- Nov 1, 2008
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This is a new movie based on Frank Peretti's book. I should clarify that the style of 'horror' used is similar to J-horror (Japanese), such as The Grudge or the Ring. That is, it's not based on blood and guts, but rather on build-ups and jump scenes.House is ultimately a letdown. It's creepy and well-produced, but I kept waiting for the Christian punch that never came. If you come away with any 'religious' message in this movie, it's probably more pro-Catholic than Christian.Seeing Frank Peretti's name made me think this could be used as a slick Christian outreach video. Unfortunately there's no more gospel message in it than any other horror film.*spoilers ahead*If you intend to see this film, then you may not want to read below this line.--So what is the Christian/religious message in this film? Well:There is a young girl in the film whom a Christian viewer would suppose is meant to represent Christ. She is the only one 'full of light' that can quench the 'darkness' of the Satan-esque character that is tormenting the main cast with memories of their past sins. Just for the record - the words Satan, Christ, and sin are not actually mentioned, aside from the scripture on the movie poster.When two characters in the film eventually 'receive the light' from the girl, they are now immune to the Satan character. Then we find out those characters were having some sort of near-death experience, and when they received the 'light' their earthly bodies were revived.So essentially, they were in some sort of purgatory state where they had to get their past sins sorted out, then rescued by this young holy girl with long wavy black hair. Which implies more that she represents Mary the mother of Jesus, not Christ himself.Production-wise, this movie is well done and on par with other similar horror films.However, the fact that Peretti is a Christian, and millions of dollars were spent on this extremely subtle footnote to the saving power of Christ, it ultimately leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth.
