Apocalypse

I can't believe how bad this film is. It's amazing. The low budget stock footage, bad acting, bad directing, bad lighting, bad sound track and just tons of exposition on the end of the world according to the Christian myth!

I am glad I am not swept up into this like all the other responses on here! It's fun to watch and laugh at! I don't know what's funnier, the film or people who think this is good and take it seriously!

It is too bad that such a potentially good film with such a great plot has to be flawed by such poor talent in every other area. If only the production of this film, and others like it, would JUST TELL THE STORY with good acting and let the message be intuitively realized by the viewers instead of being rammed down their throats with soap operatic soliloquies and didactic preaching. Christian films, such as this one, tend to influence the viewer to seek salvation in other places than Christian Heaven.

However, with all its flaws, it may, for some, be worth watching and can even have you on the edge of your seat at times.

First off, I'm a Christian. Even I laugh insanely at this film. I don't know how anyone can watch it and not laugh. When my mother (who writes Christian devotionals for a living) and I watched this together when it first came out we almost died laughing.

Yes, it's that bad.

The camera work is horrible. The script is worse. It's filled with incredibly self righteous people. Stereotypical Christians run rampant. I don't understand how this movie got made. But hey, I'm glad it did. Whenever I feel the need to chuckle I just pop this in. I'm serious. I love how bad it is.

As a Christian, I get frustrated by how rarely my religion is honorably depicted on film, for most of the time, Christian characters are depicted as "misguided", "stuck-up," or else downright villainous. It is a frustrating stereotype, and I am glad that such films as Apocalypse exist to give honor to what I believe to be an honorable religion.

Apocalypse is a film that relies on a strong storyline and likeable characters, rather than a fancy set. As appearances go, the film comes off looking like somebody's home video(this is not a bad thing, considering that this is a low budget picture), but as the plot thickens and the characters grow(and their performances, particularly Richard Nestor's, grow on you), it is easy to get past this and get lost into the story. And what a story it is! Writers Peter and Paul Lalonde have constructed a thought-provoking script that depicts the coming of an all-powerful world leader who turns out to be the Anti-Christ, and his effect on the world and the people with in it. His coming particularly impacts news anchor Helen Hannah(Leigh Lewis, who gives an exceptional performance), a woman who would rather rely on her own instincts than on faith,despite the words of warning from her Grandmother, who believes that the chaos rocking their world(including a potential nuclear war) is a symbol that they are in their last days and that God is coming. Helen listens, but takes no account until a fatal day when, with only seconds remaining until the earth faces the danger of being destroyed by nuclear weapons, powerful leader Franco Macaluso comes into the picture and all violence stops. The planes containing nuclear weapons vanish, and so do millions of people all over the world, including Helen's grandmother. With Macaluso dubbing himself the true Messiah and claiming responsibility to these disappearances, it does not take long for Helen to realize that her grandmother was correct about God, and correct in the fact that the world was, in fact, entering its last days. With that in mind, Helen becomes a Believer and soon realizes that Macaluso, who is uniting the world through a hatred of God, must be the Anti-Christ. She tries to warn fellow anchor man Bronson Pearl(Nestor), but he has become so swept up in the "changes" Macaluso is making within the world that he continuously refuses to see the obvious signs that determine Macaluso's true identity until it is too late.

As Macaluso and his evil assistant(David Roddis) continue to overpower the world, all you can do is hope that the new Believers Helen and Bronson will come through, but anyone familiar with the Bible knows otherwise. "Apocalypse" proves to be a good character study, with a strong, impacting ending that makes one eager to see "Revelation" and the future "Tribulation." These are films to be admired.

So, I think that having the news be the way we see this unfold was smart. The people left behind have to grapple with what's happening, a new leader rises.

Of course, in this Universe, the book of Revelation isn't a revenge tale on Rome but a coming attractions...read disasters if only you'd heed before too late.

Acting is somewhat decent with Helen Hannah but she's convinced so quickly it feels unearned but necessary

The villains are campy and fell like they're coded gays. Hannah's boyfriend is not a strong actor to be in that position.

Overall, it's done okay and the series does better in other films, you do have to start s somewhere. While not terrible, remember it's the starting line but not too many excuses

It's engaging and the nearly folded clothes were a little bit like...huh? The angels are folding laundry when rapturing people? I think if you're looking for something theologically protestant, you're in the right place. Good? Meh... More like passable.

EDITED TO ADD: Some of this movie was cut into a 1998 John Hagee produced film Vanished. Maybe they worked on both side by side and used other footage for that one with a new cast.