Review by Tristan Bishop
Whenever I’m set to review a new film I try to avoid as much info as possible about it before viewing in order that I’m not swayed by anyone else’s opinion, or by my own presumptions. Whilst this is undoubtedly useful for giving as unbiased an opinion as possible, it can be a double-edged sword – occasionally a film will take me completely by surprise, whether it be a different take on a well-worn genre, or by a startling twist that comes right out of left field, but occasionally a film can surprise for different reasons entirely. Let’s be clear here – I had heard murmurs about Left Behind being given a critical panning on release in the US, with many considering it Nicolas Cage’s worst film (and oh my what a gallery of awfulness that would have to contend with), but, being a fan of Mr Cage’s more unhinged roles, I thought it might be worth giving the film a chance.
Although Cage is top-billed here the main role belongs to Cassi Thompson as Chloe Steele, a bright blonde college student who has flown home especially for her father’s birthday. Her pilot father Rayford (Cage) however was not aware she was coming, and her mother (Lea Thompson, better known as the young Lorraine McFly from Back To The Future) greets her instead. It transpires Rayford has been spending more time away from home since his wife’s recent conversion to Christianity, and when Chloe goes to meet him at the airport she notices he has removed his wedding ring and has been flirting with a sexy air hostess (Nicky Whelan from Rob Zombie’s Halloween II and, er, Neighbours). Chloe’s suspicions that her father is involved in an extra-marital affair seem to be confirmed when she discovers he has gotten hold of U2 tickets for two in London on his birthday (don’t you get those free with iPhones these days?) Back at home Chloe’s mother engages her in conversations about religion which Chloe reacts to with anger, and she ends up taking her brother to the mall to get out of the house. However, when they get there, Chloe’s brother disappears, leaving just his clothes behind, and it soon becomes clear that this is not an isolated incident – people are disappearing left, right and centre. Of course, this causes a few problems with people vanishing when driving cars, planes, and heavy machinery – and sure enough Rayford’s flight to London is also affected, when not only do all the children on board disappear, but also his co-pilot, and the rest of the film follows Chloe and Rayford in their attempts to deal with the disasters brought on by the mysterious vanishings.
Left Behind has been billed on promotional materials as an ‘apocalyptic thriller’, and whilst this isn’t *quite* untrue, it does deflect away slightly from the true nature of the film. I spent much of the first half wondering where the apocalyptic or thriller elements were, as all I was watching seemed to be a platitudinous soap opera about a dysfunctional family. However, as soon as the first pile of vacated clothes appeared, a little light bulb lit up above my head and I recalled that this film had the same name as another film I had read about, and sure enough it transpires that Left Behind is a remake of a 2000 film of the same name, based on a series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (which also spawned a series of video games). The reason you might be unfamiliar with this apparently extremely popular series is simple – they are basically Christian propaganda works about the Rapture (for the heathens out there this is the event whereupon the innocent are taken up to Heaven and the sinful are left on Earth to face the end of days, which explains all those missing children). I must admit to being a little surprised to see such a venture being released into the mainstream – although rapture tales are extremely popular in Christian America, their releases are usually confined to church circuits (with the films often being shown in churches themselves) or Christian book and video shops.
So with this particular ‘revelation’ (sorry) out of the way, we can assume this film isn’t really one tailored towards the general tastes of the Brutal As Hell readership, but the major problem with Left Behind is that I can’t really see it appealing to any kind of audience whatsoever – and a quick look at the box office records backs that suspicion up (although apparently it did pretty well in the Philippines). I guess the intention was to disguise the religious aspects of the film by making the heroes the ‘sinners’, but the Christian believers in the film don’t come off well at all, with all of them coming across as unbalanced and, well, a little bit weird. So any believers going to see this won’t see themselves painted in a very good light (aside from the whole ‘being saved’ thing), and non-believers will doubtless feel more than a little cheated that they’ve been served up a slice of God propaganda.
And what about that breed of us who enjoy bad films with Nicolas Cage in? Well, I’m afraid we’re a bit out of luck too. Cage never gets the opportunity to get crazy or do much acting at all here (incidentally Cage was raised as a Catholic which might explain why he agreed to do this gig); a problem shared by the rest of the cast, who spout basic, badly-written dialogue whilst looking TV pretty. In addition the pacing of the film is dreadful, generating no suspense or tension whatever (a pretty difficult thing to achieve when dealing with the end of the world itself), and the special effects are barely above the level of an Asylum Syfy Channel production. In fact, you’ll have a lot more fun with any of their films, or indeed with any other film ever. So be on the side of the angels and leave Left Behind as far behind you as humanly possible.
Left Behind comes to Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray on 5th January, from 101 Films.