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'Nefarious' uses horror to tell a faith-based story. But Glenn Beck's cameo is really scary

“Nefarious” moves along like a garden-variety possession movie, with a convicted killer hours away from the electric chair trying to convince a court-ordered psychiatrist he is a demon who has taken over the prisoner.

Sean Patrick Flanery has a grand old time playing Edward, who has been convicted of several murders, and Nefarious, the demon who claims to possess him. Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) is the doctor who has to decide if he’s mentally competent enough to be executed.

It’s pretty standard horror fare — Edward knows an alarming amount about James’ life, even though there is no reason he should. A light bulb mysteriously explodes. “Probably just a coincidence,” Edward says, shrugging.

Flanery really sells the possession aspect, portraying the demon half of the character as super-intelligent and manipulative. But is he faking it?

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Is 'Nefarious' a Christian movie?

Without revealing too much, he then rants about abortion being murder, which is all well and good from the demon's perspective, but not from the filmmakers'. And they're not subtle about it.

Up to this point, you wouldn’t have guessed “Nefarious” is a faith-based movie. Although it’s not a surprise, given the other films writers and directors Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon have made; their resume includes such films as “God’s Not Dead” and “Unplanned.”

Which is fine, until their message becomes increasingly heavy-handed and the film begins to suffer accordingly, at least in cinematic terms. (How it works on a religious level will be up to you and your faith.)

But including Glenn Beck in your movie? That’s neither well nor good.

Glenn Beck doesn't belong in any movie

Beck is a loudmouth conspiracy theorist who wore out his welcome at Fox News, kinda sorta said he was sorry when he opposed Donald Trump in 2016, and then changed his tune again.

He showed up on Tucker Carlson , for whom he might be considered a role model in the misinformation game, the night Trump was indicted, predicting that within two years the U.S. would be at war (with whom varied), that the dollar would collapse and that we’ll be living in a “virtual police state.”

This is not someone you want in your movie, no matter what you believe.

Beck shows up at the end, playing himself, in an epilogue. He oozes sincerity and compassion.

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There's nothing subtle about 'Nefarious'

Before that, the film is mostly a set piece staged between Edward and James. James is an atheist — oops — who doesn’t believe in demons or possession, or in God for that matter. Edward assures him that this will not protect him.

If you’re such a non-believer, Edward taunts, then let me inhabit you. (Note: He’s speaking as Nefarious at this point.) The confident James says sure, why not?

Dude, have you ever seen a horror movie?

A priest shows up to talk to Edward, who, while as Nefarious, screams and says he isn’t welcome — until the priest assures him that the Catholic Church long ago evolved to believe that most of what people think of as possessions are in fact forms of mental illness.

This renders the priest’s faith impotent, of course — it reminded me of the showdown between the priest and Barlow the vampire in “ Salem’s Lot ” — and Edward settles down, knowing he has nothing to fear from him.

It’s a bit much.

Again, subtlety is not the film’s strong point. Neither is casting.

Using horror to tell a faith-based story is interesting, if not successful

Flanery is the most interesting thing in the movie, as Edward/Nefarious torments the doctor. Belfi comes off as more bland, though so would anyone acting opposite Flanery.

Using the horror genre to tell a faith-based story is an interesting idea, even if it doesn’t really work in the end. And then Beck shows up, and that’s the scariest thing of all.

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'Nefarious' 2 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Directors: Chuck Konzelman, Cary Solomon.

Cast: Sean Patrick Flanery, Jordan Belfi, James Healy Jr.

Rating: R for some disturbing violent content.

How to watch: In theaters April 14.

Reach Goodykoontz at  [email protected] . Facebook:  facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm . Twitter:  @goodyk . Subscribe to  the weekly movies newsletter .

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Screen Rant

Nefarious ending explained: why the horror movie feels like a true story.

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The 10 Most Malevolent Demonic Possessions In Movies

The best demonic possession movie of 2023 revitalizes the subgenre (& it's not the exorcist: believer), best horror movies on netflix.

• Nefarious blends evil, mental health, and supernatural themes, sparking viewer introspection on morality and reality.
• The demon Nefarious embodies a complex form of corruption, manipulating human vulnerabilities to challenge morality and free will.
• Despite what many viewers may think, Nefarious is not based on a true story, but the 2016 Steve Deace novel, The Nefarious Plot.

The following article contains discussions of attempted suicide.

The 2023 horror film Nefarious intricately weaves a narrative that delves deep into the psyche, leading audiences to wonder if Nefarious is based on a true story. Centering on a psychiatrist assigned to evaluate Edward Wayne Brady, a death row inmate claiming possession by a demon named Nefarious, the film explores themes of evil, mental health, and the supernatural within the confines of a stark penitentiary. This premise invites viewers to question the nature of reality and morality, blending psychological horror with supernatural elements to probe the darkest corners of human existence.

Despite its compelling narrative and thematic depth, Nefarious faced negative reviews from critics, garnering an unfavorable 33% on Rotten Tomatoes . However, this critical reception contrasts sharply with the film's overwhelming approval from audiences, who gave it a 96% audience score, underscoring a significant divergence between critical and viewer perceptions. This discrepancy highlights the film's ability to connect with viewers on a personal level, stirring deep-seated fears and existential questions, along with the feeling of the film being a true story.

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What Happens At The End Of Nefarious

Nefarious is responsible for the three deaths in dr. martin's life.

Edward Wayne Brady is at the center of the Nefarious ending, his fate intertwined with that of Dr. James Martin. Brady's dark prophecy—that three deaths would occur before his departure from the state penitentiary—begins to materialize in a haunting and unexpected manner. The first of these tragic events is the death of Dr. Martin's mother, a deeply personal loss that had already occurred when Martin made the agonizing decision to take her off life support, a decision Brady eerily references, hinting at his unnerving knowledge of Martin's personal life.

The second foretold "death" occurs when Dr. Martin's girlfriend has an abortion on the basis that she thinks he will leave her because of the pregnancy. This is untrue, but when Dr. Martin calls his girlfriend to set the record straight, he learns that she has already gone through with the abortion.

Brady's influence extends beyond his death through the manuscript he authors under the demon Nefarious' influence. Titled The Dark Gospel , this work serves as a macabre diary of Dr. Martin's life, suggesting an otherworldly knowledge and manipulation of human affairs. Martin, initially skeptical of Brady's claims, is forced into a reevaluation of his beliefs following a near-fatal altercation with Brady, which precipitates the state's execution of the convicted murderer. This encounter leaves Martin grappling with the reality of evil, both human and supernatural.

In a final twist, as Nefarious attempts to claim Martin in a desperate moment, a failed suicide attempt—potentially thwarted by divine intervention—leaves Martin questioning the very nature of existence and the forces at play within it. Refusing to accept this as mere coincidence, Martin takes it upon himself to publish The Dark Gospel , rewriting it as a cautionary tale against the pervasive evil lurking in the world.

A year later, during a television appearance to promote the book, Nefarious returns to confront Martin one more time . Now inhabiting another host, Nefarious reiterates the eternal struggle between good and evil. This chilling encounter serves as a stark reminder of the film's central, if not heavy-handed, theme: the battle between light and darkness is unending, and the human soul is the battleground on which this eternal war is fought.

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Demonic possession continues to terrify just about everyone. These 10 have been deemed chilling, and they've been ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.

What Is The Nefarious Demon?

Nefarious isn't just a demon but an insidious form of corruption.

The Nefarious demon, a central figure in the film, embodies far more than the traditional concept of a malevolent spirit seeking to possess and corrupt its human hosts. This entity is portrayed as an ancient and intelligent force of evil, with motivations and a history that suggest a complex understanding of human nature and the moral dilemmas that individuals face. Unlike many demonic characters depicted in horror cinema, Nefarious does not merely aim to invoke fear or chaos but engages in a more insidious form of corruption, targeting the souls and psyches of its victims.

Nefarious' influence over Edward Wayne Brady and, by extension, Dr. James Martin, is a testament to its manipulative prowess. Through Brady, the demon reveals an intimate knowledge of Martin's life, including his deepest fears and most painful memories. This suggests that Nefarious' power lies not only in its supernatural abilities but in its psychological acuity , enabling it to exploit the vulnerabilities of its targets effectively. The demon's goal is not just to possess bodies but to challenge and corrupt the very essence of what makes them human: their capacity for love, morality, and free will.

The creation of The Dark Gospel under Nefarious' influence is particularly telling of the demon's ambitions. This manuscript is not just a record of Martin's life but a tool designed to spread Nefarious' malevolent ideology , suggesting that the demon's intentions extend beyond individual torment to a broader desire to challenge societal norms and moral codes. The book serves as a physical manifestation of Nefarious' influence, a sinister testament to its long-term planning and strategic manipulation of human affairs.

Why Brady Was Given The Death Sentence

He is declared sane despite being possessed by nefarious.

Edward Wayne Brady's conviction and subsequent death sentence in Nefarious are pivotal to the film's exploration of justice, morality, and the supernatural. Brady, portrayed as both a victim and perpetrator, finds himself at the intersection of the legal system and the unseen world of demonic possession in the movie . His conviction for the murders of six individuals sets the stage for a complex narrative, where the lines between guilt and innocence, freedom and punishment, are blurred by the film's supernatural elements.

The murders for which Brady is sentenced to death are depicted not merely as acts of violence but as manifestations of a deeper, more insidious evil. This representation challenges the audience to reconsider the nature of accountability when actions may be influenced by forces beyond human understanding. Nevertheless, despite being possessed by Nefarious, Dr. Martin still declares him sane, meaning that Brady will get the death penalty .

From Pazuzu in The Exorcist to Valek in The Conjuring, here are 10 of the most twisted demonic possessions portrayed in horror movie history.

Why Nefarious Tried To Kill Martin

The demon is testing martin's faith & convictions.

