-By Warner Todd Huston
On July 29 I was asked to be part of a pre-screening for the motion picture The Remaining (opening September 5 nationwide), a film based on Christian teachings that is bound to affect many people of faith in surprising ways. But this is also a film that can be enjoyed as just a film–a horror/monster movie, yet–and does not have to be taken as a preachy “church movie.” But beware, along with the horror movie fright moments, this movie will make you think about your life, too.
The film by Sony Pictures/Affirm Films–the same outfit that made the recent Heaven Is For Real–follows a cadre of five friends and a young teen they meet along the way, all of whom didn’t make the cut during the Biblical rapture that occurs within the first half hour of the film. For those unfamiliar, the rapture is that time when the Bible says God will take into Heaven the souls of all believing humans leaving on earth only those who do not believe that there is a god, those with no faith.
The events laid out in the Bible for those left on earth is nothing short of horrendous and this film does not spare the audience these terrible things. Animals go crazy, fire and ice fall from the skies, fallen angels skulk about torturing people… well, it’s all there in your Bible, after all. This film didn’t create that part of its story line, it just relates it and in scary, gory detail.
But, let’s review this as merely a movie, leaving out all the Bible business. If one just takes the movie as it is, one finds that the whole thing works admirably as a logical, suspenseful, scary, fright film. The characters are compelling, the acting is Hollywood quality–unlike many Christian films where the acting is amateurish. You develop an interest in the characters and their emotions are felt and believable.
So, as a movie the story works, the production values are quality, and the special effects are top notch.
The simple fact of the matter is, if you just want a great Summer fright film, this one will work for you, Biblical allusions or not. After all, if you are going to suspend disbelief for the The Blair Witch Project, or Paranormal Activity, or if you are going to accept a story with a man in an iron suit and a Norse God defeating aliens in New York City, then you should have no problem at all going with the theme of this film. Go see it and have fun.
But, as I said above, it just might make you take stock of your life, too. It is, after all, a Christian themed movie and despite the fright-night tricks, smoky atmosphere, and death and destruction, this movie does have a message: reassess your life and take faith in God.
You see, everyone you meet in this film is a fallen soul, a non-believer, you’ll even meet a Christian Pastor (John Pyper-Ferguson, X-Men: The Last Stand) who confesses that he never truly believed. One by one they begin to realize how wrong they were in their non-belief. They reassess their lives and come to a reckoning… and it isn’t pretty.
I won’t get into how the character react, what they do, or how they end up and I won’t spoil the ending (as no reviewer should) but the whole affair just might leave you a bit stunned when the lights come up.
The crowd I was with contained some church officials and along with a smattering of applause at the end, several of them were very taken by this film. One even began to cry the message touched her so deeply.
So, there is enough of a Christian message for religious folks to be affected even as the story can just be taken as a “regular” horror movie.
Out of four stars I give this three and a half. Whether you are a Christian or not, this movie is worth giving a try.
For more information, visit the Facebook page for The Remaining.
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, Wizbang.com, among many, many others. Huston has also appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN, and many local TV shows as well as numerous talk radio shows throughout the country.
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