Disciples in the Moonlight

I'm a Christian, I thought the premise was intriguing. I ignored the negative reviews at my own peril--what a mistake!

Every scene is dripping with nonsense and cringe. There are so many characters with their own pointless story.

It's as if someone took a premise, plugged it into ChatGPT, and had it include things like 'humor', 'action', 'love'.

I would have turned it off but I was watching with my mom. Anyways, the acting sucked, the story sucked, the dialogue sucked, the movie was pointless, and to top it off, every once in a while there's a jarring insertion of 'humor' or something that does not fit. You've been warned.

Bad.

I liked this movie so much more than I was expecting--beautifully shot, likable characters, and lots of surprises! I saw some say that this is an anti-american film and that couldn't be further from the truth. It's a What If scenario of events that are actually happening in other countries right now. People need to wake up and stop thinking "oh that would never happen in America." The film is asking "what would YOU do IF this was happening?" I get it, it makes people uncomfortable but not all Faith based films are "feel good" films, they're about asking hard questions about ourselves. See it before you judge it!

Disciples In The Moonlight (2024) is a cinematic fever dream, a glimpse into a bizarre alternate reality where conservatives' persecution fantasies run wild. It seems the only oppression they can find is in the realm of shoddy fiction, a world where their fervent desire to be silenced and marginalized finally comes true. This film is a testament to that yearning, a desperate cry for victimhood that echoes through a right-wing funhouse mirror in the Twilight Zone.

The plot is as predictable as it is ludicrous, with cardboard cutout characters spouting tired clichés about religious freedom under attack. The acting is uniformly awful, with each performer seemingly vying for the title of "Most Melodramatic Martyr." The cinematography is dull and lifeless, mirroring the film's intellectual vacuity.

Disciples In The Moonlight is not just a bad film; it's a window into a distorted worldview where reality is twisted to fit a pre-determined narrative. It's a film that thrives on fear and resentment, preying on the anxieties of those who feel threatened by a changing world. If you're looking for a thought-provoking and nuanced exploration of faith and freedom, look elsewhere. This film offers nothing but cheap thrills and hollow propaganda.

I wanted to like this and decided to ignore the many bad reviews. The idea that Christianity may someday be outlawed is not far-fetched in today's world and all over the world people are being policed for their viewpoints and speech so the basis for this movie is solid. Problem is the writing and directing are a huge letdown. This movie is more than 2 hours long and doesn't really get going in any type of action till about 1 hour and 16 minutes in. That first hour is hard to get through and I struggled to stay awake. The people who made this knew how to bring on the emotions but there isn't much in the way of thrills, suspense or action considering it's about a group of people risking their lives to get bibles across state lines. I see the effort was there but ultimately it's a failure as a compelling movie. The 4 stars is being kind of generous.

Barring The Emoji Movie, this is the worst thing I've seen in a theater.

Brett Varvel cannot act, always making the same constipated expression regardless of the emotion he's supposed to convey. The directing feels like a sitcom, with repetitive shot reverse shots and the same establishing shots used repeatedly across four bland, suburban sets. Occasionally, when the Christians are evading the evil secular government, we're treated to shadowy shots of forests and fields so dark you can't tell who's who or where they're going. The editing is a mix of mind-numbingly simple sequencing and incoherent transitions, all overseen by the leading actor himself, which at least makes it clear who to laugh at. Even if you believe being an American Christian makes you an oppressed minority, you'll have a hard time taking any of this corny film seriously.