So if you disobey your parents you're going to hell? Before anyone gets high and mighty I want to say I grew up in a heavily catholic household and went to Sunday school all the way until I was confirmed in high school. So religion is a huge part of my life.
BUT this movie is a complete cluster of mixed and idiotic messages. As a filmmaker myself I can appreciate the idea of this film being a passion project and it definitely comes across that way, but the quality of filmmaking lacks completely. As if that put no effort into understanding basic fundamentals of filmmaking. But I can look past technical stuff for low budget films. Which leads to...
The message is supposed to be about the lifestyle of teenagers and their sins being idolized in early late 90s teenaged society. But that's completely undermined by the shadows in the basement. The only reason they're there is because she's actively going against her parents wishes. She has yet to do anything reckless in the "party" sense. She's already condemned before she acts simply for disobeying her parents. Which then would also mean the movies "angel" in Natalie likely went to hell as well when she died because she partook in the same actions.
Also Sarah comes out of the film unscathed. The absolute embodiment of sin in the film gets to live like her life is normal while the two characters who actually tried to change are either dead or crippled (also in the car she was shot in the head, in the hospital she was bandaged in the neck, then at home in a wheelchair presumably paralyzed. None of that makes sense).
The one bright spot of the film is it's portrayal of Hell. That scene is straight out of Hellraiser or something (movies that churches would consider sadistic and yet are reflections of their own films, guess it's only ok when you're doing it *cough*allotherarabianreligionslikeIslamandJudaism*cough*). That scene is one of the few thought provoking scenes that actually make you think about faith. All the expositional lines of love and salvation in faith is just forced down the audiences throat. And when the context for a film is to make someone on the fence about your religion want to believe (this film was intended for that purpose and/or getting rebellious teens to understand their faith) why would you show only the worst case scenario of your beliefs? You don't tell someone that they should ride a bull because they will almost definitely break so many bones in their body they can't move. You'd want to tell them about the history and the benefits of what riding bulls can bring. That's more enticing.
These Christian scare films are problematic in so many senses for so many films. The preaching aspect is always a factor in turning the film off (also why people don't like Jehovah's Witnesses) because people watch movies to enjoy the world outside their own. If that world convinces them to see their own in a different light that's fine. But it should happen if their own free will rather than a film saying there's no other choice. And to tie it back to religion, isn't free will the reason we are who we are? The reason for our ability to like and dislike these films. Because God gave us free will (according to Catholicism and Christianity)
BUT this movie is a complete cluster of mixed and idiotic messages. As a filmmaker myself I can appreciate the idea of this film being a passion project and it definitely comes across that way, but the quality of filmmaking lacks completely. As if that put no effort into understanding basic fundamentals of filmmaking. But I can look past technical stuff for low budget films. Which leads to...
The message is supposed to be about the lifestyle of teenagers and their sins being idolized in early late 90s teenaged society. But that's completely undermined by the shadows in the basement. The only reason they're there is because she's actively going against her parents wishes. She has yet to do anything reckless in the "party" sense. She's already condemned before she acts simply for disobeying her parents. Which then would also mean the movies "angel" in Natalie likely went to hell as well when she died because she partook in the same actions.
Also Sarah comes out of the film unscathed. The absolute embodiment of sin in the film gets to live like her life is normal while the two characters who actually tried to change are either dead or crippled (also in the car she was shot in the head, in the hospital she was bandaged in the neck, then at home in a wheelchair presumably paralyzed. None of that makes sense).
The one bright spot of the film is it's portrayal of Hell. That scene is straight out of Hellraiser or something (movies that churches would consider sadistic and yet are reflections of their own films, guess it's only ok when you're doing it *cough*allotherarabianreligionslikeIslamandJudaism*cough*). That scene is one of the few thought provoking scenes that actually make you think about faith. All the expositional lines of love and salvation in faith is just forced down the audiences throat. And when the context for a film is to make someone on the fence about your religion want to believe (this film was intended for that purpose and/or getting rebellious teens to understand their faith) why would you show only the worst case scenario of your beliefs? You don't tell someone that they should ride a bull because they will almost definitely break so many bones in their body they can't move. You'd want to tell them about the history and the benefits of what riding bulls can bring. That's more enticing.
These Christian scare films are problematic in so many senses for so many films. The preaching aspect is always a factor in turning the film off (also why people don't like Jehovah's Witnesses) because people watch movies to enjoy the world outside their own. If that world convinces them to see their own in a different light that's fine. But it should happen if their own free will rather than a film saying there's no other choice. And to tie it back to religion, isn't free will the reason we are who we are? The reason for our ability to like and dislike these films. Because God gave us free will (according to Catholicism and Christianity)
