"Nefarious": A Movie Worth Seeing

Another departure from public health discussions, inspired by current events

There is a lot of conjecture as to the reason Tucker Carlson and Fox News parted ways. One theory is that he crossed the line in a recent speech to the Heritage Foundation by suggesting we consider daily prayer regarding our future. Maybe. Maybe not. I saw the movie “Nefarious” last week and this conjecture reminded me of one of the scenes in the movie.

The movie is set on execution day for a serial killer, when an atheist psychiatrist is summoned to determine if this prisoner is sane, as his being insane would prevent his death by execution. What transpires is an unexpected conversation between a demon, named Nefarious, and the psychiatrist. It is both brilliant and fascinating. We gain insights on demon possession, the Fall of man, the Satanic rebellion against God, and God’s love for man. It is a horror movie, so some scenes are, in fact, horrible. I thought these scenes were effective, however, in inspiring compassion for our fellow man.

During one of the intervals where the demon allows the man he is possessing to speak, the psychiatrist, who believes he is dealing with a case of multiple personality disorder instead of demonic possession, does ask if it is possible to make Nefarious go away. When the man starts to explain that there is one, the demon retakes control, explaining his victim has broken one of the rules.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” In contrast to this Biblical revelation, denial of the demonic inspires recollection of the quote by Charles Baudelaire that, “[T]he greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Just as Satan finds it effective for us to believe he doesn’t exist, he also finds it effective for us to believe God doesn’t exist. I believe the rule his victim was about to break in the movie scene was to name God as a means of resisting the power of the devil.

The power of the movie is the disclosure that there are demonic forces bent on our destruction. I’ve heard testimonies of individuals coming to faith in God precisely because they witnessed pure evil, realizing that if consummate evil exists, consummate good must as well. This consummate good is revealed by the Word of God, another name for Jesus, revealed by the Holy Scriptures. His Word consoles us that we have power in His Name against the demonic.

My prayer is that many see this movie and are inspired to reject the nefarious plot of the enemy of our souls and accept the remedy of Christ. He is our only Hope.