Travis Jordon (Martin Donovan) is the former pastor of a Pentecostal Church lying in the cozy hillside town of Antioch, Washington. His reasons for leaving the ministry cut deep into his soul. His beloved wife was brutally abducted and murdered three years ago, and the trauma of that one event sent him questioning God and even denouncing his faith.As Travis drowns himself in self pity and beer, a new menace hovers over Antioch that to some seems Heaven sent, but to a chosen few who know scripture well and believes it without question, like the good Pastor Kyle Sherman (played most convincingly by Randy Travis), this cloud of powerful mystery is demonic to the core.As Kyle Sherman and various towns folk encounter the itinerant loaner Brandon Nichols (welcome back Edward Furlong) the “miracles” in his path snowballs Antioch residents into a growing spiritual frenzy. As more and more people are healed, seemingly miraculously, by Brandon from their ills, Pastor Sherman gets more and more uneasy. He calls a board meeting between all town clergy and invites Travis, the uncaring skeptic, for his view from the other side of the pulpit.After this meeting, Travis stirs from his apathy towards God and with the help of the new Vet in town, Morgan Elliot (a strong, no nonsense performance by Kelly Lynch), fully investigates Brandon Nichols’ horrific past. This man is more than a guy looking to form a cult. He has help from a darker existence more sinister than the dumbstruck town’s people can see.Travis, Kyle and Morgan soon find out that while Brandon Nichols does indeed command supernatural powers, they are not working on the side of God.As Antioch struggles under the weight of the devil and his advocates, this spiritual battleground becomes your own home town. Travis and the only two people he can trust race against time to convince the whole town of the reality of evil forces and battle to bring it to its ultimate defeat.The Visitation rekindles the scare tactics of The Ring and the special effects used for the demon-coming-out-of-the-guy we first saw in The Green Mile, and I especially liked the nod to CSI as the plucky Vet uses a CAT Scan to read the mysterious story hidden behind the black paint on a newspaper.The Visitation does deliver horror movie frights, but they are more Hitchcockian than Wes-Cravenish. We feel more of a disturbing feeling, rather than the desire to scream. If you are looking for total blood and gore, then this is not the movie for you. But, if you are looking for a well-balanced film, that has some very important biblical relevance within the fictional, here it is.There is no profanity, sex or nudity, yet parents must be very aware that any child under the age of 13 should not view it alone, and any child younger than 10 should not see it at all because of the graphic violence which includes: intensely frightening imagery, child abuse, a boy is shown being crucified by his demonic father (the boy does not die, however): though this is brutal, careful attention has been taken not to be excessive. We see photos of a dead woman who has been tortured; a dog dies and is buried. Several scenes feature arguing and loud rants by the demonic figure. A teenage boy is seen supernaturally stuck to a wall and violently spinning around. There are a couple of guns and some explosions; also blood — and at least two people are shown or referred to as dead.The character of the former pastor is shown drinking beer, driven by his grief and inability to cope. Without Jesus as his refuge, he finally learns that denying his faith and drinking to excess is no match for the shelter and protection that Jesus does provide.The film deals reasonably accurately with at least two subjects. One being how demonic forces can manipulate the physical world in a way that seems to produce momentary results (depicted in the film as a sort of demonic electro-magnetic field). Cults use this practice, and people seem healed at the onset only to have a relapse some time later. In The Visitation we see people getting healed, actually becoming possessed, only to return to their former conditions, leaving them dependant upon these demonic beings to keep them “whole.” Secondly, The Visitation dealt accurately with how the Kyle character exorcised demons. He took the authority in Christ by saying “…and Jesus said, come out of him you unclean spirit.” Giving the authority to Christ to deal with the devil and not relying on ourselves is purely scriptural in basis.
Source: http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/...tation2006.html
Source: http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/...tation2006.html
