to commit genocide and rape, multiple times against other civilizations? How about stating the the punishment for rape is that the rapist has to marry the woman he rapes?
For you to title it, Christian propaganda explains that the demon was right in the film
@@barryludd7563 😈🤘🤘🤘🤘
@@barryludd7563 For you to title your video Call of Duty_20240617132345 explains why you have 8 subscribers
Fantastic movie, some people give it poor reviews because it doesn’t align with their social beliefs. The most controversial being Abortion that is murder. Or that there is Christian references.
What makes this movie different from other faith-based Christian films is that this was marketed differently and to a different audience. The writer of the book, Steve Deace stated that he wanted the movie to convert those who weren't fundamentalist Christians and so they deliberately marketed the film as something else to mislead that audience into watching it, and I probably wouldn't have watched it otherwise. Typically faith-based films don't really circulate outside their demographic of fundamentalist Christians and this one lays on the preaching really thick. Looking beyond the preaching though, I found the movie rather subpar. I thought the acting from the murderer was intense, but over-the top. I felt it misrepresented dissociative disorder with how he could switch back and forth between identities, and the exaggerated tremors. Remember that the first Psychologist, who mysteriously committed suicide diagnosed him with dissociative disorder so this is the mental health condition the filmmakers were attempting to convey. I thought the Psychologist's acting was weak as he was quite flat and his expressions and reactions didn't match the material. He did not act like a Psychologist for much of the time and so as someone who works in mental health and cares a lot about that I find it to be furthering the stigma against the profession and mental health conditions. With preachy movies even with moral and political views that I agree with I like it to be done in a natural and thoughtful way, and present opposing sides too. I didn't find either here, and beyond the faith messaging I didn't find anything else of substance here as the movie was built around the messaging so much. I also wouldn't label this as horror. It's more of a thriller Just my opinion though, and it's cool if the message resonates with others. :)
Yes, absolutely yes. I hadn't even considered how poorly it portrays mental health professionals. Thank you so much for write-up and for watching!
The psychiatrist would've been more interesting if he wasn't so milquetoast.
He's every stereotype
This was a great movie just on another take of horror talking with demon position lol 😅 dumb dumb
Straight facts here. The movie was terrible. Full of plot holes, generally terrible acting, and deceptively marketed. I can't buy my time back, but I'm requesting a refund from Prime because the description of the movie didn't match the content. That's generally called "fraud." This inspired me to donate multiples of the rental cost to Planned Parenthood. Thanks Nefarious for contributing to reproductive rights!
I love all of this
@@GavinLovesHorror I can’t remember the critic but he summed up the dialogue perfectly: “This is how a dumb person thinks smart people sound.”
Question. You mentioned plot holes, can you name a few? Because I didn't notice any.
@@ryanalving3785 well gee willikers, I don't know... like "Hey, I'm going to schedule a patient for a psychiatric appointment on the exact same day my girlfriend is getting an abortion." Or when the demon is telling the psychiatrist that Edward is damned to hell when it's the *demon* controlling his body and killing people? Edward has a book all about the psychiatrist including some of his childhood original polaroid pictures? When the fuck was that supposed to have happened? Edward was raiding his family home or apartment while on death row? lol. Detective can bring his gun into the execution chamber but the psychiatrist can't even bring his cell phone?
@@JewMMA Let me debunk you.
"Hey, I'm going to schedule a patient for a psychiatric appointment on the exact same day my girlfriend is getting an abortion."
That’s not a plot hole. You might argue that it's a narrative convenience, but it’s objectively not a plot hole. If you paid attention, James wasn’t fond of Melanie anymore-their relationship was already deteriorating. So why would he cancel this psychiatric appointment for something he didn’t even consider important? Especially since Nefarious mentioned that James already had someone else in mind to replace her.
"Or when the demon is telling the psychiatrist that Edward is damned to hell when it’s the demon controlling his body and killing people?"
There’s a clear dialogue where Edward says, "At least I didn’t kill my mother."meaning that he probably killed people or at least he made a series of decisions that led him to get possessed, it's all explained in the movie.
"Edward has a book all about the psychiatrist, including some of his childhood original Polaroid pictures?"
Ah yes, now for the sake of your argument, you’re saying it was Edward who did this, even though the entire movie shows he has barely any control over his own body while in prison.
"When was that supposed to have happened? Edward was raiding his family home or apartment while on death row?"
Why does that matter when the movie already showed that the demon was the one taking action? It's heavily implied that the demon compiled the book, not Edward. At this point, you’re just complaining for the sake of it. Also, the movie addresses the fact that demons possess a level of comprehension and focus that seems impossible to humans.
