Today’s article is about an overly unsettling film I saw in the theater recently whose title is going to remain anonymous simply because it was probably the most disturbing movie I’ve ever seen before on the big screen. Its subject matter was highly allegorical on the religious level and surrounded the actions of a Satan-like character.
During the course of this movie, every possible theatrical element I’d label as severely dark was visualized on the white canvas in front of me. From rage-filled acts of violence and murder, to killing babies, to rape, to idol worship, to addiction, to greed, to cannibalism, there surely was no shortage of showing what a religious person might label as truly sinful behavior.
While I won’t go so far as saying the movie was a terrible one, because ultimately on a cinematic flair it was actually rather unique, beautifully shot, and well acted, I will say that it is one I will probably never forget because of how uncomfortable I felt long after I had left the theater.
I’ve had several spiritual teachers throughout my life warn me that I should throw more caution to what I watch on television or at the theater, but I never quite understood that at the time. In recent years though, it’s begun to make a lot more sense.
You see, the more I’ve moved away from my old addiction-based life and sought a higher path of living, the more my spirit has become overly sensitive to seeing various things in entertainment that used to not bother me at all. And the more I’ve drawn closer to my Higher Power, whom I choose to call God, the more I find myself not wanting to see any of those things now that feel so low vibrational, such as severe acts of violence. I feel so extremely unsettled these days when I do, and even find myself getting sick to my stomach, which is precisely how I felt during the majority of the time I watched this film. I was so severely unsettled with this movie that I longed for it to end way before it finally did and even thought at one point about getting up and leaving the theater because of it.
Yet, I know movies are just another form of artistic expression, except in this case, this one went way too far, at least for me. While I don’t consider myself religious, as I’ve said many times before, I do have a strong faith in God and believe there are dark forces out there who provoke many of those things I saw going on in this film, to actually occur in real life. All you have to do is tune in to the news to see that sad reality.
I don’t want to see that type of content in the movies I go to because movies are one of the few healthy escapes I have left in life, so to watch something so unsettling only defeats the purpose. There are countless murders and rapes and addictions and other terrible acts of violence going on every single day in our world that to see them for two straight hours on the screen in front of me, only makes my movie-going experience more of an unhealthy escape than a healthy one.
Ironically just a few days prior to seeing this tremendously disturbing film, I had gone and seen an animated movie titled “Leap!” that was the exact opposite in its content. It was uplifting, inspiring, and even moved me to tears with its “Never Give Up!” message, and is the very reason why I fell in love with watching movies long ago. But in this case, when I left the theater after viewing such polarizing content, I felt as if I had done something wrong by even watching it and almost felt as if I needed to take a shower to cleanse myself from it.
Nevertheless, I absolutely agree with those spiritual teachers now and see why it may be best in the future to avoid watching content that will not only work against the purpose of me having a healthy escape in the first place, but also move me away from feeling the very thing I am wanting to achieve in life and that’s experiencing God’s true joy and peace…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson