The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord

source: The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord

The acting is very well done, as is the camera work by this single camera man. That being said, the actual plot was painful. This movie would be a bit boring even if it was barely over an hour. At over two hours, it is painful. Very painful. Ultimately because the drama comes from a great claim without any proof, after awhile they start to recycle arguments. I personally was a bit disappointed in the ending with how it turned out. However, after coming here and almost everyone thinking this is religious propaganda I actually changed my mind. Apparently almost nobody understood what was actually happening in this movie. In which case, well done to the writer. SPOILERSSSS SPOILERSSSS SPOILERSSSS SPOILERSSSS The dude has mental health issues and targeted her because he thought he could control her. I went through a cult podcast phase and worshiping & accepting a human as Jesus/God/A deity is the number one thing cult leaders usually do. We see this throughout the film with logic fallacies in his claims and a very skewed belief of she must do to be 'saved', which is accepting him specifically as Jesus/God/Whatever. At the start of the film he demands she stares into his eyes and basks in just his gaze (it's an odd scene), and near the end he almost straight up murders her for not admitting & accepting him as God. At the end of the film he tells her there is work to do, then shushes her when she asks questions. Then they stare into a sunset like two people tripping on a psychedelic This movie is about a man convincing a woman to worship and accept him as God. The questions I have are is she his first victim? Does he have a cult already? Is he making a cult or is this some kind of extra mental health issue flavor of spousal abuse? I am honestly a little surprised that most of these reviews didn't pay attention. To be fair, even I had to skip like 2/5 of this movie because he male character was just repeating similar arguments over and over.

I am a fan of films that are largly two people talking. The End Of The Tour, Southside With You, The Two Popes and Linklater's Before trilogy are all films I have really appreciated. I was hoping for something similar here, but didn't get it. Broadly speaking given the premise I think there are three legitimate answers as to what's going on: Scenario 1: He is a dangerously manipulative man (or possibly cult leader) who has lured his latest conquest to the middle of nowhere. Scenario 2: He is a nice guy who is suffering from a severe psychotic break. Scenario 3: He is God, or at least channelling God What I was hoping for was a film where all three of those scenarios were equally valid and given equal weight in the discussions between these two individuals. It very quickly becomes apparent that instead what we are going to get is a LONG theology/philosophy seminar debating the existence of God. It also becomes apparent early that the film-makers have a goal they want to get to. Both the directors went to a college in Pennsylvania founded by an Evangelist and the male lead is the son of a famous Texan country singer. You can guess what side of the theology debate they come down on. It's also amateurishly made. The score is an obtrusive mix of Carpenter-esque electronica and church organs, the sound mix in general is severely sub-par and edits within the same scene are often stilted and awkward. There are even some scenes where the framing is off. This didn't strike me as 'I'm going to break the rules for an artistic reason' it struck me as 'I don't know what the rules are'. Essentially this is 2 hours of proselytising. It has some OK ideas and OK acting, but it doesn't need to be this long and it doesn't need to come so firmly down on a specific side.

But this was like so totally over your head simpletons, like literally, like go to college or sumtin... I hate when people do that but these previous reviews are extra silly. Most people really didn't get it or even find the ballpark. It seems like religious people are mad at it for not being about their religion, atheists are mad at it for being too much about religion, and horror fans are mad for it not being horror (that last one is kind of valid). Its a slow building thought provoking mostly dialogue based single location movie, so if that's not exciting enough then I get that, but that's not what most people are critiquing so that's weird to me. I really enjoyed it myself. It kept me guessing as to the nature of the reality of the film until the end which I loved. Lots to think about if you have an open mind and go in blind without expectations or religion hangups. I don't know that I agree with the filmmakers or can even tell where they stand on most of the ideas explored, but it was definitely interesting and fun to ponder. Starts slow but definitely inflicts a growing sense of dread and suspense that leads to an ending I found very satisfying, others may not, I'd get that. Very unique and new and smart, don't see those adjectives much from modern movies, cant think of a movie to compare it to, so this one deserves much higher praise I think. Want to see more from whoever's responsible for this with a bigger budget.

Could of been such a good film but unfortunately it is terrible in my opinion. The main guy Michael is super annoying and the whole movie is just 2 people talking.

Maybe that of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, or maybe that of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, or maybe that of Fred Allen and Portland Hoffa, or maybe that of Joan and Christina Crawford, or maybe that of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, or maybe that of Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine, or maybe that of Tutahnkamun and Ahnkesunamun, or maybe that of Pygmalion and Galatea, (before Aphrodite interceded), or maybe that of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agripinilla the Younger? No, Jim and Pam, I think. See, there was this rock n' roll god-poet-lizard-demon-genius, who went to college, and his romantic muse...and these three other guys who could actually write and play music quite well. But in truth, 'tis a mystery best left to the Sphinx, Oliver Stone, and others whose heads are made out of rock. XYZ PS: Chuck Berry wrote many of Shakespeare's plays.

Blatant proselytizing. But i guess that's the point. Entire movie is 2 actors talking to each other for the duration. B-movie production and vibe. I do not recommend this movie for entertainment purposes.

I have seen the comparison to The Man from Earth and it is a fair one. That was a better film but I still was drawn in by this one. It is a two character play type of movie set at a secluded house in the woods. Michael and Gabrielle(I get it), are a young couple on a getaway when Mike suddenly declares himself to be God and lectures Gabrielle on faith. Is he the Lord or a lunatic? My own doubting Catholic background made me ponder the questions raised by the script. I did not predict the ending and although a bit too long, I can recommend this film.

The whole film amounts to a two hour religious monologue. If you would enjoy spending the same time reading a turgid religious tract then go for it. Otherwise you'll find it a dreadful grind and complete waste of time.

This is NOT a horror movie by any stretch of the imagination. It is a proselytizing piece of drivel filled with logical fallacies and flaws in reasoning. The god is not one from any religious text, totally made up by the screenwriter. The acting is terrible. And at 2+ hours it is 120 minutes too long.