The attempt on Dr. James Martin's life by the demon Nefarious represents a critical juncture, serving as a dramatic manifestation of the film's exploration of good versus evil, belief versus skepticism, and the power of human resilience in the face of supernatural threats. This confrontation between Martin and Nefarious is not merely a physical battle but a symbolic struggle that delves into the complexities of faith, personal conviction, and the inherent vulnerability of humans when confronted with malevolent forces that challenge the very foundations of their understanding of the world.

Nefarious' attempt to kill Martin can be interpreted as a strategic move aimed at undermining the last bastions of resistance against its dark influence . As a psychiatrist, Martin represents a scientific and rational approach to understanding the human mind — perspectives that are inherently at odds with the irrationality and chaos sown by demonic forces like Nefarious. By targeting Martin, Nefarious seeks to not only eliminate a direct threat but also dismantle the symbolic order that Martin stands for, further blurring the lines between logic and superstition, between the natural and the supernatural.

This act of aggression can also be seen as a test of Martin's faith and convictions . Throughout the film, Martin struggles with his own beliefs, oscillating between skepticism and the dawning realization that there may be truths beyond the reach of science and reason. Nefarious' attempt on his life forces Martin to confront these doubts head-on, pushing him to a point where he must choose between succumbing to despair or embracing a broader understanding of reality that includes the possibility of supernatural evil.

One demonic possession movie pushed the limits of horror in 2023 much like The Exorcist did in the 1970s, but it wasn't The Exorcist: Believer.

Why Nefarious Feels Like A True Story

The movie's themes are rooted in historical & contemporary fears.

Nefarious ' exploration of themes such as demonic possession and the influence of malevolent forces on human behavior resonates with historical and contemporary fears and fascinations. Throughout history, stories of possession and the battle between good and evil have found their place in the folklore and mythologies of various cultures. By drawing on these deep-rooted narratives, Nefarious taps into a collective unconscious, evoking a sense of familiarity and truth that transcends the boundaries of fiction. The film's portrayal of these themes through the lens of modern characters makes the story feel all the more real and immediate to its audience.

While Nefarious isn't based on a true story, it is based on Steve Deace's 2016 novel The Nefarious Plot . This connection to a pre-existing literary work imbues the film with a sense of depth and premeditation. According to Deace, the film acts as a prequel to his novel, integrating several lines from the book and retaining the demon Nefarious. Deace commented (via Christian Forums ):

"This movie serves as a prequel of sorts to my book A Nefarious Plot. Several lines from it are quoted in the film, and the Nefarious of my book is the one in the film, albeit with Sean Patrick Flannery’s personal touch. But the movie will show you the origin of my book. In 2020, I wrote a sequel to it called A Nefarious Carol, which we will also adapt into a film if this one is successful."

This deliberate weaving of the novel's themes and characters into the film's narrative fabric anchors it in a broader literary and thematic context, enhancing the story's resonance as reflecting true-to-life struggles, albeit through a supernatural lens. Additionally the comments by co-directors Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon about the film's marketing and thematic grounding further illuminate why Nefarious feels like a true story. By presenting the religious horror movie within the framework of mainstream genre, the creators strategically positioned Nefarious to engage viewers beyond the confines of typical genre expectations. Konzelman explained (via Denver Catholic ):

"It’s grounded in a theological sense, but it’s also entertainment. And don’t be afraid of the poster — [it] looks pretty intimidating. The poster is a Trojan horse designed to lure the mainstream horror audience into the film, nonbelievers."

Solomon added:

"Basically, they look at the poster and say, 'We want to go to that movie' because they’re drawn to the occult, which is exactly why we did the poster. In reality, anyone who has seen the movie can tell you there’s no sex or any bad language."

The deliberate choice to eschew explicit content such as sex and bad language speaks to the film's intent to focus on deeper, more universal themes rather than shock value. This decision reinforces the film's accessibility and its potential to resonate with a wide audience by centering on the narrative's moral and existential dilemmas rather than relying on genre conventions. The result is a film that not only captivates and entertains but also invites viewers to ponder significant questions about faith, evil, and the human condition — elements that are very much a part of the real world’s fabric.

The psychological depth of the characters and their moral dilemmas lend a sense of authenticity to the narrative. The characters in Nefarious , particularly Dr. James Martin and Edward Wayne Brady, are not mere archetypes but complex individuals facing profound ethical and existential challenges. Their struggles with faith, guilt, and redemption mirror the internal conflicts that many people experience, making their journeys relatable and their decisions and transformations believable. This psychological realism transforms the supernatural elements of the story into metaphors for the internal demons that everyone battles, thereby grounding the film's more fantastical aspects in genuine human experiences.

With all the streaming content out there, you're bound to find a great horror film to enjoy for the season and Netflix is the best place to look at.

The Real Meaning Of The Nefarious Ending

The movie's ending declares that the conflict between good & evil is never ending.

The Nefarious ending serves as a complex tapestry that interweaves themes of good versus evil, faith, and human resilience, offering a nuanced meditation on the nature of morality and the eternal struggle that defines the human condition. At its core, the film's conclusion transcends the conventional horror narrative, positioning itself as a philosophical inquiry into the essence of evil and the capacity for redemption in the face of darkness .

The final confrontation between Dr. James Martin and the demon Nefarious, especially through the latter's new human host, crystallizes the film's exploration of the cyclical nature of good and evil. This moment in Nefarious is not merely a climactic battle but a symbolic representation of the ongoing war between light and darkness, a theme that resonates deeply with the audience's understanding of their own internal and external battles. Nefarious' parting message to Martin — that the conflict between good and evil is never-ending — serves to highlight the perpetual nature of this struggle.

Watch On Amazon Prime Video

Nefarious (2023)

Nefarious is a 2023 thriller directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon. The film follows the story of a death row inmate who claims to be possessed by a demon. As his execution date approaches, a psychiatrist must determine whether the inmate's claims are genuine or a ploy for an insanity defense. This gripping narrative delves into themes of belief, morality, and the supernatural.

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Common Sense Media Review

Talky, faith-based thriller has a gruesome execution scene.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Nefarious is a faith-based thriller about a psychiatrist who's interviewing a Death Row inmate who claims to be a demon. It includes a gruesome, shocking electrocution sequence: A man twitches in agony, foams at the mouth, etc. There's also graphic dialogue describing the process …

Why Age 15+?

Gruesome, horrifying execution sequence shows a person twitching in agony, foami

Sporadic uses of "son-of-a...," "bastard," "damn," "hell," "sucked," "stupid," "

Cigarette smoking in more than one scene.

Any Positive Content?

Viewers' perception of the movie's messages will likely vary widely based on the

It seems as if James is the hero, but he's very unlikable for most of the movie

The four characters with the most screen time -- James, the demon, the warden, a

Violence & Scariness

Gruesome, horrifying execution sequence shows a person twitching in agony, foaming at mouth, etc. Graphic dialogue describing the process (vomiting, urinating, defecating, eyeballs melting, etc.). A person dies by suicide, falling past a picture window and screaming. Character breaks own fingers. A character attacks another character, slamming his head on a table, wrapping a chain around his neck, nearly strangling him. Guards beat a man with clubs. Person grabs a gun, waves it at innocent bystanders, then puts gun to throat and pulls trigger. (The gun clicks and doesn't fire.) Jump scare (a light bulb suddenly explodes). Discussions of murder and killing. Mention of "sex slaves."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sporadic uses of "son-of-a...," "bastard," "damn," "hell," "sucked," "stupid," "ignorant," "poseur," "pathetic trash," "dirtbag."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Viewers' perception of the movie's messages will likely vary widely based on their beliefs. Movie seems to be arguing that atheism is naive and silly, while faith in a higher power is absolutely a given, but it puts this argument into the mouth of a demon and then pulls a bait-and-switch at the end. So even if we can guess what the movie is up to, the storytelling undermines it. Movie also has a clear pro-life/anti-abortion viewpoint and is in opposition to assisted suicide for chronic patients.

Positive Role Models

It seems as if James is the hero, but he's very unlikable for most of the movie -- and shown to be wrong about everything he believes in. During the "one year later" scene at the end, he seems to have changed and is open to accepting new possibilities, but he's hardly a clear role model.

Diverse Representations

The four characters with the most screen time -- James, the demon, the warden, and a priest -- are all White men. Women and people of color appear either briefly or in the background.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that Nefarious is a faith-based thriller about a psychiatrist who's interviewing a Death Row inmate who claims to be a demon. It includes a gruesome, shocking electrocution sequence: A man twitches in agony, foams at the mouth, etc. There's also graphic dialogue describing the process (vomiting, urinating, defecating, eyeballs melting, etc.), plus death by suicide, finger-breaking, an attack, head-slamming, attempted choking with a chain, beating with clubs, and more. A character threatens bystanders with a gun, then points it at his own chin. (It clicks but doesn't fire.) Expect violent dialogue, as well as words like "son-of-a...," "bastard," "damn," "hell," "sucked," "stupid," "poseur," "pathetic trash," and "dirtbag." People smoke cigarettes in more than one scene. The movie has clear pro-life (and anti-abortion), pro-faith messages. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (34)
• Kids say (3)

Based on 34 parent reviews

Nefarious outperforms.

What's the story.

In NEFARIOUS, Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) is called on to perform a grim task. He's asked to evaluate incarcerated killer Edward Wayne Brady ( Sean Patrick Flanery ) to determine whether Brady is mentally fit for his impending execution. The warden (Tom Ohmer) warns the doctor that Brady is extremely clever and highly manipulative. And, indeed, it's not long before the accused says that he's actually a demon called "Nefarious." He tells James that, before the day is up, he will commit three murders -- and, additionally, he will publish a book that will change the world. Is Brady exhibiting signs of schizophrenia, or is he telling the truth?

Is It Any Good?

Well-acted and with decent production values, this faith-based thriller unfortunately gets stuck in its two-person back-and-forth sermoning, making it all too obvious what the outcome will be. At first, Nefarious looks like it will be heading into a tense stand-off, but before long it becomes clear that there's an agenda in place. James, an atheist, soon becomes powerless against the all-knowing demon, and every single thing he says is challenged and shot down, with no possible retort available. Then the inevitable happens, with no suspense. But what's confusing is that, if the movie is siding with the monster (as it does, all the way up to the cop-out coda), what is it really about? Even the fact-based elements -- like the process of an execution or the protocols of psychiatry -- seem to have been short-changed. Eventually, there's little to do but focus on the movie's smaller flaws, like Flanery's scenery chewing performance (he rapidly flicks his eyes and looks like he's trying to pick something out of his teeth with his tongue), or the baffling number of times he says "James" or "Jimmy," even though it's only the two of them in the room. In the end, Nefarious is a great title wasted on a letdown of a movie.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Nefarious ' violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

What is the movie's stance on capital punishment? What's the difference between the talk radio show's depiction (they call it "Game Day") and the actual electrocution?

How would you describe the movie's messages? Do you have to be a viewer of faith to appreciate them?

How is cigarette smoking depicted? Is it glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 14, 2023
• On DVD or streaming : June 2, 2023
• Cast : Sean Patrick Flanery , Jordan Belfi , Tom Ohmer
• Directors : Cary Solomon , Chuck Konzelman
• Studio : Believe Entertainment
• Genre : Thriller
• Run time : 98 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : some disturbing violent content
• Last updated : August 25, 2024

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• DVD & Streaming
• Christian , Crime , Drama , Horror , Mystery/Suspense , Thriller

Content Caution

In Theaters

• April 14, 2023
• Sean Patrick Flanery as Edward Wayne Brady/Nefarious; Jordan Belfi as Dr. James Martin; Tom Ohmer as Warden Tom Moss

Home Release Date

• May 2, 2023
• Chuck Konzelman, Cary Solomon

Distributor

• Soli Deo Gloria Releasing

Movie Review

After 11 years on death row and many delays, serial killer Edward Wayne Brady is scheduled to be executed by electrocution in an Oklahoma prison. But before that justice can be meted out, a professional psychiatrist must certify that the convicted killer is, in fact, sane—a step that’s proving difficult to complete.

“Every time this guy Brady’s number comes up, something happens,” the prison’s warden, Tom Moss, tells Dr. James Martin, the doctor who’s just arrived to certify Brady’s sanity. Indeed, James’ own mentor, Dr. Alan Fischer, was supposed to have done it. But after meeting with Brady, Fischer took his own life.

The incarcerated killer is, Warden Moss warns James, a “master manipulator.” Then he adds, “Brady knows what’s coming. He’s playing the system. And if you allow him to, he’ll play you too.”

James is unperturbed. He’s a professional, after all. “Look, I get lied to all the time. Figuring out the truth behind the lie is what I get paid to do.”

But Dr. James Martin has never encountered anyone like Edward Wayne Brady. In fact, it’s not clear that the person James is speaking to is Edward at all .

“Death doesn’t scare me, James,” the convict tells James.

“And why is that?”

“Because I can’t die. You see James, I’m a demon. … [Edward is] merely my host body, which I inhabit.”

James, whom we soon learn is a staunch atheist, doesn’t buy Edward’s demonic possession story. But Edward—who tells James that his real name is Nefarious—is just as unperturbed as James was a few minutes before.

And, Nefarious says, he has a secret. A secret about James: “Before you leave here today, you will have committed three murders.”

“I don’t think so,” James says coolly.

“Has nothing to do with your thoughts, your wants, your yeses or your nos. It simply is. It’s a fact. It’ll happen because I say so.” And in the handful of hours that follow, Dr. James Martin might just discover whether Nefarious is who he insists he is.

Positive Elements

There’s little here that can be characterized as positive in the way we normally talk about characters’ moral virtue or choices. James is, in a way, a sympathetic character, because he quickly begins to realize that whatever is going on with Edward/Nefarious, it’s unlike anything he’s ever encountered.

But James himself is not particularly noble or good. He’s good at his job, certainly. But as Nefarious points out, he’s self-serving and focused on his own needs and wants, unwilling to sacrifice anything for the sake of others. And, it seems, the demon’s clear-eyed understanding of James’ character is deadly accurate.

What we could characterize as positive, then, is this cautionary tale’s main message: The devil and his underlings are not to be underestimated in their ability to deceive and destroy—especially when it comes to their capacity to nudge humans into terrible self-deception. And with that decidedly spiritual moral in mind, let’s move on to the next section, because we’ll have a lot to unpack there.

Spiritual Elements

The vast majority of the film’s hour-and-a-half runtime revolves around two men sitting across a table from each other, talking.

That might not seem very dramatic. But it is. In fact, as the stakes rise throughout the course of this discussion, we can feel James becoming quietly frantic. He initially tries to debunk the notion of demonic possession and the possibility that this is what he’s facing with Edward and Nefarious—who are, I should say, two completely distinct entities here. (James tries to explain it away as dissociative identity disorder.) Nefarious occasionally gives Edward a chance to speak, and invariably, the demonized man desperately tries to convince James that he’s been under the demon’s control for years.

Most of the time, though, Nefarious is in control of the conversation. And there’s a lot of it as the two of them discuss the reality of God, demons, the devil, heaven, hell, judgment, damnation, free will and the ways that demons manipulate humanity to accomplish their primary purpose: smearing and marring, mutilating and destroying those created in God’s image.

Nefarious unpacks the long-term strategy that demons use to influence and possess someone: “Control of a host body comes in degrees, each with its name and characteristics: extreme temptation, obsession, infestation, finally possession, full subjugation. We own him.”

Nefarious later returns to the idea that he’s been watching and grooming James to use him for James’ entire life. “I chose you, James. And ever since then, I’ve been watching you, analyzing you, observing you, studying you for your weaknesses.”

“From inside a prison cell?” James asks (and a good question, at that).

“Demons can only be one place at a time. But we can be any place we choose. Usually I’m here with Edward. The remaining time, I’m with you.”

Every time James thinks he’s somehow logically or rhetorically outflanked Nefarious, the demon simply laughs at him.

James, for example, proudly suggests that mankind has evolved past religious dogma to a more enlightened, progressive understanding of reality. Freedom , he calls it. “We’ve never been freer. Literacy is at an all-time high. We’re working to eliminate racism, intolerance, gender inequality. People can love whom the want, be who they want, do what they want. Diversity is no longer a dream. Hate speech is no longer tolerated. And politically, we’re reclaiming the moral high ground.”

Nefarious laughs: “James, I think I love you.” He goes on to say that the world has more slaves than ever before in history: “Forty-eight million slaves—half of them sex slaves. Hate speech? The irony is we didn’t even come up with that one. You did it all by yourself. Sometimes you amaze even us. Now there’s evil everywhere, and no one even cares.”

“Yeah, I don’t agree,” James counters.

“Proving that we achieved our goal. Slowly. With your movies, your TV, and your media. We desensitized you. Redirected your worldview. To the point that you can’t recognize evil when it’s right in front of your face. More to the point, James, you can’t even feel it when you’re doing it. As for winners and losers, whoa, whoa, whoa! That gets decided at the time of death. The exact numbers are a closely guarded secret, but there are more of you ending up in my master’s house than with the Enemy. A lot more, Jimmy.”

There’s a great deal more of such conversation throughout this tense film as James is forced to confront the possibility that perhaps his cherished beliefs—or lack thereof—are simply wrong.

Sexual Content

Nefarious knows James has gotten his current girlfriend pregnant.

Violent Content

Nefarious breaks his own fingers grotesquely at various points. Near the film’s end, we see that that his hand is badly bruised from those self-inflicted injuries.

Nefarious brags that through Edward, he’s killed 11 people: “Six convicted, one suspected, four that they don’t have the capacity to figure out.”

James’ mentor, Dr. Alan Fischer, commits suicide by jumping off a building after his interaction with Nefarious. We see him fall past a window, screaming.

Nefarious graphically describes how electrocution will affect Edward’s body: “He’ll urinate, defecate and vomit, all at the same time. The sickly sweet smell of burning flesh will permeate the chamber.” He goes on with more such details, finally concluding, “I can’t think of a better introduction to damnation. It’s so horrible it’s wonderful, James. Only crucifixion is worse, but that really wasn’t on the menu, was it?”

I had hoped that verbal description would suffice. But when Edward is executed—which feels like a forgone conclusion—the camera does indeed show us most of the horrible things Nefarious predicted. It’s a graphic, gratuitous, lengthy, disturbing scene that leaves Edward a smoking and burnt corpse. It definitely earns this film’s R-rating.

In the course of their conversations, the subject of abortion comes up (which has a deeply personal connection to James’ own story). Nefarious connects the modern-day practice of abortion to infant sacrifice in biblical times in a way that infuriates James. “The Creator creates, and we destroy. And we do all of it through you. We always have. Did you forget your history, Jimmy? Even in ancient times, the arch-demon Molech was celebrated by tossing infants into flaming bonfires.”

“What does this have to do with me?” James asks.

“Oh, nothing, James. Especially since the priests now wear surgical scrubs, the killing takes place in the womb, so there’s no screaming to be heard anyway, and the remains are tossed into a gas-fired crematorium. No, James, no, no, no. There’s no parallel whatsoever to you. Can you imagine the agony the Carpenter feels when we rip a child to pieces inside its own mother’s womb? ‘Cause that’s what we do, James. You and us. We do it together. … And all hell rejoices.”

Two physical altercations nearly leave another person dead by the end of the film, one involving a chain and suffocation, the other a gun pointed at someone’s head.

[ Spoiler Warning ] In a way, by the end, James is at least partially responsible for the deaths of three people, though not in ways he—or we—really see coming.

Crude or Profane Language

One use each of “d–n,” “d–ned,” “h—,” an unfinished “son of a—” and “What the heck?”

Drug and Alcohol Content

The prison warden tells James that he always buys a pack of cigarettes the day before an execution, then tosses whatever he hasn’t smoked after that. Accordingly, we see both the warden and James each smoke a couple of cigarettes.

Other Negative Elements

Nefarious is not your average thriller. Or horror movie. Or Christian movie. In fact, it’s not like much I’ve ever seen.

Christian movies often rely on chatty exposition in a way that can, at times, make them feel more like sermons than stories. We Christians, especially Protestants, tend to trust our words and clear theological answer s more than we trust images and unanswered questions . So we use lots of both.

There are a lot of words in this movie. I’d love to know how many, actually. But somehow, all that talking didn’t feel like a sermon to me—even though the demon Nefarious does plenty of sermonizing. Instead, it felt like a remarkably unnerving illustration of how Satan and his demons deceive, divide and destroy—all reinforced by tour de force acting performances by Sean Patrick Flanery (Edward/Nefarious) and Jordan Belfi (Dr. James Martin).

At the risk raising an eyebrow or two, I think this intense thriller feels like a second cousin of sorts to C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters , that famous work in which a senior demon explains to a junior demon exactly how to deceive humanity. Like Lewis’ demonic dialogue there, Nefarious also prompts and provokes us to ponder how our spiritual enemy lights the long fuse his dastardly deeds.

There’s a lot to unpack in this film. For some, I think it could be a redemptive conversation starter about spiritual reality and spiritual warfare.

That said, two cautions.

One, this movie is R-rated for a reason, namely, that electrocution scene at the end. It’s graphic, grisly and disturbing. It rightly warrants the restrictive rating this film has been given. Those images should be approached with caution and consideration and the knowledge that the climatic execution scene is on its way.

Second, pop-cultural depictions of demonic influence and activity always need to be weighed carefully from a theological perspective. I think this movie gets the big-picture details right and powerfully reminds us of them: We have a spiritual enemy who “only comes to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). This movie illustrates that truth powerfully. Still, I suspect that experts in the area of demonic influence might have some questions to ask about the details of how that phenomenon is fictionally represented here.

Nefarious is a provocative film, one that illustrates the cautionary counsel of 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Whether or not you or your family members need to see this intriguing-but-disturbing film to be reminded of that truth is a question you’ll have to answer on your own.

Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

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‘Nefarious’ Is Unlike Any Other Christian Horror Movie

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The Big Picture

• Nefarious is a Christian thriller that rises above clichés, presenting itself as a psychological horror with low supernatural content.
• Sean Patrick Flanery's performance as the maniacal demon Nefarious is captivating and makes the film thrilling.
• Nefarious modernizes the concept of demonic temptation, drawing parallels with C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters and exposing corrupt motives.

In April 2023, the independent horror flick Nefarious earned just over a million dollars and placed tenth at the box office on its opening weekend. The movie hit theaters around the same time as other horror movies like The Pope's Exorcist , Evil Dead Rise , Scream IV , and Renfield ; and with such stiff competition, it's impressive that this low-budget indie movie did so well. The picture, which is currently in Prime Video's Top 10 most popular movies , is based on a two-book series by Steve Deace and was written and directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon (the duo behind God's Not Dead and Unplanned ). But despite the film's distinctly Christian label, Nefarious rises above the general clichés associated with faith-based productions and stands out as something increasingly more interesting than its religious contemporaries.

‘Nefarious’ Turns Demonic Horror Into a Psychological Mind-Game

On the surface, Nefarious presents itself as a psychological horror film; and while that is certainly accurate, it's only part of the truth. At times, the film echoes a poor man's Silence of the Lambs ; but mostly, Nefarious is a Christian thriller with low supernatural content and a whole lot of drama . At parts, the drama is believable and works well, and other times it feels a bit contrived. Still, in either case, it keeps the audience engaged until the end. The film centers on a convicted serial killer named Edward Wayne Brady ( Sean Patrick Flanery ), a man on death row who claims that he is possessed by a demon who calls himself Nefarious. To determine whether Edward is sane enough to be executed by the State of Oklahoma (which still offers the death penalty), Dr. James Martin ( Jordan Belfi ) is sent in to evaluate the situation. Naturally, things don't go according to the good doctor's plan.

In highlighting the psychological aspect of the film rather than the supernatural, Nefarious plays more like an extended criminal drama that makes us question what's real. While there comes a point where we all rightfully guess that Nefarious is a true demonic force rather than one of Edward's alternate personalities (à la Split ), there's a good amount of time there where we wonder if he's just insane. Part of Nefarious ' strength is that it keeps us guessing from the start, though it fails to maintain that suspense throughout. However, what could be seen as a failure might be a strength, since it's the demonic element of this case study that makes Nefarious unique .

"[ Nefarious ] is the best movie portraying demonic possession ever produced," wrote Father Carlos Martins , a Catholic priest and host of The Exorcist Files podcast, which recounts his personal experience with demonic activity (via The National Catholic Register ). "Astute, careful and intelligent thinking went into its script." While it's true that the script here is loads better than anything from the God's Not Dead batch of "sermovies," it's the performances in Nefarious that really sell it — especially that of the film's leading star.

Sean Patrick Flanery Steals the Show as Edward Wayne Brady in 'Nefarious'

In only seconds, Sean Patrick Flanery can switch between the maniacal demon Nefarious and the frightened out-of-his-mind Edward, who struggles to maintain any semblance of control over his mind and body. Flanery commands your full attention as Nefarious masterfully unravels his intricate and devious plan to break James Martin into unrestorable pieces . The demon attempts this through a series of tests and proofs, but particularly through the aforementioned mind games that force James to realize that three lives have been lost because of his selfish actions. While James denies it, in a way, the demon turns out to be right. Flanery plays his part well here and is ultimately what makes Nefarious so thrilling.

Flanery is frightening as Nefarious, exuding the same sort of bent charisma that Elias Koteas does as Azazel in the 1998 thriller Fallen , another demon-possession picture that challenges everything we think we know about the horror sub-genre . Like Fallen , Nefarious gets into the head of our demonic antagonist while allowing us to think that our hero has the upper hand by the end , only for those notions to come crashing down. That's not exactly the sort of message you'd expect to find in a Christian-made horror movie about demons, but it's an interesting one that leaves audiences unsettled and possibly even confused. Of course, Flanery's long-winded soliloquies on theology and morality aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Like any movie, Nefarious was made with a specific audience in mind — Christians (albeit with the hope of additional general appeal).

You Have 'Se7en' to Thank for The Rise of Faith-Based Horror

David Fincher's tense thriller kicked off a strange trend in the horror genre.

Despite the overwhelmingly positive audience ratings, critics didn't care much for Nefarious. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus noted that "it's hard to look past the story's heavy-handed proselytizing." Whether that's an accurate description of the film itself or a general disdain for the film's hard conservative stance is certainly up for debate. However, just about everyone can agree that there's power here in Sean Patrick Flanery's performance that propels Nefarious above most faith-based productions . And considering that many recent faith-driven stories like Jesus Revolution , The Shift , and The Chosen have been getting better in both production and entertainment value, that's nothing short of a compliment.

The Priest Doesn't Save the Day This Time Around

Perhaps the most interesting part of Nefarious happens near the beginning of the film. Only 20 minutes in, a priest, one Father Lou ( Daniel Martin Berkey ), arrives to help James discern whether Edward is actually insane or demon-possessed. While this instantly invokes images of Father Merrin ( Max von Sydow ) or Father Karras ( Jason Miller ) from The Exorcist , the results couldn't be more different. Considering that Nefarious opened alongside Russell Crowe 's The Pope's Exorcist , it would be a bit repetitive to have two demon-expelling priests in theaters on the same weekend. But Nefarious takes a different approach to the believer versus demon narrative , and it makes the film stronger as a result.

Father Lou doesn't believe in demons. After all, while nearly 70% of Americans believe that literal angels and demons are active in our world (via Pew Research ), that still leaves another 30% (a calculation that has varied over the years, even among Christians ) of folks who don't. Nefarious explores the idea that even a minister might not believe in such beings as anything more than literary references to deep-seated personal struggles, and rids us of any hope that we'll see the creature be cast out of the suffering death row inmate. That's right. There's no projectile vomiting here, telekinetic thrusts, or black smoke evaporating from one's mouth. Nefarious paints a realistic picture of how one might respond to a literal and unkillable demon , and it leaves us there.

Part of the film's strength is its unwillingness to rely on the standard demonic fanfare that generally embodies these sorts of horror movies. While Nefarious might be more of a psychological/supernatural thriller than a straight-up horror, it still manages to make its titular demon scary without the threat of immediate possession or exorcism . To go a step further, the film correctly notes the gradual series of steps one must go through to be possessed in the first place, moving from obsession to oppression to possession, the same way Ed Warren ( Patrick Wilson ) explains it in The Conjuring . After all, as C.S. Lewis once penned, "The safest road to Hell is the gradual one."

'Nefarious' Modernizes C.S. Lewis' 'Screwtape Letters' for the 21st Century

"Readers are advised to remember that the devil is a liar," wrote famed Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis at the beginning of his 1942 work The Screwtape Letters , which itself mirrors the "Dark Gospel" in Nefarious that the titular demon aims to see published. Lewis's book consists of a series of letters that a demon named Screwtape writes to his young nephew, Wormwood, in hopes of teaching him how to best tempt mankind and pull them away from God, often called "the Enemy." Nefarious uses much of the same terminology, and in many ways mixes well with Lewis' ideas of exposing a demon's nefarious plot for the sake of those watching (or, in Screwtape's case, reading). In that regard, Nefarious accomplishes its goal, and while it's not as well-written as Lewis' timeless expression of demonic will, it does the job just fine for 21st-century audiences.

While not a direct adaptation of The Screwtape Letters by any means or even the first to do a "modern reimaging" of the same idea (the Millennium episode "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" perhaps did so more creatively in the '90s), the film itself boasts many of the same components that make Lewis' work great, albeit with differing results . Nefarious's exposure of James' corrupt motives regarding his mother plays parallel with Screwtape's plot to keep his unnamed "patient" from having a positive relationship with his own, focusing instead on what's wrong with others rather than himself. And we can't forget that in his anger and frustration with the demon, James does send a man wrongfully to his death, justifying himself while doing so.

'Nefarious' Isn't Perfect, But It's a Great Step for Faith-Based Films

Nefarious is not a perfect horror film, nor is it a perfect film in general. There are some weird things about this picture, most notably the uber-strange and abrasive appearance of Glenn Beck at the end, but strange doesn't mean bad. There's no denying that Nefarious is a film genuinely confident in its premise and execution . It's that confidence, in the direction and performances especially, that makes the film work despite its flaws — and that's a lot more than what most Christian thrillers can say.

You might expect a movie like Nefarious to end with a hamfisted conversion scene that brings James to his knees in a "come to Jesus" moment, but the filmmakers avoid that entirely. In fact, this picture ends the same way many other horror films do — with the titular evil returning to haunt our hero just before the credits roll . It's a powerful ending, one that carries a lot of weight when you consider that the demon had tried to kill James just a year prior. Steve Deace, who wrote the original Nefarious novels, has since announced that a sequel film is in development , as is a subsequent television series with stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Jordan Belfi set to return. How that all will work is yet a mystery, but one thing is clear: the Nefarious story will far outlive the electric chair.

Nefarious can be streamed on Prime Video.

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April 13, 2023

Movies , Movies for the Rest of Us

Review: Nefarious — Movies for the Rest of Us with Bill Newcott

The premise of this psychological thriller holds all kinds of promise for a nifty nail-biter.

Bill Newcott

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Run Time: 1 hour 38 minutes

Stars: Sean Patrick Flanery, Jordan Belfi

Writers/Directors: Chuck Konzelman, Cary Solomon

As a psychological/supernatural thriller, Nefarious may not be great filmmaking, but it is confident filmmaking, and sometimes that can get you exactly where you want to go.

The movie’s premise holds all kinds of promise for a nifty nail-biter: Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi), a young, smug psychiatrist, is buzzed into the Oklahoma State Penitentiary to interview Edward (Sean Patrick Flanery), a mass murderer scheduled for execution that very night. James’s task is seemingly straightforward: To determine if Edward is sane enough to be fried in the electric chair.

The warden warns the shrink that Edward is a master manipulator: “He’ll have your head so twisted around you’ll think you’re the killer.”

And as if to prove the warden right, the moment James sits down across from Edward at a metal jailhouse table, Edward issues an ominous warning: “Before you leave here tonight, you will have killed three people.”

Oh, and by the way, Edward adds, he’s not really Edward. He’s a demon named Nefarious. Edward is just the current meat bag in which he resides.

And so, for most of the next hour, we find ourselves flies on the wall as the initially self-satisfied atheist doctor sees his certitude steadily chipped away by this supposed entity who instinctively knows his every weakness; every dark secret.

Is Edward an incredibly intuitive nutcase? Or is he actually possessed? We’ve been to enough movies to know the answer to that question, but writers/directors Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman still manage to play a mean game of peek-a-boo in what amounts to a two-character drama.

As longtime creators of faith-based films, most notably the God’s Not Dead series, Solomon and Konzelman don’t try to conceal the moral issues that have defined their careers. The characters’ arguments touch on hot-button matters like abortion and perceived cultural immorality, and the God-versus-Satan battle lines are boldly drawn. But intriguingly, aside from an ineffectual prison chaplain, not one character in the film identifies as Christian, or as having any faith at all.

In fact, just about the only guy here who seems to actually believe in God is the villain of the piece. As a result, Nefarious gets most of the film’s interesting moments, his lawyerly rhetoric echoing the calculating logic of C.S. Lewis’s bureaucratic demon in The Screwtape Letters.

Repeatedly — and somewhat convincingly — Nefarious makes the case that humankind, despite its best intentions, will always drift over to the dark side.

“Hate speech wasn’t even our idea,” he laughs. “You came up with that one yourselves!”

The heavy lifting here is accomplished by Flanery as Edward/Nefarious, deftly shifting personalities and imbuing each entity with appropriate doses of menace and helplessness, occasionally making the transition on a dime. When he’s Nefarious, Flanery spits out his lines with alarming, disorienting speed; as Edward he cringes and sobs, cowers and screams. It could easily all be too much, but instinctively, it seems, Flanery knows just when to throttle back.

As the mystified shrink, Belfi offers a steady, slow burn, his character realizing, perhaps too late, that he has wildly underestimated his subject’s true nature.

Nefarious zips through most of its brisk 1 hour 38 minutes, its efficient runtime rendered even more lively by snappy editing from Brian Jeremiah Smith ( Get Out ). But after racing toward the slam-bang climax of a convulsive death house scene, the proceedings come to a grinding halt thanks to an extended, ill-advised epilogue featuring, of all people, former Fox News host Glenn Beck.

That’s a near-fatal narrative error — redeemed, ironically, by one last devil in the details.

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It seems true enough that the film targets three moral issues that plague the world of today: euthanasia, abortion and capital punishment. Introducing demons into the film in a way that moves a person with Dissociative Identity disorder to show an unearthly struggle with conscience moves morality to another level. The film masterfully proves a point that conscience is not just the choice to give in to one’s fears, or to submit oneself to preferred life styles or guide one’s morality according to one’s future plans. Rather the movie seems to leave us with a choice: accept conscience as the inner depth of the soul where one is alone with a wise and merciful God; or allow the conscience to becomes the devil’s playground. God deserves the former option. (I lecture in psychology and theology in a university of Tanzania, East Africa. You may publish my email if you wish.)

I thought Nefarious was Faustian and left us with questions. Clinically he would pass the bar of insanity based on multiple personalities and not feeling pain when he deliberately broke his own finger. He said ‘”it actually felt good.” Relieved his stress. That is a benchmark of multiple personality disorder. But was he therefore eligible for a stay of execution in the mind of the audience? Is Faust redeemable in this movie? Catholics don’t support abortion or the death penalty, and the audience has to follow the grisly details of electric chair death. Disturbing. It’s a Faustian play with a final point: you can’t kill evil. But you can shine a light on it.

I am surprised you gave it three stars. Most of the reviews I have heard give it a solid 5, but you do you. I also heard through the grapevine an application to the Academy is on the way for Sean Patrick Flanery to be considered for a 2024 Oscar. I can’t make it to the theater myself to see it, but you can bet when it comes out on digital release, I will be the first in line. I hope it makes a bundle!!!

WOW!!!!!! O…M….G .. GO SEE THIS!! Sean Patrick Flanery SLAYED this role. Epic. Phenomenal performance. I was blown away. A must see psychological thriller. O…M…G… Raw and brilliant

Hi Brian — No, not a shot at Glenn at all. He’s a pioneering broadcaster. I just found it unexpected that he’d pop up in a movie like this.

Devra, thanks for your kind words! I know, there are a lot of movies out there, aren’t there??

i so enjoy your reviews and your help navigating today’s movie scene. thanks for consistently guiding me to movies that i can relate to and enjoy.

Is that a shot at Glenn Beck?

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‘Nefarious’ (2023) Review – A Thought-Provoking Supernatural Horror Exercise In Morality

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If you have seen the trailer for Nefarious  it is easy to dismiss this film as just another cookie-cutter horror movie to be released during the spring season. You would be making a serious mistake by thinking that.

What if I were to tell you that this is a Christian film within the horror genre? Some of you may react negatively because one of the biggest criticisms about modern Christian films is that the portrayals of real life are so overwhelmingly uplifting that it borders on parody.

It is rare to see a Christian film or even a modern Christian sermon that covers the topic of sin. Whenever anyone shines a light on the evils that consume our world every day, people tend to get uncomfortable in the face of defined definitions of right and wrong.

As a result, most Christian content won’t even highlight society’s issues of immorality because the belief is that it’s much easier to win people over being uplifting rather than being truthful.

Not only does this film stand apart with its strong Christian background, but it also eschews the Blum House style of horror films about a cliché portrayal of demons with mediocre plots highlighted by cheap actors that leads to a solid 90 minutes of jump scares. The genre has become so formulaic that audiences don’t even react to it due to its repetitiveness.

Nefarious  is a film that takes a different path altogether.

The premise of the film is about a man, Edward Wayne Brady, sitting on death row awaiting the last moments of his life after committing a series of horrible murders.

However, Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery), claims to be a demon as he speaks with psychiatrist Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi), who has been ordered to determine whether Brady is mentally fit to withstand execution. Brady, who refers to himself as Nefarious, tells the doctor that by the end of the day he will be responsible for the death of at least three people.

If I were to tell you that this was a Christian film you would be reluctant to believe it but Nefarious is one of the most creative films about faith and the spiritual war on our souls to come out over the last few decades. Nefarious is a character study on the absence of faith and the destruction of it and how one plays into the hands of another.

Everyone reading this has heard of the term “culture wars” when describing the effects that entertainment has on our society. Nefarious lives by the creed that we are not in a “culture war” but a “spiritual war” for the souls of every human being. Forget everything you know about modern horror films when discussing this movie because the rules of secular Hollywood do not apply here.

