The Visitation (2005)

Miracles are happening in the sleepy town of Antioch and everyone is talking about the mysterious stranger with the healing hands. "He is coming" proclaim his disciples but who is this charismatic stranger? Is this the true messiah a false prophet or something far more sinister? The townspeople are soon divided and when happenings at the stranger's revival tent take on a bizarre and frightening twist it's up to an ex-minister who's lost his faith to confront his own inner demons and unlock the shocking secret of The Visitation in this electrifying thriller. Based on the best-selling novel by Frank Peretti. From blockbuster producer Ralph Winter (X-Men X2 Fantastic Four).System Requirements:Running Time: 99 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE UPC: 024543222316 Manufacturer No: 2232231 Product Description

Fantastic Movie

This was a very well produced movie from Peretti's book. Like most, it did leave out some detail, but it was fantastic. It had terror, emotion, and excitement. I am a Student Minister and will be showing this movie to my youth. I would recommend this to anyone October 13, 2008

Scariest Movie I've ever liked

Most of the time I don't like watching scary movies, but the great Christian theme throughout the movie tied it all together well and made it a hair-raising watch. I read the book before watching the movie, so if you liked the movie, you should definitely read the book--it was even scarier! but sooo good. April 11, 2008

Too scary for younger kids

The Visitation was "enjoyed" by my 12 y/o, and as far as the rating goes (PG-13) it is a bit too scary for the younger ones. There are some graphic scenes which may be too much for younger eyes to see. The moral message (beware of false prophets) is one that would benefit from having an adult believer watching with preteens/teens to discuss during and after the movie. April 5, 2008

Not nearly as awful as I expected.

The Visitation (Robby Henson, 2006)

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Satan (and assorted henchmen) appear in a bucolic rural town, does a few parlor tricks, and immediately wins over most of the town's fervent Christians, leaving only an agnostic, an atheist (who used to be a minster, natch) and the town's Evangelical not believing this guy is really Jesus returned to Earth. But they persevere, with the help of the real Jesus, and of course everyone gets Christianized in the process. Sound familiar? It should; this is a tried and true plot of Christian (and, actually, secular) horror fiction. And guess what? The movie's based on a novel by Frank Peretti, the John Coyne of Christianity. (For those who don't remember Coyne, whose horror career-- he writes golf books now-- died a relatively unmourned death in the late eighties, he was responsible for hard-line genre potboilers that were notable for never straying from convention. I grabbed his name out of the air because I thought a couple of his books had been turned into movies, but IMDB seems to be rebuffing me on that point. I can't believe no one made a movie of The Legacy-- sheesh!)

That said, for an utterly predictable, silly potboiler, it's not half terrible; it reminds me a great deal of some of the killer-bug movies from the mid-seventies, lining up a great, great cast and giving them absolute squadoosh to work with. In this case, Satan's henchman is played by Edward Furlong, who never fails to being the noise. The fallen minister, quite ironically, is played by Martin Donovan (whose character in Saved! was such a delicious counterpoint to this); the agnostic is Kelly Lynch; the Evangelical is Randy Travis, who I have to say makes a much better actor than he does a singer. While that's not saying much, I do mean it as a compliment. There's a pretty good supporting cast backing them up, too; Satan's minion's right-hand man, especially. He's played by James Horan, of whom you haven't seen much, but you know him; he's done a great deal of voice work over the years. Why he's not in front of the camera more is beyond me; he's got a great look. Ellen Geer (Will's daughter) is a lot of fun here, too, and there are a bunch of other folks who provide as much color. Director Robby Henson seems to have a knack for making movies on a shoestring budget and getting casts of this caliber, look up his movie The Badge on IMDB and marvel. (This cast looks like pikers by comparison.) And to be fair, Henson did a fantastic job with what he had to work with; given the budget, this is a fine, fine-looking movie. I'm surprised two and a half million covered the film stock, much less everything else. Catering by Taco Bell, I guess?

If it hadn't been saddled with such a terrible, terrible script, this really would have been a bang-up effort. I'm simultaneously looking forward to and dreading Henson's two more recent films, both of which have been adaptations of Ted Dekker novels. ***
April 1, 2008

Buy with caution!!

I bought this movie after already previewing it through a friend of mine. It captures the essence of the Peretti book. It should not be viewed with children for the themes in the movie are very strong. It is not a horror flick but a Christian themed movie that has very strong spiritual presences (both good and evil) that could scare those of a younger age. I enjoyed the movie myself. The video quality is good, the acting is good at best, but again the story is true to the book. January 15, 2008

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