“Disciples In The Moonlight” opens on the afternoon of July 17. Thanks to the generosity of Love Thy Nerd, we were able to view the film ahead of its US release. What are our thoughts on this movie? Here is the plot, followed by our review.
In a not so distant future, the Bible has been banned in the United States for being “offensive” and replaced with the government’s version. To promote the gospel in the Midwest, an organization of Christians is formed to smuggle copies of the bible into the area. A relentless federal officer taunts the believers, asking them to obey the law or have faith and worship.
It was many years ago, as a teenager, when I was drawn into those Christian bookstores that had all those movies about the government conspiracies that were cautionary tales. Featuring actors such as Mr. T or Gary Busey, I remember these weird, outlandish flicks that always contained newer and ten times more absurd devices. Somehow, someone managed to tie everything into some Darn evil guy or a demon, or a being. I hated them. Not only were these low budget, badly acted, gods know how, these movies were hardly biblical and so hard to sit through.
Just like the previous movie titled “The Shift” which we did in 2023, this movie also won our hearts with the quality. There is an ever so extreme improvement in the faith-based movie’s we have now known to be the normal in recent times.
The purpose of Cataclysm is simple, it encourages us to ask the question “what if”, a question that quite a majority of Christians especially the conservatives, are likely to be disturbed about, and even expect never to come to fruition.
In fact, it is probably what annoys me the most about the film. It’s not that something like this couldn’t happen; rather, it is simply the manner in which it would occur that appears incomprehensible. In a single presidential term, the Bible is outlawed along with most of this country surviving due to the fact that they are almost entirely true Christians. That is difficult to adjust to in a country like America, which is predominantly regarded as a Christian nation.
This is not to claim that the plot is completely out of the question. In fact, this kind of thing has been occurring in China for decades. The printing and distribution of Bibles in China is regulated by the government. Most Christians do not have any options but to form underground churches and live in hiding. And even just in July 2023, the Chinese government was caught red-handed supplying modified versions of the Bible to prevent the church from expanding and the Chinese Communist Party from being elevated.
If the story of this movie were told differently and if it went along the lines of slow takeover of this country by the commies over several generations, or if it simply said ‘this is the alternate world where Hitler conquered the world’, then perhaps I would not have found it difficult to get used to the story.
But when I just had to ignore that point, I was able to see things from the other side and try to empathize with them in this film. I am glad to say that this film chooses to give a very realistic storyline where magic is not the solution to every single problem. One of the best aspects of this film would have to be how realistic everything is.
These ‘small group of Christians’ are not superheroes. There are no Christian John Wicks. Each of them doesn’t come with their own particular set of skills. They are just ordinary believers who have been given a task, of doing the right thing. They’re just flawed people, ordinary, scared and put in a context where they don’t necessarily know what to do.
Jake, husband and father, is definitely a flawed man. He is confused about what exactly the right thing to do, even how to go about doing it. His wife makes it abundantly clear that she does not want him to put himself at harm’s way. This mission of his is making him very abusive towards his spouse and neglectful towards his son. Although not as paramount nor as life or death, this phenomenon is something many in ministry incur. As Christians when we are in the Church, and we think we are actively partaking in Lord’s work, more often than not we do not comprehend that we are desecrating our family for the sake of ministries. It was very real, very raw, and hard for me to witness this mismatch in his life.
The disparity between the “Disciples” and the people hunting them down is quite noteworthy. The “Difisiplin” portray the “Disciples” in a rather believable manner. So, when they conduct these covert planning sessions, they are held around the family’s dining room table (and like every good evangelical, there are always fries on the table). Yet, the agents of the government who are troubled with the task of tracking them down are shown in one nasty, dark basement where the tech center is situated. This is where my only other pet peeve comes in: The bad guys are too bad.
These are people who, let’s say, had to persuade themselves about their cause that they not only believe in it but they themselves are on the good side. But instead, they come across as crazed dog killers. The guy heading the division seems quite Lex Luthoresque. It is so suggestive when the Christians (and for that matter the other non-believers) are presented in a more or less normal way. However, a minor grouch in the end.
I will not be ruining the rest of the plot for your viewing pleasure, just some brief remarks about the later part of the movie. This is ultimately, different ‘Disciples of Christ’ attempting to get a real Bible to various secret churches live a sort of inverse heist movie. I swear to this part of the film; it is interesting and well done. I really had no idea and got surprises on more than one occasion as to what was going to happen at any point. The end comes over in every respect that you would want it to do so.
And like all great Christian movies out there none of them also have a nice little bow on it at the end. I like it because it again helps to enhance the credibility of the movie.
To summarize, if you are a fan of this kind of Christian film then it is among the best in that category.
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