Go and See "Nefarious"!
In theaters now: An excellent movie with a profoundly Catholic message
Don’t get scared off by the super-creepy movie poster… the two Catholic directors said they went overboard on the scare factor for the poster in order to draw in the horror movie crowd.
Most people seem to like it: The film got a 97% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes and tons of raving reviews from Catholic YouTubers… even the National Catholic Register, which published a lengthy but very interesting interview with the filmmakers.
A nutshell summary: A psychiatrist is being called into prison to do a final evaluation on a death row inmate who is scheduled to be executed that night. The serial killer claims to actually be a demon possessing a man’s body. Thus ensues a battle of the wits between the demon and the (atheist) psychiatrist.
Sean Patrick Flanery as the demoniac delivers an outstanding performance. Catholic priest and exorcist Fr. Carlos Martins (The Exorcist Files) said this was “the most realistic portrayal of a demon-possessed person I’ve ever seen in a movie.” Other clergymen have confirmed that the movie is theologically sound as well.
While there are some scary scenes, for sure, Nefarious is really more of a psychological thriller (the trailers are scarier than the actual movie). For fans of C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters, this is more or less the movie version.
I really appreciated that there is no gore, foul language, excessive violence, or hair-raising special effects—and yet the movie kept me on the edge of my seat.
(Especially because I made the mistake to pick a weekday afternoon show and found myself alone in the theater. And of course, since this was classified as a horror movie, all the previews I had to sit through were previews of really terrifying horror movies. You should have seen me clutch my rosary.)
What really stands out with Nefarious is the pro-Christian, pro-life message—of course dispensed from the viewpoint of the demon, who hates Christians and humanity in general. It also provides a harrowing perspective of Satan’s masterplan for humanity.
Here are some of the top quotes from the movie [SPOILER ALERT]:
Demon:
“We can’t just possess anyone—we need a series of YESes, through a series of temptations, starting from the age of reason.”
“He [God] made you [humans] in His image, but we [demons] remade you in ours.”
“We punish Him, and we do that by destroying what He loves—and that’s you.”
“The Creator creates, and we destroy… and we do all of it through you.”
“Can you imagine the agony the Carpenter feels when we rip a child to pieces in its own mother’s womb?”
Psychiatrist:
“There’s a great battle going on between good and evil, and we’re all participants… willing or not.”
And as a special bonus for movie fans, here’s a YouTube interview with the two main Nefarious actors: