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MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

It’s probably not a coincidence that this faith-based documentary was released to theaters on Hallowe’en weekend. What better time than this dark and creepy holiday to think about what happens to us after we die?

The filmmakers took the time to gather up a dozen of the most famous accounts of near-death experiences (NDE) of the last fifty years, beginning with psychiatrist Dr. Raymond Moody, whose 1975 bestselling book Life after Life shared accounts of 150 people who were pronounced clinically dead but then revived with clear visions of an existence beyond our lifetime. Similar experiences included viewing themselves from outside of their bodies and “walking toward the light”. Honestly, these descriptions of life after death have entered into popular culture in a way that attest to the influence of Dr. Moody’s research.

The film also includes Don Piper, whose 90 Minutes in Heaven told his personal story of experiencing heaven after a horrific highway accident mangled his body so terribly that he was pronounced dead before coming back to life an hour and a half later, with descriptions of heaven to share.

The movie includes testimonies from survivors of NDEs as well as neurosurgeons, ministers, and even a cardiologist who encourages the viewers to maintain a healthy skepticism about such eternal things.

With all of the promotional heft of Angel Studios (who made this year’s Sound of Freedom one of the biggest box office hits of the summer) and countless positive reviews posted online, I was hoping for some new revelations about eternity. Unfortunately, After Death is deadly dull and relentlessly boring. There is usually nothing more tiresome than hearing someone tell the same testimony that they’ve told hundreds of times before. But this movie manages to make things worse, interrupting initial interviews with other voices (and their stories) before circling back to let the first person finish.

The film implies that God has a plan for us and that eternal life with Christ is better than the scary alternative, but both the fear of hell and the witness of Jesus are presented so poorly, I cannot imagine anyone’s perceptions about life after death being changed by going to see this movie. In fact, some of the first-person accounts of hearing the voice of God in this film are substantially no different from what often occurs during a regular time of prayer and devotion. And no one has to die!

What is most offensive about these musings about eternal life is their self-focus. Rather than obsessing about where we will spend our individual eternities, we need to be about the business of proclaiming the Good News of God’s love for all people. If there is a heaven worth believing in, it is up to us to demonstrate what it will be like by living into it today in acts of mercy, justice, kindness and love.

Halo and Pitchfork Rating:

Two halos: A sincere but overwrought and unconvincing compendium of near-death experiences, which may possibly include this movie.
Two pitchforks: A brief mention of demons; the relentless droning of monotonous music.

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