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.

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.

The movie was great aside from the ending. Acting was on point, and I was really interested throughout the film. The last 5 minutes leave the worst feeling in your stomach. If you hate a story that does NOT end on a happy note then stear clear.

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.

I'm suspicious about watching gay themed movies, most of them aren't interested in telling a story, their main goal seems to be to punish people for being gay. Even if it's a "pro-gay" movie it often is filled with heartbreak, tragedy and punishment. Yes gay life has these things, as well as straight life. Life is so much more, there are incredible moments of love, happiness and reward. I'd like to see those moments.

This genre of punishment needs to come to an end. Surprisingly the acting was pretty good in this movie. You can tell some of these actors have cut their chops in community theater but they put forward a respectable performance. There was a deeper character development than is usually seen in these types of movies but there's nothing new here, it's been done before so many times. I had hope that maybe this would be something new, it would break new ground and have some hope and love but it's mostly filled with angst and hate.

For me and I'm sure for many people there is a hope for acceptance in religion for gay people. I look for the day when churches accept gay people and makes a home for them without thinking of them as sinners or as a lesser person.

This film was hugely disappointing to me and left me with a bad feeling. It didn't break any new ground. It's a sad excuse for a movie. I really think it's time for women to stop thinking they understand the relationship or feelings 1 man can have for another. I know they want to be empathetic, understanding and accepting but until you walk in my shoes you can't know my world no matter how good your imagination.