Boys' Bible Study – Details, episodes & analysis

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In Bible verse Matthew 18:20, Jesus says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.” To which we ask: two or what? G-g-g-ghosts? This Christian horror film featuring a predominantly black cast gets a touch of celebrity from notable costars Luenell and Faizon Love. It’s the only feature film directed by Roy Belfrey, and although it’s competently shot with some genuinely scary special effects, it suffers from narrative weakness by not coherently connecting the film’s haunting to its overtly Christian message. The film centers around a recent high school graduate named Michelle who has perfect grades and a hardworking drive that gets her a full ride scholarship to a pre-med program at a college in Minneapolis, MN. Although her tight-knit Christian family has trepidations about letting their baby stray so far from the nest, they relent because the family happens to own property in the city. Unfortunately, this property has a problem: a ghost problem. It appears to be haunted by the spirits of Russian women who were killed on the property 100 years or so ago after refusing to cell their house to greedy businessmen. The haunting of the Wilshire house escalates the tensions explored in the film between the natural world and the spiritual world; Michelle is always trying to convince her superstitious family that there is a rational explanation for everything, but even Michelle can’t explain the terrifying things happening to her. Finally, the haunting drives Michelle back with her loving family, although it’s unclear to us what Michelle learned from the experience, and how anything the film showed us has to do with the Bible verse Matthew 18:20, which was supposed to be the focal point. We at Boys’ Bible Study are still in search for a Christian horror film that threads the needle of its messaging instead of choosing style over substance.

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Christian filmmaking auteur Kenya Cagle consistently stuns us with his ambitious, surreal features that stretch the possibilities of narrative. We at Boys’ Bible Study are addicted to reviewing his films; this is our fifth selection of Cagle’s, including FATHER DAD, MY KING, THIRTEEN MONTHS, and arguably his magnum opus THE BOY WHO SAW CHRIST. All of these films will surprise you with riveting plot twists and cryptic dialogue. SIN APPLE was perfectly suited to our month spotlighting Christian horror because it portrayed a malicious “obeah” witch named Madam Latasha and her evil love curses that work so well, their victims will do anything to break them. Protagonist Richard is obsessed with a woman named Lola so much that he asks Latasha to cast an unbreakable obsession spell. He then follows Latasha’s instructions by taking a selfie with Lola after the curse is in effect, disposing of the phone afterwards. But Richard messes up and his auntie Rhonda unknowingly retrieves the enchanted smartphone. Hell literally breaks loose as Richard gets devil eyes and goes on a murder spree around both Las Vegas and New York City. Sin City… and the Big Apple? Sin… apple… it’s all coming together.

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One of the most bizarre and singular pieces of Christian media we’ve ever watched is this dreamlike documentary from the minds of father/daughter writer/director team Derek and Vanessa Frank, who assembled some of the biggest names in Christian film history to shake the Protestant Reformation down to the “demonic conspiracy” at its very core:  the anti-semitic teachings of Martin Luther and John Calvin. In LET THE LION ROAR, Kevin Sorbo, Stephen Baldwin, Eric Roberts, John Schneider, and young up-and-comer Ben Davies star as 16th-century European historical figures who don funny hats and monologue their virulently anti-Semitic views to the camera for extended scenes, some lasting for several minutes at a time. Writer Derek Frank believes that the major weakness  that plagues Protestantism is its insufficient respect for the Jewish faith and an unwillingness for the Christian church to become fully “grafted into Israel.” Mr. Frank has written five more “theses,” to add to Martin Luther’s famous 95 Theses of 1517, that propose full deference to Jews from Protestants that he hopes will heal Christianity and save it from vague, unitarian sluggishness that he reads as weakness. This is an ambitious and extremely boring goal to try to sell to an audience, but the Franks make it fun with uncanny corporate stock footage and a series of costume changes that make Derek Frank look like the Architect from The Matrix, if that character were a hardcore Zionist. In general, Derek Frank’s extreme passion for his case of “finishing” the Protestant Reformation is what sells this documentary — he gazes directly at the audience severely like a cat that has just cornered a mouse and wants to talk to it about Israel for an hour before dealing the death blow that will wipe it out of existence forever. The Lion of Judah is a lion after all, and Derek Frank teaches us that to hammer your point home, you must approach your argument with the ferocity of an apex predator.

