Mar '17
I watched this for the first time last night. I went into it having no idea what it was about. I mainly watched it for Bill Paxton. Anyway, I have some problems with the ending.
I thought the movie was great when it was about a demented lunatic having his sons help him kill innocent people in the name of God. But by having the twist be that everything the father said was true, I feel that the movie kind of comes off as being pro religious fanaticism. As a rational atheist, I find that to be little irresponsible. I mean what are we supposed to take away from this? That you shouldn't question any hallucinations that you receive from "God"?
Do I have a point here, or am I overthinking what is just supposed to be a creepy fictional story?
I thought the movie was great when it was about a demented lunatic having his sons help him kill innocent people in the name of God. But by having the twist be that everything the father said was true, I feel that the movie kind of comes off as being pro religious fanaticism. As a rational atheist, I find that to be little irresponsible. I mean what are we supposed to take away from this? That you shouldn't question any hallucinations that you receive from "God"?
Do I have a point here, or am I overthinking what is just supposed to be a creepy fictional story?
The key, I think, is that the point of audience identification is not Paxton but the kid who turns out to be a devil. We see Paxton through his eyes. We're made to feel the kid is our surrogate, right? The kid is a decent person who's empathic for others, who's concerned with right and wrong. Paxton's character say he's tormented by the same issues, but it doesn't stop him - cuz, word o' God waddayagonna do? In other words, we're the kid. He's the hero. The next person revealed as a devil could be me or you.
If some nutcase comes up to you and says, "sorry, gotta kill ya, God says so", are you going to stand there and let him? because God said so?
Basically, God turns out to be the ultimate monster, a psychopath who has his chosen ones do his killing. I don't think that's the messge - that the movie is anti-God. I do think the movie is a challenge to not allow your faith - any faith, whatever your's happens to be - don't allow your faith to do your thinking for you. Don't let it subsitute for having a conscience of your own. If your church is teaching you something that doesn't sit right with you, listen to your conscience.