Passion of the Christ

[tiberius]

Would you consider The Passion of The Christ to be horror?

[realdealblues]

I don't. It has some gore, and maybe you could argue the Satan part trying to temp him as a horror theme, but I catalog it in my collection as a drama.

[Kandarian Demon]

No - but it's gory. I always found it funny how so many people who would normally condemn such movies were praising Passion of the Christ, considering that all the movie has to offer is blood and brainless violence.

[Giganticface]

Originally Posted by Kandarian Demon

No - but it's gory. I always found it funny how so many people who would normally condemn such movies were praising Passion of the Christ, considering that all the movie has to offer is blood and brainless violence.

I can see how that's all the movie has to offer for some people, and is certainly the popular (and tired) thing to do to point out the irony that such a gory movie would be popular with Christians, but considering that the cornerstone event of the world's most populous religion is the brutal and humiliating death of Christ (and subsequent resurrection), it offers a lot more than brainless blood and gore to a lot of people.

I'm a Christian, and the movie is very difficult for me to watch. I've only done it a couple times, and it's the only movie I can think of where I'm in tears for almost the entire duration. Not out of sadness or guilt though. It's hard to describe. Definitely more out of thankfulness for him saving me from a lot of stupid shit I've done in my life.

Anyway, no I wouldn't classify it as horror since its purpose is not to attempt to scare the audience, but rather dramatically interpret a real life event. I'd put it in a similar category as Schindler's List, Holocaust and Roots. The gore level is on par with a torture horror movie though, and like realdealblues mentioned, the dramatized Satan parts are definitely horror-esque.

[Straker]

Accidental torture porn from a mediocre film maker... Can't wait for the sequel. :rolleyes:

I'm hoping they go down this route for the resurrection:

[Bob Gray]

It's a boring movie that mixes reality with a ton of fiction about a boring Historical figure, I pass.

[Kandarian Demon]

Originally Posted by Giganticface

I can see how that's all the movie has to offer for some people, and is certainly the popular (and tired) thing to do to point out the irony that such a gory movie would be popular with Christians, but considering that the cornerstone event of the world's most populous religion is the brutal and humiliating death of Christ (and subsequent resurrection), it offers a lot more than brainless blood and gore to a lot of people.

I'm a Christian, and the movie is very difficult for me to watch. I've only done it a couple times, and it's the only movie I can think of where I'm in tears for almost the entire duration. Not out of sadness or guilt though. It's hard to describe. Definitely more out of thankfulness for him saving me from a lot of stupid shit I've done in my life.

For me it's not about being a Christian or not. I absolutely love "The Ten Commandments", because it's such a well made movie. When I was a kid, that movie actually made me take Bible lessons of my own free will.

I'm not a Christian - but my mother is Catholic, and we have pretty much the same opinion about "Passion of the Christ" It simply wasn't done well - and it didn't really tell the story properly.

I realise that quite a lot of people already know the story - but to make a movie with the expectation that every viewer has "read the book" in advance is just lazy, and really makes the supposed idea behind the movie rather pointless - at least everything I read about the movie at the time it came out said that it was supposed to "educate". Well - it didn't. By watching the movie, you learn nothing that you didn't already know before watching the movie.

And that's why, in my opinion, it IS brainless violence. There would have been plenty of time to tell the story during the movie, but no, it was all about the torture scenes. To be honest with you, as a non-Christian, my first reaction to the movie was that if I HAD been a Christian, I would have been offended.

But, I know - people have very mixed opinions about the movie.

[MichaelMyers]

Not horror.

[hammerfan]

Originally Posted by Kandarian Demon

But, I know - people have very mixed opinions about the movie.

I remember asking the pastor of the church I was attending at the time (Lutheran) what he thought of it. His reply was "I thought it was an exercise in sadism".

[Giganticface]

Originally Posted by hammerfan

I remember asking the pastor of the church I was attending at the time (Lutheran) what he thought of it. His reply was "I thought it was an exercise in sadism".

Definitely. I think it's ludicrous for one Christian to expect another Christian to go watch the movie, and expect them to enjoy it. If any church were to think it would be a good idea to, say, have a church event and show it to their congregation, I would find that appalling and offensive. The movie is not appropriate for most viewers, and could be downright scarring to some.

However, IMO, if a believer is willing to subject themselves to that level of violence in a movie, I don't think it's a bad thing to have a visual image of the type of punishment that Christ endured. It's easy for a Christian to forget that that cute gold cross worn around their neck represents an actual event, where actual flesh was torn. It would be similar (although not in a religious sense) to a Jew watching a very explicit, violent dramatization of the horrible things that happened during the Holocaust. They shouldn't feel pressured to watch it, but if they chose to, may feel a strong appreciation and remembrance of the horrible events by doing so. (I also don't think people would be as quick to criticize that movie.)