Ever wonder what you would get if you took the movies, Cloverfield, Blair Witch Project and combined them with the Left Behind series of movies? No need to wonder, just watch The Remaining.
The Remaining from a film makers perspective has much to enjoy. From a Faith Based movie reviewer perspective, it just depends on whether you are watching a movie for entertainment value or to be religiously inspired.
In most movies of its genre within the Faith Based movie spectrum, you have several things occur in the typical end times rapture movies. 1. You have the actual event of the rapture when Jesus the Messiah picks up all his followers, causing them to vanish from earth. 2. You have chain reaction of chaos and devastation as fear grips the world, uncertain of where the taken have gone, and encountering the impact of planes, buses, cars, power plants, etc. Imploding due to those operating them going missing. 3. You have an unfolding of the tribulation period of events which included supernatural and globally impacting natural occurring events leading ultimately to the introduction of the Antichrist who reestablishes a form of peace and safety.
The Remaining does similar, but with a totally different interpretation of events and pulling out of later bible prophecy chapters in a way no one has told this story before.
If you are looking for a traditional evangelical presentation of the Rapture, this isn't it. The Remaining takes a lot of "artistic license" in the retelling of this story and the normal progression steps I mentioned.
From a genre point of view, this movie reminded me at times of the movie Cloverfield, in which a group of friends living a normal life encounter an unnatural disaster and depend on each other to survive. In Cloverfield, it's a massive mutant alien monster, in The Remaining, its something more sinister.
As a reviewer, I've watched every "rapture" and "end time", movie I've come across, beginning with the 1970's Left Behind series that once upon a time, caused a major stir within many churches across America. Though The Remaining, takes a lot of artistic license with this story, meaning it doesn't exactly follow the path that similar movies based on this idea have taken, it is absolutely the best I've seen from a cinematic perspective.
It's a dark movie, lots of devastation, doom, gloom, I suppose many would go as far to call it a horror movie for many reasons. But what I found most intriguing is the parts of the Rapture and End times parts of the bible that it's writers chose to incorporate, and their interpretation of them.
If you have no concept of the Rapture and end time events in the bible, then this movie is going to leave you very confused when you try to discuss it with what the majority of evangelical pastors have been teaching. You may also want to avoid this movie, if dramatic events, devastation, horrific creatures bother you.
You may enjoy watching this movie on a rainy day or summer night with your girl friend or spouse for the kind of snuggle up hand squeezing moments that a movie like this can induce.
I gave this movie 6 IMDB stars out of a possible 10, because there are aspects of this movie that I really like as a filmmaker, though as a Faith Based movie reviewer I equally disliked some of the artistic interpretations its writers have taken.
Language wise, there is very little offensive language, no nudity, no sexual content. The lighting is exceptional, the story pulls you along pretty easily, the rising conflict and resolution works very well.
From a film makers perspective I think the only thing I didn't like was an abrupt ending. It's difficult to know if its ending was abrupt in case they want to write a sequel, which many of this genre of faith based movies for this subject matter tend to do, or if the writers simply couldn't think of a better way to end it.
I placed this movie on my "Pretty Good Movies" list on IMDB, which is a list of movies I can recommend to eventually watch, but didn't make the best movies list.
The Remaining from a film makers perspective has much to enjoy. From a Faith Based movie reviewer perspective, it just depends on whether you are watching a movie for entertainment value or to be religiously inspired.
In most movies of its genre within the Faith Based movie spectrum, you have several things occur in the typical end times rapture movies. 1. You have the actual event of the rapture when Jesus the Messiah picks up all his followers, causing them to vanish from earth. 2. You have chain reaction of chaos and devastation as fear grips the world, uncertain of where the taken have gone, and encountering the impact of planes, buses, cars, power plants, etc. Imploding due to those operating them going missing. 3. You have an unfolding of the tribulation period of events which included supernatural and globally impacting natural occurring events leading ultimately to the introduction of the Antichrist who reestablishes a form of peace and safety.
The Remaining does similar, but with a totally different interpretation of events and pulling out of later bible prophecy chapters in a way no one has told this story before.
If you are looking for a traditional evangelical presentation of the Rapture, this isn't it. The Remaining takes a lot of "artistic license" in the retelling of this story and the normal progression steps I mentioned.
From a genre point of view, this movie reminded me at times of the movie Cloverfield, in which a group of friends living a normal life encounter an unnatural disaster and depend on each other to survive. In Cloverfield, it's a massive mutant alien monster, in The Remaining, its something more sinister.
As a reviewer, I've watched every "rapture" and "end time", movie I've come across, beginning with the 1970's Left Behind series that once upon a time, caused a major stir within many churches across America. Though The Remaining, takes a lot of artistic license with this story, meaning it doesn't exactly follow the path that similar movies based on this idea have taken, it is absolutely the best I've seen from a cinematic perspective.
It's a dark movie, lots of devastation, doom, gloom, I suppose many would go as far to call it a horror movie for many reasons. But what I found most intriguing is the parts of the Rapture and End times parts of the bible that it's writers chose to incorporate, and their interpretation of them.
If you have no concept of the Rapture and end time events in the bible, then this movie is going to leave you very confused when you try to discuss it with what the majority of evangelical pastors have been teaching. You may also want to avoid this movie, if dramatic events, devastation, horrific creatures bother you.
You may enjoy watching this movie on a rainy day or summer night with your girl friend or spouse for the kind of snuggle up hand squeezing moments that a movie like this can induce.
I gave this movie 6 IMDB stars out of a possible 10, because there are aspects of this movie that I really like as a filmmaker, though as a Faith Based movie reviewer I equally disliked some of the artistic interpretations its writers have taken.
Language wise, there is very little offensive language, no nudity, no sexual content. The lighting is exceptional, the story pulls you along pretty easily, the rising conflict and resolution works very well.
From a film makers perspective I think the only thing I didn't like was an abrupt ending. It's difficult to know if its ending was abrupt in case they want to write a sequel, which many of this genre of faith based movies for this subject matter tend to do, or if the writers simply couldn't think of a better way to end it.
I placed this movie on my "Pretty Good Movies" list on IMDB, which is a list of movies I can recommend to eventually watch, but didn't make the best movies list.