Halloween Countdown 2024 Part 3
Huh. I did not see THAT coming!
We continue our countdown to Halloween at R-Rated Movie Club this month. Have you seen any of today’s selections? What should I write about next? Let me know!
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Scary movies can take shocking turns. The secret is out, an identity is revealed, the critical choice is made. Something happens, but you didn’t see it coming. The Bible has moments like this, too, where either the figures in the story or we as the reader are caught by surprise.
Today, we have three pairs of “didn’t see that coming” shocker moments from movies and the Bible. Maybe some light spoilers, but nothing too shocking here. Let’s dive in…
“Everybody’s a suspect!” Or ARE they?!…
Scream (1996) took the slasher genre, put it into a blender, and showcased a mix of fresh, classic, and meta all at once. High school teenagers, all played by actors obviously in their mid-20s all trying to figure out who is the killer. Is it one of them? Is it someone else? Is it two of them? Who could it be? At one point, Randy (Jamie Kennedy) screams, “EVERYBODY IS A SUSPECT!”
Almost 30 years removed, you might have an easier time to figure it out now. After all, this is the movie that all at once played with the cliches of the genre while reestablishing the cliches in its own way. I won’t spoil who the killer is here, but I’ll say the reveal is quite fun.
I have mixed feelings about Joseph revealing his identity to his brothers in Genesis 45:1-15. They beat him up, they took his coat, they threw him in a pit, they sold him into slavery. Joseph rises through the ranks in Egypt and becomes a leader in Pharaoh’s court. When his brothers need his help, they don’t recognize him. Their reunion is a powerful moment of reconciliation. And, I think the lead-up to this moment, as Joseph runs them through the ringer a bit, can be a tough read.
1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
I often feel like that when I’m ahead of the people in the story. I know something they don’t know and waiting for the other shoe to drop is somewhere between scary and uncomfortable.
I wrote about that moment in August 2023, comparing it with a scene in Trading Places, check it out.
This movie knows EXACTLY what it is.
When a movie starts, you may not know what you’re getting yourself into. Luckily, Humanoids From the Deep makes it simple for you. How? That’s easy:
Within 7 minutes, the first victim is a kid.
Within 10 minute the second victim is a dog.
At that point, you’re either in or you’re out!
I watched this one for the first time this week and was shocked at how quickly they went there in this one. It has it’s scary and gory moments, but wow, this opening really set the tone. It’s movies like this that the website Does the Dog Die? was invented.
Now, I love reading the Psalms. This collection of poems, hymns, and wisdom has a lot of peace, comfort, and hope. Part of that comes from writers who show their vulnerability. I love how Psalm 13 starts off worried but turns to hope. Or how Psalm 23 is about peaceful reassurance throughout. Or the sprawling affirmation of Psalm 139:
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
Then there’s Psalm 137 about trying to go from surviving to living in the midst of exile. They have been conquered but they hope in God. That’s awesome. We all go through tough times where we bare our souls. Then comes the last two verses. They take a real turn. How? That’s easy:
Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us!
Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!
8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us! 9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!
Um… I know you’re upset and want to be honest, but yikes. I didn’t see that coming. While Humanoids From the Deep makes it plain right away what kind of movie it is, Psalm 137 does a surprise sneak attack on you at the very end!
Two words that creeped me out as a kid.
I haven’t seen Firestarter (1984) in several years, but wow, there’s one scene that really sticks out for me. Psychic Andrew McGee (David Keith) protects his psychic daughter, Charlie (Drew Barrymore) from men trying to take her for experimentation. He forces them to freeze, then he tells them: “You. You’re blind.”
And they’re blind! And they scream in terror! One of those movie scenes that I definitely watched too young, because wow, I can picture it vividly even though I hadn’t seen it in a long time until posting this clip.
In Acts of the Apostles 9, a man named Saul is struck blind on the road. He hears the voice of Jesus tell him to stop persecuting others and to embrace his mission of love. Later, he becomes the apostle Paul and embraces his new identity.
9 Saul, still breathing threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
It’s an inspiring conversion story, no doubt. I also think some of us have heard or read it often enough that we can gloss over things like Saul’s likely terror in that moment. I think of the men left screaming when they think they’re blind in Firestarter and I wonder if Saul felt something similar. Obviously, it worked out for him, but the initial shock? As I’ve said before, he definitely did not see that coming!
The Halloween Countdown Continues!
It’s been fun to write a little bit about scary movies and scary Bible stories. If you’ve got a few ideas, let me know about them in the comments. In the meantime, if you need a little 80s horror nostalgia to go with your 21st century Halloween, check out this episode of The Purple Stuff podcast where the hosts discuss the broadcast television premiere of Fright Night. They made a video of the commercials from the playlist. Relive the 80s… and shudder!
Thanks for reading, sharing, and subscribing. God’s peace and good movies to you!