there's this wack suspense thriller from the early 2000s about an ultrachristian dad (Bill Paxton, RIP) who has "visions" of demons walking around the world, hiding as humans. the mom is gone and he has two very young sons, who he recruits into helping him banish/kill these people as "God's Wrath". the movie is mostly about how the older son (10?) is terrified of his dad axe murdering random people and trying to resist him, without his dad growing suspicious that his son is falling under a demonic influence.

its a super dark concept "Frailty" (2001), but people like those in this story, who attribute their destructive and life-negating, narcissistic impulses to "God's Will" remind me how this kind of fucked thinking is coddled, protected and even encouraged.

[–] Self_Sealing_Stem_Bolt@hexbear.net 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Fucking great movie. Bill directed it too.

[–] came_apart_at_Kmart@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago

i just learned that, in looking up a few details to refresh my memory today. such a crazy movie. i remember it being truly horrific and upsetting in my early 20s, but i was reminded most of the violence is off camera/implied while you're watching the reactions of the children. so its not gross, or as bill would say, "not exploitative" which drove his interest in directing. like he was worried some other director would fuck it up by making a graphically violent modern slasher.

its interesting to see how controversial it is too, for effectively using horror movie techniques from 1950s hollywood, mostly taking place in the 1970s. admittedly, the plot concept is pretty ballsy even today.

like some people hate it and, perhaps more frighteningly, some see it as confirmation of their religious extremism. yikes!

to me its just horror done extremely well, because i am still horrified by it's story decades later. kudos to paxton. what a fucking movie.