What the Hell—emphasis on Hell—is the M.I.O. Christian horror film Nefarious trying to tell me?
Christian horror has always been an odd outlier in cinema, from the '70s exploitation schlock of A Thief in the Night or The Late Great Planet Earth to the more modern homilies of The Omega Code and The Hangman's Curse. And, you know, that was all fine and good. Hallelujah.
But lately, all things Christian have been thoroughly torn asunder. Oklahoma-infused MAGA culture has repurposed the now-trademarked God as the one true American leader—one who’ll bring the Lee Greenwood-mandated Bible back to schools, run out all non-white, non-Christians from town, and, of course, support Ryan Walters in his dumbed-down yet beatific crusades.
The Father, the Spirit, and the real God: Donald Trump. Amen.
In that spirit of cathode religion, the recently released horror flick Nefarious dives into a grittier realm of cinematic evangelism, with all the sheen and polish of a low-rent Saw sequel. It’s a biblically-tainted once-over that’s supposed to scare the holy Hell out of your congregation.
Well, at least that’s how it’s being promoted, right?
A Prairie Surf Studios production—yikes!—introduces us to substitute psychiatrist Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi), who heads to an Oklahoma prison while radio talk-show host Glenn Beck—yes, that Glenn Beck!—rants on air, likely about immigrants eating ducks or some other outrage.
Dr. Martin is there to review the case of Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery), a death row inmate set to be executed later that day. Though Brady appears to be pure Okie trash—the kind we all recognize—he’s also the vessel for a demon known as the Lord High Prince Nefariamus, or, for those who prefer brevity, simply Nefarious.
Neffy, as I like to call him, has a backwoods drawl and spews a steady stream of random trivia about his demonic nature. Worse yet, he informs Martin that by the end of the day, the good doctor will have to kill three people. What follows is a twisted game of cat and mouse, and then...
Nothing happens!
There are sermon-like philosophical diatribes about relationship struggles, new age priests, assisted suicide, multiple personalities, racism, self-mutilation, Ouija boards, abortion, deifying man as a god, and, worst of all, giving a doughy Glenn Beck a platform for his theosophy…but there is no real horror here!
Eventually, the state executes Brady, but is he really dead? Dum-dum-duuuum!
Mostly due to a limited budget, natch, it’s really just a two person play filmed in the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, Oklahoma (or reasonable facsimile), with no real atmosphere or dread. Featuring former Young Indiana Jones star Flanery as the demonic killer with a heart of cold, its cast is made up of former drama students acting as prison guards that might be on a long coffee break.
But, even more terrifying than the movie is the actual book the movie is based on. Authored by Conservative talk-show host Steve Deace, of all things, it believes more in election denying, Covid denying and non-straight-person denying and, in the end, it truly shows.
Sadly, to be sure, I did not like it.
But its fandom, as rabid as they are for low-quality trash, are developing a sequel called, truthfully, A Nefarious Carol that, hopefully, has Dr. Martin visited by three ghosts, none of them godless liberals.
Now that’s really scary!
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Follow Louis Fowler on Instagram at @louisfowler78.