"Detective can bring his gun into the execution chamber but the psychiatrist can’t even bring his cell phone?"
There's certainly a law about it like not filming the thing or taking pictures and I'm pretty sure you're nitpicking, because that's pretty much visible in your other criticisms, you're just hating for the sake of hating.
“Yah I respect all beliefs. Except maybe for the Kirk Cameron fella. Fug that guy on the real.”
Lol Kirk Cameron definitely sucks
This movie had so many unnecessarily political moments and was blatant propaganda lol
@@felip3442 Exactly!
Gavin - "Don't use your beliefs to persicute or hurt others"
Also Gavin - abortions are a silly thing to try and stop. I'm gonna make fun of the Christian movie for wanting to stop abortions.
I'm not stopping you from trying to stop abortions. Buy the way the movie tried to stop it was ridiculous and over the top to the point of parody. Thanks for watching!
Just FYI, “thou salt not lie” is not a commandment. You’re probably thinking of “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”, which is not exactly the same thing.
8. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.
COMMANDS: truthfulness; respect for the good name of others; the observance of secrecy when required.
FORBIDS: lying; injury to the good name of others; slander; talebearing; rash judgment; contemptuous speech and the violation of secrecy.
www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ten-commandments-10336
@@GavinLovesHorror Yes...as I said. The commandment is the first line. The explanation is commentary from that site. Just sayin'...
@@PreviewRe-View But you agree that the commandment does involve not lying?
@@GavinLovesHorror It says what it says. But no, it’s a misread to say it’s a blanket commandment to never say or do anything that isn’t entirely truthful. But for the sake of argument, even if I were to grant you that point, I would say that a film marketing itself one way only to shoehorn in “messaging” along with its entertainment is…well…welcome to our world. It’s quite the critique, and not one that anyone but the most hard-lined right wingers levy at the vast, vast majority of *other* films out there that push *their* messaging. It may be messaging that aligns more closely with your opinions than does this film, but it’s no less grating / dishonest. Now, if we’re to apply this criticism, then that’s fine. But I’d argue that we should do so equally. I find the singular criticism of a film with *this particular* messaging oblivious at best and hypocritical at worst.
I would love to hear your explanation for how they are not the same thing. Is lying OK according to the Bible? In what circumstances?
I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5. Yea, there were some things that were pretty much unbelievable, and could have been different, or left out, but overall, it was great entertainment, which is especially surprising, considering a large portion of the movie took place with two guys sitting on both sides of a table in a prison interrogation room. The fact that so much of it was accurate to Christian beliefs helped. For anything that wasn't, again, it was just a movie. Not based on a true story.
It's a refreshing flip from the usual
If this movie wasted a good setup any faster, it'd be a season of AHS.
That's my man right there!
Gavin, I think I love you. :)
Awww I love you too!
I see what you did there 😂😂😂
Not a bad movie. Awful, miserably bland and a buzzkill of an ending though. Like really way to kill that vibe they spent an hour and a half building.
Constantine has god and angels is it a controversial as this movie?
Mostly because Constantine didn't shove any BS messages in your face
I think a lot of the bad reviews out there are from simpletons expecting jumpscares and green vomit.
(Late to the party) Well, I really liked it. the abortion stuff was fine. They took it to the extreme, and thats good. Its solid world/rules building. It may have been a convenience, but you needed it to make the prophecy stuff work, and it was a way to do it.
My problem is the limp wristed attempt at a hopeful ending. Not the way to go, and this is where being a christian film bites it in the ass.
(Spoilers)
He should have either accepted the deal or (and much better) it should have been a bloodbath followed by finding himeslf in the same shoes as Edward.
What we got turned the whole movie into youth group movie night instead of in most peoples hidden gem list.
Still, best christian movie ive ever seen.
That's debatable when The Prince of Egypt exists, that's the best Christian movie ever made, mainly because it focuses more on what makes a movie work by not shoving the message down your throat during the runtime and sticks to what makes it work, story and character
"Yes Gavin yes, that's exactly what they want you to think"
I respect everyone’s beliefs even if I don’t agree with it, but calling it Christian propaganda sounds about exaggerated in my opinion but believe what you want, there’s a lot of movies that you probably like and I’ll consider it propaganda and you’ll probably disagree with me and like I said believe what you want and finally I don’t feel like I’m welcome in this channel/community because of what I believe and if you want me to leave then I’ll do it
I don't want you to leave at all! I appreciate you having your beliefs and respect them, as long as they aren't hurting anyone else. Thank you for being open and honest. I appreciate you.