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A key to understanding Christian horror films is to remember that the demonic possessions and devilish hauntings the films depict could actually happen to you and your family. SPIRITS AMONG US is a delightful low-budget flick from one-time director Ray Jenkins which shows that even demons you yourself didn’t summon can still impact your life. In the film, a Christian family moves into a home that they didn’t realize was formerly the site of satanic rituals. Although Mark, Janice and their daughter Julie are devout Christians with a perfect, loving family dynamic, the residual effects of these terrible ceremonies are ruining their lives. Poltergeist activity starts to develop, centering on a creepy ventriloquist dummy that Mark owns for some reason. In the end, it’s only consulting with a pastor that cleanses the family of their previous tenants’ sins. Fortunately for us, the pastor character gives us a step by step guide for how to rid our own homes of evil. Remember, these demons are just like those you might battle in real life as a Christian, so pay attention! And thank you for spending your Halloween season with us instead of out there “trick or treating” with fallen souls in this dark, secular world.

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It all started when Ashley Hays Wright accidentally brought an occult book into her home that was somehow mixed in a box of Christian books she bought on Craigslist. In doing so, she opened a “doorway” for demonic influence in her life that went as far as to possess her eldest daughter. Fortunately, the Hays Wright family lived to tell the tale, now immortalized in their feature film THE EXORCISM IN AMARILLO, in which the family portrays themselves as they reenact this dark period in their lives. With a massive body of work spanning at least 10 features and just as many short films, TV specials, and documentaries, the Hays Wrights have proven themselves to be the hardest working family in Christian showbiz. They are also a unique voice in Christian film because they are unafraid to tackle supernatural and horror elements in their work, making them perfect to spotlight for our October rundown of Christian thrillers. But in all of their prolific filmography, THE EXORCISM IN AMARILLO stands out as one of their creepiest statements. Why? Because it proves that Christian horror can hit close to home when you let the wrong art into your life.

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We apply our Protestant work ethic to our jobs as semi-Christian film critics whose task this week is to investigate the religious themes of John Carpenter’s brilliant CIGARETTE BURNS, an hour-long piece Carpenter created for the MASTERS OF HORROR anthology TV series in the mid-2000s. In the film, struggling independent movie theater owner Kirby (Norman Reedus) is tasked by an eccentric film collector to track down LA FIN ABSOLUE DU MONDE. This film-within-a-film is the most rare, dark and transgressive piece of media ever made — it depicts the torture and dismemberment of a real angel. To desecrate something so holy is the ultimate sin, and to capture such a sin on film is to create a moving image so powerful that even simply pursuing a copy of the film causes Kirby to suffer terrifying hallucinations. Anyone who actually watches LA FIN rarely survives, but if Kirby can retrieve the only copy of the film, he’ll make enough money to pay off all of his earthly debts. John Carpenter builds this story about a Faustian bargain to an absolutely terrifying payoff. CIGARETTE BURNS is both a love letter to transgressive cinema and an inventive remix of Christian cosmology, so obviously it’s one of our pet favorite films and something we’ve been looking forward to covering during our month-long look at Christian horror. We discuss spiritual trauma, our personal experiences being deflowered by shock cinema, and “the coming attractions of the soul”.

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This October, we once again strive to guide you down the righteous path by exposing you to wholesome media that still satisfies the natural human fascination with the macabre. First up? Edward Furlong (Terminator 2, Detroit Rock City, etc.) stars in the film adaptation of THE VISITATION, a book by preeminent Christian supernatural fiction author Frank Peretti. Any appreciator of Christian pop culture should know about Peretti, whose thrillers have lined the shelves of many a church library from the 80s onward. It’s obvious that Peretti sees his work as cinematic, since he takes a great interest in film adaptations of his books. He’s co-produced, co-written, and even acted in films such as HANGMAN’S CURSE (2004), another Peretti-sourced story which we’ve previously covered on our show. THE VISITATION takes advantage of Edward Furlong’s charmingly creepy drawl by casting him as a mysterious small town stranger named Brandon who stuns the community by performing Christlike signs and miracles. But as Dark Brandon’s disturbing motivations unfold, it becomes clear that his power comes not from God — but from a force far, far more sinister.

