Hollywood's Christian Killers
Thursday December 4, 2008
Categories: movies
I'm looking for movies that depict Christian killers of some kind, from slasher films like The Night of the Hunter and Martin Scorcese's remake of Cape Fear (where the killer is a Pentecostal) to less incendiary accounts like Robert Duvall's The Apostle....
Filed Under: Cape Fear, Christian killers, Christian killing, Christianity, Hollywood, Mandy Moore, Martin Scorcese, Nick Nolte, Night of the Hunter, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Saved, The Apostle
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Patton Dodd is a senior editor for Beliefnet and the author of My Faith So Far: A Story of Conversion and Confusion (Jossey-Bass).Search This Blog
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Just watched Misery and I think Anne Wilkes was religious. She says lots of things like God showed me the way, God gave me clairity, etc... She wore a cross around her neck and Rob Reiner got lots of thrills from the fact that she was against profanity (do you think I go around shouting the "eff" word?) but she had no problem putting a wooden block between Paul Sheldon's legs and breaking his ankles with a sledge hammer It was that dichotomy (executed best in the source material from King) that made Anne such a great and horrifying character.
Pretty much anything depicting the Crusades, Natie Americans, the slave trade.........
Rob--that is a _great_ notion. I had completely forgotten about those aspects of Misery. Thanks!
The Cylons aren't Christian, per se, but they do embrace their own monotheistic religion, talk a lot about "god's love", and often refer to the "one true god", so they obviously reflect the behavior of certain breeds of Christians.
In "From Dusk til Dawn", Harvey Keitel portrays a self-described "Mean mother mmmmin' servant of God" who was once a preacher and rediscovers his faith in the face of supernatural evil (the crossed made of a shotgun is pretty classic vampire-slaying stuff).
On a related note, "Pulp Fiction" is loaded with (some would argue entirely comprised of) Biblical references, none more obvious that Samuel L Jackson's bible-quoting, trigger-pulling Jules.
Somebody already mentioned the Crusades, and sure enough "Kingdom of Heaven" is loaded with Christian killers.
My favorite, though, is Barry Pepper's Pvt. Daniel Jackson, an eagle-eyed sniper and devout Christian; probably the most memorable and compelling character in "Saving Private Ryan".
The scripture quoting sniper in Saving Private Ryan.
John and Erick--SPR's Pvt Jackson is perfect for this. Many thanks.
Don't forget Reese Witherspoon in Freeway - technically attempted murder, but a sweet scene nonetheless.
Did the mom kill the kids in Rapture? It's been a long time since I've seen that movie.
Why?
Try "Frailty" (2001).
The movie Timber Falls portrays Christians in a pretty disturbing light. I wouldn't advise you to watch it though. Here's a link to the imdb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857295/plotsummary
forestwalker--because it's there? No, really for a long-term project I'm working on. And a Beliefnet feature I'm fiddling with.
There Will Be Blood--no kill, but definite lust for violence by the minister.
Arsenic and Old Lace. The old ladies say prayers and poison people. Not sure how "Hollywood" this one is.
Actually, some Hitchcock films may be good to look at. Shyamalan? I have no idea of current horror films.
That bald-headed guy from "The DaVinci Code."
Other movies? Check out "The Others," with Nicole Kidman. Creepy. And then there's "Murder on the Orient Express, where a missionary Ingrid Bergman takes part in a murder. And, speaking of missionaries, keep in mind Robert DeNiro's turn as a Jesuit in one of my all time favorites, "The Mission." Mel Gibson's William Wallace in "Braveheart" seems to be reasonably religious, even though he hacks through dozens of Englishmen.
What!? No one mentioned _Schindler's List_?
"The Legend of Zorro" (2005) has a notably fundamentalist Christian hitman.
Ben Wade in "3:10 To Yuma" (2007) makes an impression as a cold blooded murderer who's memorized the Bible.
Guy de Lusignan in "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) is one of the more passionately depicted Christians in that film, and the one with the most blood lust.
"The Boondock Saints" (1999) features two devout Catholics whose "mission" is to murder criminals, or anyone they think might deserve it.
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