Nefarious
Each time a new “Christian” film comes out, I always ask myself a different question. For me it’s not “Did it poorly represent Christ’s word?” so much as it is “Will anyone who isn’t already part of the faith be convinced by it?”. And the answer is always “No,” given the number of YouTube atheists and secular movie review channels that have roundly mocked films like Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas and the Nic Cage Left Behind remake. These movies are a joke, and people outside the faith find them shallow, condescending, and boring.
But there has been an uptake this year. Jesus Revolution was slightly better received than most movies of its type, thanks in part to a more welcoming and less confrontational approach to apologetics, and generally stronger writing and performances. And The Chosen keeps growing in popularity. If there were ever a time for new films in this genre to come out more mature and fully formed, now would be it. So I went into Nefarious with some curiosity.
Nefarious is a horror drama created in part by American right-wing talk show host Steve Deace, an author and radio host, and partnered with the filmmakers behind pro-life movie Unplanned though as far as I can tell from his involvement he seems to function largely as inspiration for the story rather than active participant in crafting it (he also does not play himself). It functions as something of a prequel to Deace’s previous 2016 book A Nefarious Plot which is kind of partisan homage to The Screwtape Letters where demons use modern politics and secular modernity as means to tempt Americans toward eternal damnation through political divisionism and progressive values.
Your opinion on a film like Nefarious will ultimately depend on your ability to stomach overtly partisan proceedings like these. But even so. Despite being a low-budget horror movie with no name actors, there are actually a handful of scenes that do a particularly good job with this sort of material, leaning into the disturbing and horrifying subtextual implications of the scene and capturing the horrific reality of sin, death, and damnation.
The film version takes place on the cusp of an execution. Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery) is a convicted mass murderer waiting to be executed when the state of Oklahoma requests a last minute psychological evaluation to determine if he’s mentally fit to stand execution. Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) arrives to handle the tedious job but quickly discovers he’s in over his head, as Brady declares his true name is Nefarious, and that he is possessed by a demon.
The secular modern doctor is taken for a ride as the alleged demon begins to unfurl his true identity and means; explaining theology of Hell and his purpose in using Dr. Martin to advance the ends of his master and undo the sacrificial work of “the carpenter,” though esteemed doctor remains unconvinced of demon’s claims eager to provide clear psychological evaluation that explains away situation at least initially.
Sean Patrick Flanery, in particular, is commendable in the dual role of Nefarious and Brady. He represents an evil genius that has taken over every part of the body and mind it occupies as well as allowing the occasional emergence of a wretched soul. It is also an impassioned depiction of how sin conquers and subdues our wills until all that remains underneath is writhing pain while this demon injures him through ordinary means or playfulness.
The film does well to embrace its dark side because it doesn’t shy away from spiritual realities such as damnation and death. In fact, some scenes are really disturbing leaving viewers unsettled that not all souls will be saved, which is very true within Christianity where eternity spent burning alive forever exists. However, this comes at a cost Dr Martin becomes more like an empty vessel for other characters since they don’t challenge him enough.
Still, one wonders what effect these movies have on non-conservative Christians or those who lack faith altogether? A non-Christian review on Horror Obsessive calls Nefarious a “90 minute scare fest” full of digs against progressivism but honestly I don’t read too much into his words because he’s clearly biased against religious beliefs in general. His clichéd takes about American Christians being hateful hypocrites only confirms my suspicion that he doesn’t understand the genre any better than most people do. If you’re interested then give it a watch I think you’ll enjoy Nefarious if you’re like me but still find myself wishing Christian films were better than they currently are.
Spoilers require two priests one old, one young.
I love thrillers that mess around with supernatural vs normal ambiguity but rarely do these movies remain impartial throughout. Books manage to stay balanced more often than not because they’re less visual than films horror will always show up when we least expect it on screen. Let’s see where this one goes.
Nefarious (2023) is written and directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, based on the novel by Steve Deace. Dr James Martin ( Jordan Belfi) is appointed by the court to determine the mental state of infamous serial killer Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery) after the previous psychiatrist kills himself. Heavily advised that Edward is a cunning sociopath who knows how to pull people’s strings but still convinced he’s just another death row inmate looking for an easy way out through insanity, what James finds instead is someone claiming to be possessed by a demon called Nefarious.
Basically, it’s a chamber film that is an actor’s dream. A crazy prisoner and a young doctor trying to keep sane have a chat for the most part. Edward/Nefarious is smart, hostile, articulate and also more acquainted with James’ life than he is supposed to be by all rational means this is where things get interesting. Warden forces James to declare the killer mentally fit for execution on the same day but later he can’t tell if whether what he sees before him is a maniac or a demon.
It works if you let yourself believe in it, even just a little. You need at least some willpower for this premise not to fall apart completely. There are no jump scares, there isn’t any gore or special effects everything rests purely on actors’ performances here. Sean Patrick Flanery does incredible job differentiating between Edward and Nefarious using only mannerisms and tones of voice; never once tipping over into caricature territory kudos! Dr Martin (Jordan Belfi) could’ve been portrayed as being more jittery nervous throughout his ordeal but still does an alright half decent job as it stands being slightly more straight laced than I’d like though one minor weak spot is when eventually choosing sides between sanity insanity thus losing momentum.
Highly recommend with slight reservation. This production operates under-budget meaning all power must be vested within each performer themselves while simultaneously pulling viewership towards itself; not everyone may be willing so worth checking out indeed if given chance but please bear these factors in mind beforehand no jumpscares gore special effects should be expected from such small scale films like “The Devil To Pay”.
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