Search - Apocalypse, The on DVD

THIS IS NOT A CHRISTIAN MOVIE!! A LETS MAKE UP OUR OWN GOD M

Siobhan D. Johnson | 04/20/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is a- whatever way you see GOD is good, one. I got this for a family movie, and my ten year old saw through the "all roads lead to Heaven" rubbish.I was very dissapointed that they would either (on purpose) mislead with the caption,"in the tradition of Left Behind" or are so lost they can't see the totally untrue version of salvation. There are mentions of lord krisna, a baby not going to Heaven based on not being baptised as an infant and then dying.. So horrifically unbiblical. And taking the LORD'S name in vain.... Sad,sad,sad."

Another Asylum venture.

Dach Nednil | Slidell, La USA | 07/18/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"As with all Asylum movies this is to be avoided at all costs. This gives low budget a bad name."

Poor sound mixing defeats storytelling

David Portela | São Paulo, Brazil | 10/17/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I'll start with the few things that were mainly OK about this film.

1. Most of the special effects were decent, though a bit cheesy during the needless meteor carnage at the beginning of the film. Oh, and the tsunami effects were pretty bad, sorry.

2. The cinematography was actually quite good, except for some ultra-long close-up/tight shots (though that's really the director's fault).

3. Much of the acting was actually passable, but for a few of the performances (creepy "dead" guy on the road, creepy lady with the shotgun, for example).

Notice the above points all have to do with visuals. What really destroyed this film for me was the score and the sound mixing. As another reviewer has said, the sound effects track (which was actually quite a good sfx track) was mixed in WAY TOO LOUD, meaning you couldn't hear the conversation 75% the time without turning the volume way up, and then scrambling to turn it down when a shot rang out or an earthquake hit. The other huge problem is the score. The constant whiny violin mixed into nearly all the scenes lends the whole film a slow, faux-sentimental feel (even during the action scenes when everything is falling apart). Add to this the fact that the score track is mixed in about as loud as the sound effects track, and the voices fall to a whisper (or less) if you try to keep the music/fx at a decent volume level.

It's simply inconceivable to me that a producer/editor/director would watch this footage and not notice how badly mangled the sound mixing was. I mean, I can understand low-budget, but you can mix audio better than this using GarageBand, let alone one of the professional tools out there.

What is unfortunate about all this is that these technical fumbles obscure what would otherwise be a watchable storyline (except for the gratuitous carnage at the beginning). The film makes a good effort at depicting real characters rather than the caricatures so often seen in Christian film. It succeeds with many of its characters, especially Lindsay (played by Kristen Quintrall), a good-turned-bad girl who remembers her roots in the midst of disaster, and tries to share her beliefs with her boyfriend. Sadly, several reverse-anachronisms (by which I mean the lack of technologies which are prevalent in our time period -- they have WiFi but no working mobile phones or service?) stretch the viewer's suspension of disbelief, and the highly improbable ending of the film leaves something to be desired both in terms of storytelling and in terms of the main characters' spiritual quests.

Theologically the film may appeal to most of evangelical America, but will leave those with a deeper interest in Biblical teachings on salvation and eschatology (the study of Bible prophecies regarding the end-times) wanting. There is a lot of emphasis on "having faith" and "making your faith stronger", but little is said about what one needs to have faith in or believe. There is no clear exposition of the Christian gospel, which seems to be a waste given the opportunity presented by the film. I mean, if you're going to spend a couple of million making a film, regardless of what point of view you're trying to propagate, why not make it clear enough? As it is, the writers sprinkle in some evangelicalese here and there, along with some references to "God taking back his own" and so forth. But for people seeking answers to the real questions of life, death, the afterlife, and what the Bible teaches about salvation, the story does not deliver. We hear more about Lord Krishna saving a small bird in the midst of a battle than we do about Christ's sacrifice on the cross and God's plan for reconciliation with man.

There is a lot more one could comment on, but I think the main points above will be helpful in deciding whether you want to watch this film or not. My suggestion to the producers would be to re-release the film as is except for a re-mixed sountrack (put those voices way up and those sfx way down, and use better music). That's the only thing that could save the film from being word-of-mouthed into the grave because of these technical defects. For the producer's next efforts, I'd (1) hire a better mixing studio, (2) pick a score more appropriate to whatever theme they're shooting and (3) hire writers who will actually write a Christian script for a Christian movie."

The Apocalypse

Breigh | 08/28/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"im so upset about that dvd of that movie provide no cc i dont know what is all about it is not fair for any deaf people to see this movie without cc what if it is important info that we should know beside i didnt see any point in that movie so far i watch it but missing info what it says ... it suxs!!!"