In her short article for CASE Justine Toh reviews the 2006 version of the horror movie The Omen and reflects on the way Horror movies depict God, the devil and the supernatural. In short, she suggests that it typically does it badly, but even so, she suggests that:
"Horror is unique as a genre because it accepts the existence of a supernatural realm implicitly, as Christian filmmaker Scott Derickson has maintained. But the spiritual essence of The Omen is weighed down with material concerns and the occupations of this world, rather than the promise of the next, whether that is salvation or judgment. This hinders and, strangely enough, helps the film’s usefulness in communicating ideas about a Christian worldview."She concludes her piece by pointing out the obvious; people won't necessarily flock from horror movies straight to a church, but by portraying such a dark and dismal picture of man separated from the Creator, the horror movie might just inadvertently offer a testament to the need for God, "...the image of man absent the guidance, love and mercy of his Creator is pitiable indeed. There’s no need to frighten people into obedience. The sorry state of humanity absent God is testament enough."
You can read the whole article HERE.
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6 comments:
Trevor,
Do you think movies such as The Omen are realistic? Or at least possible?
I don't really know what the Protestant view of Satan is, but I know that Catholics believe he is a sentient being who is able to act in the real world (possess people, tempt them etc). If that was indeed the case, surely events such as those depicted in The Omen and The Exorcist would occur from time to time? But since demonic possesion has never, ever been demonstrated (with all believed instances likely due to mental illness etc), doesn't this cast doubt on Satan's ability to influence real events, if not his very existence?
That is, how can you reconcile the inherent implausibility of satanic horror narratives, with a Christian theology that accepts such narratives as normal?
Tim
Hi Tim,
I don't really watch Horror movies that much, certainly not right through. I believe that Satan is real as is the supernatural world. I don't find supernatural events implausible.
Having said this, the examples of contact with the spiritual realm that you see in horror films are mere caricatures, that trivialise it.
Cheers,
Trevor
Trevor,
That's what I mean though... Catholics, at least, must believe that the events are not mere caricatures. The Vatican's chief exorcist, Father Gabriel Amorth, has said that the events depicted in The Exorcist were "substantially exact".
Incidentally, Father Amorth claims to have performed 70,000 exorcisms over his 24 year career. That works out to 8 per day, which is just as ridiculous as his job description.
Tim
I'll leave any Catholics out there to respond to this Tim. Trevor
Trevor,
Do you believe that Satan can possess people?
Tim
Hi Tim,
Tricky question to answer. It's clear that the Bible teaches that Satan can control people's lives who choose to reject Christ's rule. But it's not so much about power, as it is about authority. Jesus and the apostles cast out demons from people but it's not clear what this means for us, particularly given that the Bible teaches that Christ had victory over Satan at the cross. The movies seem to portray 'possession' as a battle with an all powerful evil force, this isn't consistent with what the Bible teaches about demonic forces. Finally, I find it hard to accept that Satan can possess someone who has rejected him and claimed the promises of God, James suggest that we need only resist him and he will flee (James 4:6-8).
Hope this helps.
Trevor
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