If a minister you know made this film, what would you think?
It’s dark and disturbing, kind of like the Cask of Amantilado by Poe. In fact, that gives away some of the plot.
Part of me things nothing of it. I’ve written stuff that many would consider inappropriate for a Christian author. Being creative sometimes requires exploration of dark things.
A part of it, I guess, is that I know the minister and that this exploration of his dark side is shocking to me because I cannot reconcile it with his sermons and personal interactions.
So I’m asking, not telling. Without using his name or location, what do you think? I really don’t want this to get sidetracked into a discussion about his church or associates. (I believe the elders of his church are in the production credits somewhere.)
Comments
16 Responses to “I Don’t Know What to Think”
I watched it and showed it to my husband. (fwiw, we had a friend in the mainline that made lots of movies and haunted houses, etc. no witchcraft but lots of goofy gory stuff so maybe I’m a little desensitized) and it really reminded me of something on ‘Creepshow’ or that show on Sat mornings on the SciFi channel that shows all those really bad ‘b’ movies and the host makes fun… I agree it’s an icky premise (and as someone else has pointed out not even well executed because the cement should kill you regardless) but it’s not awful. I think it was used as a vehicle to 1) promote the preacher’s acting ability - he’s really the only dimensional character in the movie and 2) be ‘relatable’ to the 15-25 year old range. The latter, I think, is the real motive (at least was probably used as the real motive to get funding). If you are trying to reach out to young, hip kids/young adults, the place to go today is not the Mall - it’s MySpace. So you make a movie - not about Jesus but about stuff that that age will watch. Then you sign up all your new friends. Then you get your church’s campus folks (that are already signed up on MySpace) to become their ‘friends’ and then you start your real ‘cyber’ evangelism. Get enough folks in a city - you have the potential for a church.
P - …..see the vision…..see the vision….
ttk
Well you know *I* know the guy. What’s funny is that Laura didn’t recognize him at first (I showed it to her without telling her who made it).
It didn’t bother or impress me in any way. Remember, it was originally a “short skit … buried 30 years ago” and isn’t some recent new creation.
As a short horror film, it is pretty good. I thought the acting wasn’t bad at all, and that is usually the weakest part of these types of films.
Art Alexakis? Dude, wasn’t he the lead singer of Everclear? How the heck did Stevie get him involved?
Anyway, the film was pretty derivative. It’s been done better before and since. Most recently in a dumb Toby Keith video that’s in heavy rotation on CMT right now. Well, that one’s only better because Krista Allen plays the doomed wife. I’m just sayin’…She’s a total Betty!
Art and Everclear have had a connection w/Steve and others for the last 8-10 years. Our previous LE actually officiated Art’s wedding and they are friends.
ttk
Okay, so it’s just me. I can accept that. Struck me as creepy and wanted a sanity check. Thanks to everyone.
I think it’s creepy. It was done well but very creepy. I’d wonder about his basement. I was totally creeped out by Toby Keith’s video until the funny ending.
I’m dumbfounded. I don’t know the guy, but I certainly know of him. Wow.
I can’t say it doesn’t bother me a little, but I’m not sure I can say that it’s wrong either. But if I didn’t know what he was up to (and I have no idea), I’d have a lot of questions if I was a member of his church and discovered this.
What does bother me is the deception on his my space page. He uses what I assume is his middle name as his last and he says he’s 96 years old, yet he uses his real location. What’s he up to?
How did you find that?
it may not necessarily be deceipt. if he is a member of SAG (screen actors guild) or another actor’s union you can only have one actor with the same name. So if there were another Steve Johnson, he may need to use the Leslie as part of his stage name.
TTK - Okay. But he’s not 96.
And to more directly answer Pinikidion’s question, yeah, it bugs me. I wonder, what’s in his head? What’s he up to with this? Is it just for fun? Maybe it is, but a blogging hobby or custom car or poetry or a Beanie Baby collection are more ‘normal’ hobbies. If he wants to be into film, why did he start with something so dark and seemingly devoid of moral content or message? Where did he get the money for it? It wasn’t something put together in your backyard with a camcorder. Did they really pour concrete on her face?!?!
On the other hand, I’m trying not to care what goes on up in Portland (TTK spilled the beans first!
), so whatever.
it’s all my fault…..so much power….so little time…
actually, I think the 96 thing may be a carryover from his resume where he says he can play characters from some age to 96 - I think he may have copied over stuff and MySpace just got part of it (it’s a stretch, I know…)
I still think it’s a way to evangelize the MySpace crowd. Weird, but totally plausible as a reason.
and then there’s the post from Henry Kriete over at ICCDF noting that his name is Henry and his wife’s name is Marilyn……subliminal messaging in SJ’s film???????
ttk
salguod: I think the 96 thing is humor. I certainly took it that way when I saw it.
Yes, that’s his middle name.
“blogging hobby” “normal” ROFL! Nothing us geeks ever do is gonna be “normal”.
Anyway, I think those of us who gave up careers hoping to help Steve make disciples have as much right to angry at him as anybody. I could argue more, especially some who intentionally chose to live modestly and know exactly what his house was like. But, to this day, I’m not - he made his decisions and I made mine.
But I won’t begrudge him a hobby, and certainly understand his desire to make a film from something he wrote with his now-deceased theater mentor from Freed-Hardman.
I won’t begrudge him his hobby, eiter. I thought it was just me and I wanted to make certain. “just me” meaning that what bothered me was the person making the short film and not a minister making a macabre short film.
After all, one of my hobbies is role-playing games. The same questions could be asked of me in regards to creating a game that uses magic and is fairly detailed in its usage.
Anywho, thanks for the thoughts. Feel free to continue this discussion, I’m not shutting it down by any means.
OK, well, having a ‘normal’ hobby isn’t exactly what I meant. I guess my head wouldn’t be spinning so much if he had been making short films for a while and then this came out. You know, a little comedy, a love story, then the creepy psycho thing. Maybe he has and I just didn’t know it. It seems like he’s been into acting and stuff and every one knew but me.
As far as the 96 years old, may be you’re right, it’s a joke. I can see that now, but from out here in Ohio looking in it seems pretty wierd.
I suspect it’s also me not getting the myspace thing. I don’t like myspace and I don’t understand the layout. Every time I go to myspace.com, I feel like I need to shower when I’m done. It just seems creepy somehow.
Man, I must be an old fart or something.
i am just wondering if anyone has bothered to comment on his myspace about the short film, good or bad? i liked it, a little creepy, not any worse then steven king or m. night shyamalan. i do not think of these men as being wierd. also as pinakidion pointed out it is very much like the Cask of Amantilado. and i love poe’s writings. as for the 96 years part, many people put that sort of thing on there myspace, i think you are all blowing that out of purportion.
I must be behind the times. Is he the same Steve J that was in NY? I saw that guy do a one man play in Chicago, (Gospel according to Mark I think), and it and he were very very good.
Anyway, I guess I don’t know his reasoning behind making it. I don’t understand artsy people. And, I’m too old to understand myspace except I wouldn’t let my kids go on it. So I can’t judge think except from and entertainment aspect and from that I thought the camera shots were nicely done, acting and scenes were good and it was a good creepy movie.
Now…If he used church money and was still employed by the church and used church time to do it maybe I’d wonder if church money was involved or if he gave back some of his income to spend the time necessary for that hobby or took vacation time to do it. I may be out of sorts but I think the time it took and money spent on it couldn’t justify it as an evangelism tool to be supported by church funds/time. But if it was just a hobby and he did it with his own time and money cool.
Or…he’s sending us a subliminal message that he wants out and needs room to breath…a mid life crisis thingy.???