The Remaining

You guys, I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE scary movies. It's kind of a weird obsession. I love scary movies like I love hot sauce: It always makes me cry but I still want more!

So let's talk about a new scary movie coming soon. As you should have guessed from the title of the post, the title of the movie (dun-dun-DUN!) The Remaining! It comes out on the 5th of September, so it'll be here soon for us all to enjoy by screaming and hiding under our blankets. Check out the trailer:

In case you didn't put it together, this is a scary movie about the Biblical rapture, that is, the taking of the souls of the saved while those left behind suffer through the apocalypse. That's a simplified explanation, and if you want more detail grab a copy of the Good Book and get to reading Revelations. There are detailed descriptions of how everything will go down. Descriptions that the writer/director of the film, Casey La Scala, took to heart when creating it. He promises Biblical accuracy.

I've got to say, as a Christian as well as a horror fan, I'm pretty intrigued by this cross-over. I'd certainly like to believe that the end of days wouldn't be so terrifying for those left behind, but it does kind of make sense. And while I know La Scala specifically approached the project intending to make a horror flick and not just a retelling of Revelations, it's still nice to see that he's not treating the source material as a joke or simply mining it for money. This is a project that matters to him, that he's been working on for some time. 

The "taking" of saved persons is radically different from representations in other interpretations of the rapture, specifically the full-on disappearance of people portrayed in the Left Behind series. Personally, La Scala's version makes more sense to me. Those of you familiar with the text will already know, but Christians are promised new bodies upon our arrival in heaven, perfect vessels free of disease and defect. Why would we need to bring our old bodies with us only to have them immediately replaced? Also, people die and go to heaven now (depending on your beliefs) and they don't take their bodies. La Scala gives a detailed explanation of why he chose this protrayal, and I suggest you read the whole article linked for more information about the film.

"In really diving into the word ‘paralambano’ — the Greek word … what’s interesting is that same word is used when the angel tells Joseph about Mary — ‘Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife,’” Peluso said of scripture. “So obviously to take her … is not to make her disappear. It’s another shade of this word, to bring someone into yourself — to receive them.”

All in all, the film looks really interesting and scary to me, while remaining respectful of and accurate to the source material, which holds a lot of importance to a lot of people. It's definitely on my to watch list, so in a few weeks I'll report back on how it delivered.

If you're looking for something scary to watch in the meantime, Oculus recently came out on DVD...

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A scary movie starring Amy Pond and Starbuck? I'm there and I'm scared!