@@GavinLovesHorror thank you and your welcome
😮💨
@@mudbuds1161 is there something you wanna say?
@@novacrimson7770 yep. You're a clown.
Jesus is King 🙏
God bless eveyone, have a wonderful day 😊
This was a great film and i hope people will see it. I understand not everyone will like every movie. We're all different. Wouldn't call it propaganda, though.
It's blatant propaganda tho. Probably wouldn't seem like it for those who are already brainwashed by it
Dude whats wrong with everybody this movie is just like devils advocate jesus watch it and enjoyed it wow people could be so annoying this movie is badass and is not a christian mobie is just a movie thats good simple dont take it so serious propoganda only if u take urself so serious the movie is bad ass
The director admitted it was a christain movie did you pay attention to the video?
Have to disagree with you regarding Sean Patrick Flanery’s acting. He was fantastic. The Academy should take note.
Not very religious and I enjoyed it. Made ya think and had some valid points
This was terrible
This movie was pretty good. Dark in a way that some of this could be true... that's if you believe in demons.
Excellent acting is tops...its a phycological thriller dude
Ok
I'm a christian and I do not enjoy christian propaganda. I watched this... 'movie'. Your review is spot on.
Was there a part in the movie that stood out the most regarding propaganda?
@@rpratka7337the whole "3 murders" bit and the "wokeness" brought about by the "hero" that got countered by the demon's BS
@@rpratka7337 To be honest everything. The dialogues were very preachy. The rule 'show, don't tell' wasn't applied there at all. It was visible, that it's not a plot that somebody constructed with passion and love for creating movies, it was written only to preach. Which in my opinion is very ungodly, because as a christian I believe, that whatever you do you should do with love. I am a storyteller myself and I like to analyse stories. In this one especially when they revealed what the 3 murders were I rolled my eyes, because it was exactly what I expected. They have to push this abortion thing EVERYTHERE. Writing was just very cheap.
I found it horrifying that Nefarious had so much control over Edward's body, that he put *just* enough effort at putting Edward at the helm at the worst moments.
The movie was fantastic it showed the truth of this world and the reality we live in it showed how much of a hold to the devil has on humanity without us even knowing my favorite line from the movie has to be
“I didn’t know there was a war”
“That’s why you losing!”
I recommend this movie to everyone in this planet it has so much truth in it and the actors were out of this world
The truth that God exists and demons exist? Guess that mean all gods from all different cultures are real as well, and the one you call "the one true God" is just as much of an a-hole as Zeus or Odin
@@erichfiedler1481 you believe what you want but when judgement day comes you’ll have a different view
@@arsenic7039 well anyone who attacks POC or LGBTQ+ people are definitely going to Hell by your beliefs
Such a cool concept and setup which could explore so many interesting philosopical avenues. Yet it is a fiesta of platitudes and shallow writing. Pretty much a Christian cheerleading pamphlet sprinkled with really, really bad acting. Sean’s artistic interpretation of a “lord high prince” is pretty much having endless meth tics and sobbing for 1:40 h. #notgood
I absolutely love this break-down! Thank you for watching
@@GavinLovesHorrorthank you for your review!
I sided more with the demons and Lucifer in this one. But then again, my name is literally Lucifer xD
I’m a hard leftist and atheist, this movie strikes the most perfect balance for atheists/theists I feel. Even Glen Beck, I hate the guy to death. He’s so corny, even in his scene but I think it works perfectly. Glenn is helping the demons spread their message in the end. The only reason the main psychologist’s gun didn’t work in the end was because he accepts the deal, god doesn’t intervene from a Christian prospective at least. Acting was 10/10 from everyone, I even like abortion shit (besides the phone call where he calls himself a friend) I actually sympathize with the demon. Pointing out that even gods and demons are ruled by revenge and spite. Which I akin to our leaders.
I’m a big boondock saints fan so I was predisposed to like the demons actor. But still giving it an unbiased 9/10. The ending could have fleshed out more of what the devil was offering. And the last scene was a little corny. But we’ll worth the watch all the same:)
The movie was good up until the final 20 mins, last 10 mins were just cringe. Thought flannery did an amazing job in his role. So mad about the last 20 mins of film, they tanked the film with just that part. I get this film was made by catholics or christians and has that worldview which is fine and honestly 80% of the movie felt like something CS Lewis could have written and then they just went stupid. The Film should have ended with the prison scene (watching for spoilers) and then had a gap in time where he is outside and the last 30 seconds of film happens.
Yes i would suggest watching the movie its much more interesting and creative than anything hollywood can do, but damn they had it and just dropped the ball.