This film was created by evangelical dispensationalist Christians during a time when it seemed plausible that the Rapture could occur, especially considering the popularity of Hal Lindsey’s guide to the pending apocalypse “The Late Great Planet Earth” at the time. Basically, if you read and believed Lindsey’s theories that the events of Revelations would come to pass no later than 1988, this movie probably seemed better to you than it did to me when I watched it in 2006. Seeing as the world didn’t end in 1988 (unless I’m unaware of something here) this film is now little more than a cult-classic used for evangelical recruiting.
Patty wakes up to find that her husband (a recent convert) is missing, as are many other born-again Christians. The United Nations takes over the world quite easily and begins stalking people they think may convert to Christianity. There are flashbacks to before the Rapture, where we see how some people in Patty’s life tried to convince her she needs to convert. She’s happy with being a “good person” and is frustrated as everyone around her puts more and more pressure on her to convert, which she never does.
There is a disturbing sequence in which a young girl comes home to an empty house and freaks out thinking she has missed the Rapture, essentially falling into shock, but finds out her mom only had to run to the store. She then, out of fear, decides she needs to let Jesus into her heart for real so she can be safe. This scene crossed a line for me. Messing with kids just isn't cool.
The film, despite being unrealistic and poorly acted, does present an early example of independent Christian film-making. Sure, it has plenty of rough edges, but it is interesting to see, if for nothing more than to compare it with evangelical cinema now.
RATING: 1.75 out of 5
1 comment:
Anonymous
said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This film was created by evangelical dispensationalist Christians during a time when it seemed plausible that the Rapture could occur, especially considering the popularity of Hal Lindsey’s guide to the pending apocalypse “The Late Great Planet Earth” at the time. Basically, if you read and believed Lindsey’s theories that the events of Revelations would come to pass no later than 1988, this movie probably seemed better to you than it did to me when I watched it in 2006. Seeing as the world didn’t end in 1988 (unless I’m unaware of something here) this film is now little more than a cult-classic used for evangelical recruiting.
1 comment:
Post a Comment