Nefarious is a thinking man’s movie that relies on the human fears of mortality while questioning various atheistic and secular views of morality all while wrapped in the question of whether Brady is really the demon he claims to be or the ravings of a mad man.

Sean Patrick Flanery is menacing as the character of Nefarious and he sells the seriousness of the plot by making audiences question whether he’s telling the truth about who he is or if he’s actually mentally unstable.

This menacing nature does not rely on camera tricks and jump scares but rather Flanery’s presence and his ability to channel multiple personas. His performance is so well done it will make believers and non-believers question their own morality in the face of direct confrontation with a being claiming to be a demon.

While Flanery’s portrayal as Brady and Nefarious is top notch, his foil, Jordan Belfi also delivers. Belfi plays a psychiatrist who is the straight man for this supernatural encounter and his character, at least in one aspect, represents the secular world coming to terms with the evil he unwittingly helped create or at least created by his willful ignorance.

To ramp up the intensity between the two, the majority of the film takes place in a one-room two character bottle that relies on gripping audiences with masterful dialogue and a showcase in character-to-character storytelling.

The only downside here is the last 10 to 15 minutes of run time loses its momentum once the one on one character dynamic has been removed from the equation. This causes the story to drag on creating the cinematic equivalent of a rough landing to an otherwise smooth flight.

The Verdict

There are not going to be very many films released this year that are going to make you think on the level of Nefarious . It is a film that is not only entertaining, but also makes you question what side of the battle between good and evil you are truly on.

‘Nefarious’ is one of the best movies to come out in 2023 and at this point should be considered one of the best movies of the year.

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Review: ‘nefarious,’ starring sean patrick flanery, is a riveting film.

“Nefarious,” starring Emmy winner Sean Patrick Flanery and Jordan Belfi (“Entourage”) is a riveting new thriller.

“Nefarious,” starring Emmy winner Sean Patrick Flanery and Jordan Belfi (“Entourage”), is a riveting new thriller. It will be released in theaters on April 14.

The horror mystery was directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, both of which co-wrote the ingenious screenplay.

The synopsis is: On the day of his scheduled execution, a convicted serial killer (played by Sean Patrick Flanery) gets a psychiatric evaluation during which he claims he is a demon, and further claims that before their time is over, the psychiatrist (Jordan Belfi) will commit three murders of his own.

Sean Patrick Flanery and Jordan Belfi have great feisty chemistry together, where at times, it is so intense, the energy is palpable through the screen.

Jordan Belfi is a triumph as Dr. James Martin, and he pulls off intricate acting work in sophisticated scenes.

Sean Patrick Flanery is a true force of nature, where he delivers a gripping performance for the ages. He is able to invest humanity, vulnerability, and believability in his complex title character.

It was both a physically and mentally demanding role for Flanery but he nailed it. This is perhaps his most profound acting work along with “Born a Champion.”

The screenplay allows for resonance, and it is filled with several twists and turns that the audience will not see coming.

Most importantly, “Nefarious” is a movie that will certainly spark serious conversations with viewers once its over. Grab some popcorn or a bottle of wine (if over the age of 21), and allow Sean Patrick Flanery and Jordan Belfi to lure you in. “Nefarious” garners 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 21,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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Nefarious Movie Ending Explained: What's the True Meaning of the Film?

The ending of Nefarious , a new horror movie released in 2023, leaves fans wondering what the true meaning of the film truly was.

The film centers on a psychiatrist assigned to analyze a convicted death row inmate believed to be faking demonic possession to avoid his sentence, all taking place in prison.

The independent scare-fest failed to impress critics, averaging a 33% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes . But although it only grossed $5.4 million at the global box office (per Box Office Mojo ), it earned an Audience Score of 96% from Rotten Tomatoes.

What Happened at the End of Nefarious?

The crux of Nefarious ' plot sees Sean Patrick Flannery's Edward Wayne Brady, who says he is possessed by a demon named Nefarious, tell Jordan Belfi's Dr. James Martin that he will kill three people before he leaves the state penitentiary in which he is imprisoned.

Those murders include Dr. Martin's mother (whom he previously took off life support), the unborn child that his girlfriend would abort at the clinic during Martin and Brady's visit, and then Brady himself when his sentence was carried out.

Brady also writes a manuscript under Nefarious' influence called The Dark Gospel , a Satanic piece of of work that reads as a diary tracking Martin's entire life.

Although Martin first declares Brady sane, Brady assaults James and almost kills him, allowing the state to carry out Brady's death sentence for the six murders of which he was convicted. Nefarious gives Martin one more chance to join him before the execution, but he then moves into Martin and almost makes the doctor kill himself before the gun he uses fails to fire.

Martin refuses to believe the gun mishap was an act of God, publishing Nefarious' book after rewriting it to warn people about the evil out in the world.

But after going on a talk show to promote the book a year later, Martin comes face-to-face with Nefarious after the demon possesses another person's body, telling him that the war between good and evil will never end.

What is the True Meaning of Nefarious' Ending?

Throughout the entire movie, Nefarious (through Brady) is seen ranting and yelling about topics many see as anti-conservative, including the idea of abortion and other serious concepts from Christian ideology.

For instance, when Martin prays to God as Nefarious tries to make him commit suicide, viewers have argued about the way the film may have presented that kind of religious belief as an overwhelming positive in the context of religion.

The talk show appearance from Martin seems to further push that way of thinking, as he infers more religious and conservative views are inherently good and the other side (shown by Nefarious) is bad.

The simplest way of looking at this is that the filmmakers looked to set clear qualifications and reasoning behind what is truly good and evil, using the lens of religion and theology as a guide.

While religion and horror movies are certainly no strangers to being used together, this film takes a much more theological approach to that concept rather than simply pitting demons against a God-like entity.

Many walked away feeling influenced by the idea that manifestations of evil are spread all across society, ones which can influence people to do evil things.

While everyone has their own set of beliefs (be them moral, religious, theological, or something else), Nefarious dove hard into the filmmakers' theories behind good and evil, putting them in the public eye as viewers analyzed the outcome.

Nefarious is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video .

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Nefarious Reviews

Apart from a couple of pieces of clumsy foreshadowing, it is hard to tell that we're watching a horror movie, feeling more like a script that Danny Dyer turned down.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Aug 8, 2019

Opinion: Maybe I’m the ‘Nefarious’ target audience, but I wasn’t moved

I stumbled upon the movie "Nefarious" and decided to go see it. It wasn’t the movie itself that intrigued me enough to decide to go see it. It was the marketing of the movie.

“Nefarious” is being marketed as a horror film. Though “Christian” and “faith-based” appeared in reviews, the words were missing from the movie description, posters, and theater advertising.

I was curious: How could you omit those words from all marketing, label “Nefarious” a horror movie, and expect non-religious viewers to pick-up its intended message?

So I watched the film, failed to pick up any belief-changing message, then researched what the producers had expected me to.

I was supposed to see deeper meaning in the trailer

On the day of his scheduled execution, a convicted serial killer gets a psychiatric evaluation during which he claims he is a demon, and further claims that before their time is over, the psychiatrist will commit three murders of his own. Synposis of ”Nefarious” from Rotten Tomatoes

More: 'Nefarious' uses horror to tell a faith-based story. But Glenn Beck's cameo is really scary

"Everything in the trailer is in the movie," said Steve Deace, the Des Moines-based nationally syndicated streaming talk show host who is an executive producer of the film, in an interview with The Family Leader . "It’s just not presented in the trailer the way that it actually is in the movie. So everything is being done here subversively. We are attempting to reach an audience that desperately needs the truth of what we believe before it is too late. And they’re going to get it.”

"Subversive" is a scary word. It brings to (my) mind the '80s, when people accused metal bands of hiding satanic messages in songs that they alleged were revealed when vinyl records were played backward. Unless “the truth” Deace wants to share was hidden in the trailer like that, the trailer I watched didn’t seem subversive.

Instead, the trailer seemed like good marketing, piecing together the action clips to add suspense and tension, despite the fact that seemingly 95% of the “action” in the actual movie is talking.

And, boy, do they talk. Nefarious (Sean Patrick Flanery) is a demon who inhabits the body of Edward, whom he has forced to commit 11 murders. Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) is, according to Deace "a left-wing, atheist psychiatrist, because other than Jordan Peterson, there are no other kinds of those, apparently." The two meet in prison on Edward's execution day for Martin to determine if Edward is mentally competent to be executed, and they talk for about 40-plus minutes straight, though it's mainly Nefarious talking and a doubting Martin asking questions.

After 30 minutes, the “worldview” was supposed to make me question my beliefs

“Make no mistake," Deace said in the same interview, "you will see, particularly when you get about 30 minutes into the film, once we feel like the unbeliever is emotionally connected to the story, we flip the script on them, and the worldview of the movie comes out and it flies its colors boldly the whole rest of the film.”

I didn't feel “emotionally connected.” But Flanery's performance as he switched from demon to tortured Edward kept me watching while Belfi’s “fish-out-of-water” reactions to Nefarious kept me slightly amused.

Then I felt the flip of the switch Deace mentioned when Nefarious stopped preaching in generalities and channeled a conservative religious worldview.

More by Rachelle: LGBTQ Ugandans already suffer imprisonment, torture. Now they could face the death penalty.

First was the scene where Nefarious accuses Martin of murdering his elderly mother through "death with dignity, euthanasia, assisted suicide." Then, a long scene where Nefarious beats Martin down on the issue of abortion, instilling a sense of panic and guilt in Martin for his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend's abortion that I didn’t find believable.

Then, there's this dialogue that gets in a culture war dig. Martin makes an idealistic statement that no one I know would ever make in real life: "We've never been freer," he says. "Literacy is at an all-time high. We're working to eliminate racism, intolerance, gender inequality. People can love who they want, be who they want, do what they want. Diversity is no longer a dream, hate speech is no longer tolerated, and politically, we're reclaiming the moral high ground."

