The Revival

This movie ticked off all the boxes that I made when I became an atheist. To choose your religion over love is not good. And to care what people think of you. Those people are quick to judge but they are sinning also. And Eli committed the biggest sin when he set that cabin on fire killing Daniel. His conscience will come to haunt him. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone that's planning on coming out. It scares people too quickly. Love is the most important aspect of life.

This movie was well done however I was hoping that the main protagonist was going to rise above the hatred he was feeling towards his own truth let alone the small minded townspeople ...but alas that was not what happened instead something horrifying.

There are a few decent scenes here and a premise that could be very interesting if handled by more adept storytellers, but everything good about this movie is negated by the abrupt third-act shift in tone. "The Revival" might have worked if it had remained a semi-comedic romance throughout or if it had been a dark morality tale from the beginning, but Frankenstein-ing them together just made the whole experience unpleasant. The movie looks decent for a low budget project, but the camera is a bit too shaky in spots. Some scenes go on too long, while other parts of the story are glossed over and the romance, one of the few elements that actually work, is completely rushed. The two lead actors are both charismatic and deliver respectable performances. David Rysdahl seems confused about what emotion he's trying to convey in some scenes, but that can be excused as he's carrying much of this movie on his back. The writer and director carry equal responsibility for the failures here. Also, a special demerit has to be issued for the Foley artists, who apparently don't know what a blowjob sounds like.

In this film, the ending was created first and then the writer worked backwards towards an unnatural, unbelievable beginning. What we end up with is actually two separate movies. The first half is a romance drama and the second half is a horror movie. And at no point did the two separate halves connect in a believable way. Preacher Eli, a mix of Mr. Rogers and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, develops an unexpected romantic/sexual relationship with a rough looking, cigarette smoking, meth using drifter. As any good preacher would do, he takes pity on the guy and gives him food and shelter. Of course, the preacher has a wife and she's no so gay friendly. A few late night outs and she's begins to get suspicious of Eli. At some point, (not shown) she follows him and snaps a picture of him embracing his drifter boyfriend. She shows the photo to Eli, who seems quietly shocked and upset since his big secret is now known. Up to that point, he seemed very willing to take risks with his boyfriend, by spending nights in bed with him, for example. But then there was a sudden, inexplicable break in his character. There were no NEW and clear external forces that caused this break. His character just turned on a dime. He, his wife and their Baptist congregation conspired to become Satan incarnate. Enter Mr. Hyde and his witchful wife.

I saw this at Inside/Out the Toronto LGBT festival. Everyone was blown away by the acting and directing. This movie broke my heart and made me think. Ultimately it is about oppression in religious communities in the southern US. With the current US President and VP this movie needs to be seen immediately. It takes a stand against bigotry and hypocrisy. Watch this movie for yourself and decide what it's about.