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Are we addicted to our freaking telephones? This cautionary thriller from director Lauren Havel and her co-writer Jennifer Havel dares to finally ask this question in the year of our Lord 2021. Fortunately for us, SCREENED IN’s tired critique of contemporary life is dressed up with absolutely insane sequences and creative decisions that kept us on the edge of our seats. When a teenage girl named Peyton starts to notice that she and her friends’ lives are far too focused on what’s happening on screens, she challenges them to a week-long “digital detox”, where they’ll attempt to go “off the grid” with zero electronics to interfere with their concentration. Somehow, despite their good intentions, this ignites a week of their lives with constant drama. Relationships are ruined, family secrets are uncovered, and a shocking plot twist involving a toddler’s medical emergency threatens to change the course of Peyton’s life forever. Is the demonic spirit of the smartphone punishing its teen captors for trying to free themselves from its grasp? In the end, only their own tenacity — and the power of prayer — will allow them to log off. 

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Genuinely accomplished actor/stuntman Mike Gassaway stars in this suburban thriller about a retired lawyer who is elected to be the monitor (the “pro bono watchman”, if you will) for the child visitations of an ex-convict dad seemingly trying to right his wrongs and gain partial custody of his 6-year-old daughter. Gassaway’s character Hank is the model of the “perfect man” or “Bob Revere” trope that we’ve identified as a common thread between the Christian/conservative media that we cover. He can do no wrong, and despite his intense demeanor (demonstrated by the way he pulls a gun on neighbors who are playing their rock music too loud), it’s clear that the film intends to portray him as the doting husband of his terminally ill, cancer-stricken wife, and an all-around good citizen who is deeply concerned with law and order. THE PRO BONO WATCHMAN does not deal with explicitly Christian themes beyond depicting multiple characters praying, and the film is not overtly political, but its insistence that a suburban white senior citizen is the last thread holding aloft the morality of the United States fits right in with our usual canon. But the real draw of THE PRO BONO WATCHMAN is something we won’t mention in this summary — it contains one of the most shocking mid-movie twists we’ve experienced since 2017’s LET THERE BE LIGHT (dir. Kevin Sorbo). We spoil the twist on this episode, but we’re warning you now to give you the option of hearing it from us or streaming the film for free on Tubi first to uncover a jaw-dropping plot detail that turns the drama of THE PRO BONO WATCHMAN up to 100%.

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Ray Comfort is a prolific and singular auteur. His guerrilla proselytizing and DIY filmmaking techniques have turned him into a youtube phenomenon with tens of millions of views on hundreds of videos. We spotlight our fourth (!) Ray Comfort film to appear on this podcast, GENIUS — a documentary where Ray uses the life and career of John Lennon to create a conversation starter that allows Ray to lure unsuspecting members of the public into spiritually transformative discussions. We’re obsessed as usual with Ray’s bizarre, fast-paced style of speaking, and his obtuse hypotheticals. Questions about The Beatles suddenly devolve into — what would you do if you found a secret vault filled with money, and knew you could steal $2 million without being caught? Would you murder a woman’s husband if she told you he was “a rat”? Ray uses these queries as springboards to introduce his cattle-like public to concepts such as universal morality and false confessions.   He films the whole thing for us — every frantic filibuster, or every debate that turns into Ray and some mentally ill person screaming at each other about evolution, is captured for us in crisp digital. Join us Bible Boys as we are once again astonished by Ray’s beautiful mind and frightening perseverance. Ray knows all the right questions to ask, but he left out an important one — how are we going to get the Beatles off the roof?

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