This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Spooky Stuff
Plot Overview
Two weeks ago a radio observatory in
Argentina relayed a partial signal from somewhere out of this
world. U.S. Army Col. David Garrett (Louis Gossett Jr.)
had it fed subliminally to Lieutenant Vasquez (Ramona Milano)
who subsequently exhibited a remarkable telekinesis
ability. Seeing a military potential the top brass has charged the
Colonel to monitor all deep space listening stations, to look for
that signal's return.
It arrived at the Shaw Observatory in
the Sierra Nevadas, but communication went down before they could
relay it. Media mogul Emmett Shaw (Stewart Bick) is right on it. He's
being flown in by helicopter along with his Quest for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence (QEI) Director Smitty Turner
(Michelle Nolden,) investigative journalist Kara Walsh (Deborah
Odell,) spiritual advisor Rev. Jeremiah
Fletcher (Jefferson Mappin,) and chief technician Jack Jones (Judd
Nelson.) They find the bunker trashed, the techies missing, and a
storm brewing.
The colonel and his lieutenant arrive
with some army grunts to act as guards while they compel Jack to reacquire
the signal. It has a mesmerizing effect on all who hear it except
for Smitty an impervious Bible thumper and Jack who is near deaf.
They all want it relayed for the sake of world peace, except for Smitty
who questions its origin and Jack who doesn't want responsibility
for contrary effects. Searching the on-line Bible he comes across
a reference (Matt. 18:19-20) to
prayer that may prove beneficial. The movie concludes with the
derivation of its title: (2Tim. 3:1-2,
13) “This know
also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall
be lovers of their own selves … evil men and seducers shall
wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
Ideology
Rev. Fletcher is host of a burgeoning radio
show called God's Guest, which doesn't set well with
Smitty the resident Christian. The reverend wants to tap a
“universal force” that will lead us to “a new level
of godhood.” Smitty sticks with the conventional gospel.
She says of his new age ideas, “It's not the same, it's not
even close.” In the midst of the film's closing passage is an unquoted warning
against some (2Tim. 3:5) “Having
a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn
away.” This mixing of eastern religion with the gospel is what
the apostle Paul spoke against in—I quote from my
Greek–English Bible app.—(2Cor. 6.14) “Do not be yoked with
those who are different, with unbelievers.”
Paul's justification for unmixed religious
services includes a rhetorical question, (2Cor. 6.15) “For what has a believer
in common with an unbeliever?” “Deceived” helps
us answer that question when its characters are thrown together, and
their difference of opinion whether to relay the devilish signal results
in: murder, murder/suicide, multiple murders, and murderous intentions,
with Christians getting the short end of the stick.
Rev. Fletcher attempts to turn the tables
on Smitty, calling her a hypocrite, because “You work for a
company whose sole purpose is to find extraterrestrial life.”
He might be confusing her with Jehovah's Witnesses who are very strict
about not letting their members be business associates of non-JW's. Regular Bible believers are
more lax. In 1st Corinthians Paul tells us that we can compromise with
the heathen in the workplace—Criswell Study Bible preface to First Corinthians: “Some
Christians needed to know whether or not they should attend the meetings of
their trade guild, meetings held in the idol temples and involving meat
offered to the idols (1Cor. 8:1-13)”—as
long as we work it out in faith and do not stumble someone. When
it came to relaying the “message from hell,” which she
for her part was not affected by, she drew a line and Shaw fired her.
In case one wonders
about the off-and-on mixed faith romance between Smitty and Jack,
please consider that the apostle Paul back in the day spent two or
three whole years preaching in the bustling city of Corinth where
Christianity had been unknown until then. He got a lot of converts,
not all of them as wedded pairs, and some were undoubtedly espoused
to non-christians. Marital conflicts over religious mismatch led some
to write him for advice, and he responded by telling them to try to
convert the unbelieving spouse, to stick with it regardless, but to
let the other have a divorce if wanted. In a follow-up letter, an
oblique reference is made to such circumstances in a rhetorical
question: (2Cor. 6:15) “what
part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” Applied to going
through with a particular marriage, it is up to the principals to
decide if it is right for them; many but not all Christians decide
not to marry unbelievers, and it is their personal decision, not the
apostle's. As J.R.R. Tolkien's grown grandson put it, “We're
not Hindus. People have to be allowed to decide who they want to be
with” (45.) The apostle, however, uses the example of mismatch
strife to forbid incorporating heathenism into church services: (2Cor 6:14) “Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers: ...” He forbids to a congregation
(“ye”) what he at most suggests to an individual (thou.)
Smitty tells Jack that there
is room in her heart for both Jesus and him. His objections to all
the “God stuff” is enough of an example to congregations
not to bring unbelievers into religious service, but if she
personally wants to make room for him in her life, that's her business.
The closest the apostle intrudes on such decisions is when he cautions
the widow not to be so man-crazy as to let him crowd out the Lord.
In marrying whomever she wants, she's got to function (1Cor. 7:39) “in the Lord.”
Production Values
“” (Video 2002) was directed by André Van Heerden. It was written by John Patus and Paul Lalonde. It stars Judd Nelson, Michelle Nolden and Stewart Bick. I was impressed by the all round consummate acting. The producers of a B picture sure got their money's worth. Judd Nelson was rock solid. Ramona Milano exuded menace.
It's not rated. There was no cursing in it, not even from the soldiers, but there was sexual innuendo—some of it mixed race—and a truncated kissing scene. We see a lot of stationary blood. Pistols pop. The movie runs 1½ hours and was shot in Toronto, Canada, standing in for the Sierra Nevadas of California. The sets were rather severe, contributing to the sense that there was no place to hide. By now the technology displayed is dated. The film's aspect ratio fits a television screen.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
Sometimes less is more, and the sparse sets contributed to the feeling that there was no scientific miracle available to save their bacon, it was prayer or nothing. Christians will like it, but it doesn't presume on an audience unfriendly towards religion. It brought back in me feelings of dread from 1950's sci-fi flicks. I thought it was better than a B picture had a right to be.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability for children: Not rated, Christian-friendly. Special effects: Well, at least you can't see the strings. Video Occasion: Better than watching TV. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Unless otherwise noted, scripture is taken from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
The Criswell Study Bible. Authorized King James Version. Nashville | Camden: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1979. Print.
Tolkien, Simon. The King of Diamonds. Copyright © 2011 by Simon Tolkien. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2011. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org