Nefarious' rebuttal is weak, directly addressing only literacy before segueing into a disdainful rant that seeks to communicate the screenwriter's opinion instead of addressing Martin's points: "James, the average high school graduate reads at a sixth-grade level. Your basketball players making 30 million a year decrying racism all while wearing sneakers made from slave labor. Here's something for you. Right now. Your world currently has 40 million slaves, more than the Romans had at the height of their empire. Want to know the best part though? Half of those, half, are sex slaves. As for hate speech, you want to hear some irony? We didn't even come up with that one. You did it all by yourself. Sometimes you amaze even us."

Nothing here, nor in the film, posed a compelling argument that caused me to question anything, other than, on occasion trying to follow Nefarious’ stream-of-consciousness reasoning.  

“The truth” was supposed to rock my world.

Was "Nefarious" subversive while I was watching it? That is, as someone who isn’t immersed in conservative Christianity and who knew little beforehand about the people who produced the film, did their “truth” unconsciously infiltrate my psyche and take over my beliefs?

No. Instead, “the truth” went way over my head.

More by Rachelle: Trailblazers & Trendsetters: Basi Affia launches Iowa's first Black comic book company

In a review on Bounding Into Comics , Jacob Smith writes, “Belfi plays a psychiatrist … and his character, at least in one aspect, represents the secular world coming to terms with the evil he unwittingly helped create or at least created by his willful ignorance.”

Really? I totally missed that Belfi represented all that.

“This movie is a thriller," Deace said, "but it is with the intent of grabbing the culture by the throat and saying to them, you’re about right to the lip, man, the tape line of the mouth of madness. If you take one more step, you’re belly-flopping and not coming back.”

OK. I can’t speak to the film’s effects on everybody, but nothing that played out on the screen convinced me of the error of my beliefs or had me perched on the edge of a precipice.

Conclusion: A great movie for conservative Christians, not for me

I think those with a conservative Christian outlook will relate to the world view references, appreciate the novelty of a demon as the messenger, and see "Nefarious" as a movie of great meaning and depth, one they won't forget.

While the acting kept me watching, by the end, I wondered what was the point of what I'd watched. But after watching some conservative talk shows to better understand the intent of what I was supposed to get and want to discuss, I want to un-see "Nefarious," forget it, and get my money back.

Rachelle Chase is an author and an  opinion columnist , who's also launched a new column, Trailblazers & Trendsetters, at the Des Moines Register. Follow Rachelle at facebook.com/rachelle.chase.author   or email her at [email protected] .

Overall Score

Rating overview, rating summary.

• Mostly Woke
• Mostly BASED

The landmark Supreme Court case Ford v. Wainwright , which took place in 1974, established a precedent regarding the execution of prisoners deemed “mentally incompetent.” The court’s ruling concluded that such executions violate the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits the infliction of “cruel and unusual punishment.” Against this backdrop, Nefarious raises an intriguing inquiry: What if the prisoner, instead of being mentally incompetent, is believed to be possessed by a demonic entity?

Drawing inspiration from Steve Deace’s compelling novel titled “A Nefarious Plot,” the film “Nefarious” weaves a narrative around the character of Edward Brady, portrayed by the talented Sean Patrick Flanery. Brady is confined to death row and faces imminent execution, compelling the legal system to subject him to a psychiatric evaluation mere hours before his scheduled demise. The court-appointed psychiatrist shoulders the crucial responsibility of ascertaining Brady’s mental competence, for a favorable assessment, would lead to his execution by means of the electric chair. However, the story takes an unexpected twist when the intellectually inclined atheist doctor realizes that he must also explore the perplexing possibility of Brady being demonically possessed.

Nefarious, far from an Exorsist-esque gore-fest, is a thought-provoking film that primarily unfolds within the confines of a single room, where two characters engage in a lengthy conversation. Given this constrained setting, one might anticipate the 1.5-hour runtime to drag on. However, thanks to the film’s predominantly sharp and poignant dialogue, delivered through performances ranging from above-average to exceptional, Nefarious manages to captivate and engross its audience.

The supporting characters, though few, are skillfully portrayed to avoid detracting from the narrative or appearing out of place—a notable achievement for an independent Christian film. Notably, Tom Ohmer, a seasoned actor, assumes the role of Warden Moss, receiving the most significant screen time outside of the movie’s two leads. Although not necessarily commanding, Ohmer’s performance fulfills its purpose by intertwining exposition and temptation within a well-intentioned yet misguided blend of judicial expediency and righteous indignation.

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Flanery, acclaimed for his leading role in the cult classic The Boondock Saints (a must-watch), delivers a performance that commands attention. In Nefarious, he undergoes a remarkable transformation, effortlessly transitioning between the controlled and menacing presence of Nefarious and the tormented and pitiable figure of Brady. Flanery’s unwavering commitment to his character is evident in every moment, making for a terrifyingly delightful viewing experience.

Comparable to the film Phone Booth, wherein Colin Farrell’s character spends most of the story confined within a 3′ by 3′ box, Nefarious employs cinematography that subtly emerges as the film’s third star. Without pretentious or excessive artistic flourishes, it maintains a sense of movement and dynamism, despite the movie’s predominantly conversational nature.

Nonetheless, the film’s standout aspect lies in the dialogue exchanged between the two lead characters. At its core, Nefarious engages in a debate between modern progressivism and Christianity. Remarkably, this overtly Christian film manages to convey its message effectively while avoiding the pitfalls that often hinder movies of this nature. By employing Faustian theatrics as a framework and pairing it with Flanery’s masterful performance, the author’s words and message resonate clearly. More importantly, they evoke a profound emotional response, which ultimately exemplifies the essence and purpose of the cinematic art form.

That being said, it is important to acknowledge that no film is devoid of flaws. While the primary conversation carries substantial strength, there are a few minor yet notable instances of uneven and clumsy expositional dialogue in other parts of the film. Additionally, although Sean Patrick Flanery delivers an outstanding performance, he occasionally relies too heavily on certain repetitive physical choices that could be seen as a performance crutch. Ideally, these tendencies should have been addressed by the directors during the production. However, it is worth noting that these concerns are minor in the extreme and do not detract significantly from the overall quality of Flanery’s commendable performance.

On the subject of performances, Glenn Beck’s portrayal of himself in the film cannot go unmentioned. While his screen time is minor and his performance is adequately executed, it is often distracting and jarring to see well-known figures playing themselves in works of fiction, so it was in  Nefarious. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that there is a reason why I personally prefer listening to Beck’s radio show rather than watching him on screen. In terms of cinematography, Jason Head’s work in Nefarious is generally commendable, but one notable misstep lies in the close-up shots featuring the unhealthy-looking Beck.

Furthermore, the decision to conclude the film with an expositional interview as a means to tie loose ends together is a convenient choice. Still, this approach is particularly problematic, considering that a significant portion of the movie is already dedicated to the conversation between the two central characters. This decision represents a missed opportunity for a more inventive and satisfying conclusion.

In a year that has seen the release of Christian and conservative films like Jesus Revolution and Sound of Freedom , Nefarious emerges as another significant milestone in amplifying our perspective and strengthening our presence within popular culture. It is indeed a welcome relief to categorize this film as “ Worth it .”

WOKE ELEMENTS

Nefarious is the Anti-Woke.

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James Carrick

James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.

What Is A Woman?

Transformers: rise of the beasts, 17 comments.

May 29, 2023 at 1:08 pm

Great movie, definitely worth watching!

Chuck Konzelman

June 6, 2023 at 8:02 pm

James, I see Nefarious listed (thank you for that) but no rating. Since one reviewer called it “the most non-woke movie I’ve ever seen”… we’d like to audition. Need a screener?

June 6, 2023 at 8:10 pm

I’d love a screener. I tried to go see it a couple of times but wasn’t able to get to it. Then, it was gone from any theater close to me.

June 8, 2023 at 3:35 pm

As of today, finally for rent on Amazon Prime.

June 9, 2023 at 6:00 pm

I had heard very little about this, but you’ve made me curious. I’m going to have to check it out. Thanks.

Sylvia Osterday

June 20, 2023 at 9:57 am

Nefarious should be viewed by everyone. It is a wakeup call to what is happening to our world. See it several times as you miss so much. The performance by Sean Patrick Flannery is Oscar worthy but Hollywood will not recognize him.

June 20, 2023 at 10:59 am

I saw the movie three times, the script is tight, suspenseful and riveting. The thing I hate most is that you couldn’t share very much about it with people without spoiling the plot.

The entire film keeps building and building for the climax and it was such a suspenseful and eye opening (non woke) ride I didn’t want to spoil it for anybody.

June 20, 2023 at 11:18 am

watched this movie two nights ago and wow, what a thrilling watch. I am not much for “talkies” but this film kept me hooked until the interview at the end, which i also feel was kinda redundant and could have been done differently. Still, watching a movie that challenges the current world’s narcissistic approach to the “Me” culture and the “we have never been more free and equal” debate, it hits home with alot of it’s warnings and challenging narratives of “are we trully free and living in a better world that ever before” when there is much going on around us that really shows we are sliding down a path of no return. Definitely worth it, and not as heavy in it’s christian metaphors as you might think it is but is a very sobering reminder that we need to be careful of what we blindly accept as “morally and socially accepted norms”

Betty Bryant

June 20, 2023 at 4:18 pm

I cannot say enough good things about this movie. I was glued to it the whole time. Sean Flannery is outstanding. I hope he gets some kind of recognition for this performance. I highly recommend this movie.

Kathy Clinton

June 21, 2023 at 5:03 pm

Can’t wait to watch this.

Shannon pertch

July 2, 2023 at 1:11 am

Definitely not horror. Watched with our grown kids. All of us are conservatives. It was not a movie. More of a statement and too preachy for all of us. Good acting.

Bored_on_Wall_Street

July 13, 2023 at 4:21 am

I watched this tonight, and found your site in a search for interesting commentary. The script–while better than average–really needed another pass, as it was not only clunky at times, but the demon’s views on the modern world sounded more like one’s uncle drunk posting on FB rather than a formerly angelic being’s observations.

But that being said, by modern hollywood standards, this was a well-crafted movie, with a mounting sense of tension as to how the final murder will play out. While his first two murders in less deft hands would come across as shrill preaching, the stage-play setting really focuses the sin on the shrink’s selfishness, which drives events. All (formerly) young indiana jones does is point out half-truths, but with enough truth to unmoor the shrink and reveal him.

As for glen beck ending, I had another take: it should be the a positive ending, our lead is saying the right words, appearing on a producer’s show, a face we all recognize. But, inexplicably, he still doesn’t believe…and there’s old scratch waiting for him outside as he walks away.

An imperfect movie but it at least provokes thoughts.

July 28, 2023 at 7:55 pm

The reviewer seems to not understand that the interview at the end of the movie to plug the book ties the film to the book and makes the movie a prequel to it.

July 28, 2023 at 8:49 pm

Whether or not a book tie-in is its purpose is not the question. The question is, does it work within the film’s continuum, and is it a quality effort? I argue that it does not and falls flat.

August 1, 2023 at 4:39 pm

I watched this looking for a B-movie thrill on a weekend, having no idea what I was about to get into.

This movie woke me up. As a Christian, this scared me on a whole other level. You see, the thing with typical horror movies, no matter how disturbing, edgy or what-have-you is that somewhere in the back of your mind, you know that what you’re seeing isn’t actually reality. The truly terrifying thing about Nefarious, is that the doctrine is sound. The theology the demon spits back at the lawyer is True with a capital T. This IS happening. Everyday. As a Christian, I acknowledge that and if you believe what’s written, it’s undeniable.

The demon describing the insidiousness of possession – It’s half millimeter concessions every other moment that add up over time. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Each iota is a victory for hell. Before you know it, you’re on the wrong side of the line. You’re so far past the line you’ve forgotten where it was and when someone points it out to you, the first instinct is to snap at them. If that’s not demonic possession, I don’t know what is.

This movie has done a good thing. 3 days after seeing it, I’m re-evaluating my own life and looking for any small concessions I may be making in my own day-to-day life. How far off the path did I go without even realizing it? And THAT is what’s terrifying. I didn’t know it was happening.

Amazing movie simply for that reason.

August 1, 2023 at 7:32 pm

October 29, 2023 at 10:19 pm

While I cannot say that I completely agree with all of your reviews, I appreciate what you are trying to do here.

And with Nefarious, I largely agree. I recently watched it, twice. The dialogue is not perfect and I can see how viewers would find it preachy, particularly those with a worldview similar to James the psychiatrist. But the performances were spectacular. Going in, I really only knew of Jarrett LeMaster’s small part, and SPF playing the primary antagonist. But SPF and Belfi both played all characters with conviction.

I also agree on Beck – that scene was distracting and out of place. I get the desire to have a post-script, but another round of script edits could have produced an even better film. That being said, this is still a good watch.

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I feel like I’m beginning to repeat myself. I need a button I can press at the beginning of my reviews of Christian movies that writes out the first three paragraphs for me, usually summarized as “Christian movies aren’t good.” I don’t say that to deride fellow Christians but as a reality check. The “Christian” genre, having emerged from films like Facing The Giants, War Room, and God’s Not Dead has not aged well, and its relative prominence in the box office has meant that a generation of secular peoples have sadly received their introduction to our faith through Kevin Sorbo screaming “I hate God!!”

Content Guide

Violence/Scary Images:  The film is a horror movie with some gruesome moments, including a man breaking his own finger, a man being choked with a chain, and a man’s execution being depicted in somewhat gruesome detail. Language/Crude Humor: Some mild language throughout including h*** and d***. Drug/Alcohol References:  Heavy smoking. Sexual Content:  A key scene involves a discussion of abortion and relationships. Spiritual Content:  The film explores the conceptions of demonic possession, damnation, Hell, and the theology of why demons fight God. Other Negative Content : The film contains partisan content that may alienate some viewers. Positive Content:  Some thoughtful scenes and discussion of sin, evil, temptation, and death.

The question the “Christian” film genre evokes with every new release for me is not, “Did it poorly represent Christ’s word?” so much as it is, “Will anyone who isn’t already part of the faith be convinced by it?”. And the answer is always “No,” considering the hundreds of YouTube atheists and secular movie review channels that have roundly mocked films like Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas and the Nic Cage Left Behind remake. These films are a laughing stock, and people outside the faith find them shallow, condescending, and boring.

However, there has been a notable uptake this year. Jesus Revolution was slightly better received than most films of its genre, thanks in part to a more welcoming and less confrontational approach to apologetics, and generally better writing and performances. Plus, the popularity of The Chosen continues to multiply. If there were ever a time for new films in the genre to emerge more mature and fully formed, it is now. I went into Nefarious with a fair amount of curiosity, for this reason.

Nefarious is a horror/drama created in part by American right-wing talk show host Steve Deace, an author and radio host, and partnered with the filmmakers behind the pro-life film Unplanned . It functions as something of a prequel to Deace’s previous 2016 book A Nefarious Plot , which is a kind of partisan homage to The Screwtape Letters that explores how modern politics and secular modernity function as a means for demons to tempt Americans towards eternal damnation through political division and progressive values.

Much of your opinion on a film like Nefarious is ultimately going to depend on your ability to stomach the overtly partisan nature of the proceedings. This is not to say it is bad. Despite being a low-budget horror film with no-name actors, there are actually a handful of scenes that do a particularly good job with this sort of material, leaning into the disturbing and horrifying subtextual implications of the scene and capturing the horrific reality of sin, death, and damnation.

The film version is set on the cusp of an execution. Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery) is a convicted mass murderer waiting to be executed when the state of Oklahoma requests a last-minute psychological evaluation to determine if he is mentally fit to stand execution. Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) arrives to handle the tedious job but quickly discovers he is in over his head, as Brady declares his true name is Nefarious, and that he is possessed by a demon.

The secular modern doctor is taken for a ride as the alleged demon begins to unfurl his true identity and means, explaining the theology of Hell and his purpose in using Dr. Martin to advance the ends of his master and undo the sacrificial work of “the carpenter”, although the esteemed doctor is unconvinced of the demon’s claims and is eager to provide a clear psychological evaluation that explains the situation away, at least initially.

Sean Patrick Flanery in particular does honorable work playing the dual role of Nefarious and Brady, capturing both the malevolent and brilliant entity with near-total hold over the body and mind he is inhabiting, while also allowing the poor soul trapped inside to occasionally surface for moments of pathos; a stirring and painful portrayal of the way that sin overpowers and overcomes the will until the humanity beneath is left to suffering, while the demon harms him in mundane and playful ways.

The movie benefits from leaning into the darkness of its story, as it does not shy away from the spiritual realities of damnation and death. The movie conjures scenes that actually are quite disturbing and unsettling, reminding viewers that not every soul will be saved and that an eternity in Hell is a very real and horrific possibility within the Christian worldview. This does come at the expense of Dr. Martin mostly being a cipher for other characters to bounce off of without presenting much of a challenge.

Again though, the question remains of how such a film would affect someone who isn’t already a conservative Christian. One of the only non-Christian online reviews of Nefarious comes from the blog Horror Obsessive , which gleefully dismisses the film as a shallow 90-minute scare presentation full of jabs at progressivism and propaganda. “ Nefarious’  thematic viewpoint of an atheist being condescended to by a demon is childish and trite. Anyone expecting to be philosophically challenged can save their dime, while curious horror fans will likely walk out and get a refund anyway.”

While I disagree with a great deal of his review—particularly considering how much of his language is flowing with shallow glibness about “religious fanaticism” and outlines the numerous cliche ways American Christians are cruel, hateful hypocrites—I can’t blame him for being unconvinced. If this movie sounds interesting, you will probably like Nefarious . I liked it better than most “Christian” films, but the genre remains very far away from scaling the heights of Christian art.

+ Some solid performances + Well executed and thematically disturbing scenes

- Some intellectually shallow talking points - Politically partisan slants and appearances by conservative talk show hosts - Cheap production design

The Bottom Line

Nefarious falls into most of the same traps that "Christian" films usually fall into—providing a handful of excellent components but failing to be compelling to those who aren't already part of the choir. The film's genre trappings and tone allow it to make improvements on the genre, but it doesn't break new ground.

Tyler Hummel

As someone who left the Christian fundy faith, I saw this without knowing what it was. it was ok. acting good. Yes it’s preachy. But if that’s what they want to do, fine. What I find offensive is how they took something out of context from another faith (Thelema) and made it sound evil… when the demon sneers back about the abortion, “do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law!” That’s from Crowley but they cut it in half. The full quote is: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law, Love is the Law, Love under will.” Now it’s not so villainous. It’s the equivalent of making a puff movie depicting all Christians as racist KKK members, and the demon sneers a quote from Paul, “slaves obey your masters.” How’d that go over with Christians? See if it wouldn’t be nice to experience, you shouldn’t dish it out.

“Do what thou wilt” even in its context is a very dangerous idea compared to “slaves, obey your masters” in its context. The bible verse is to Christian’s. Christians know that if they own slaves, they ought to treat them right. The KJV bible says that you, as a master who is under God’s law, ought not to treat your slaves with rigor. Compare this to the idea of “do what thou wilt”. Under this attitude, chopping up a baby is fine as long as it’s in his mother’s womb. Sodomy is fine, it causes no harm! Fornication: as long as it’s between two consenting adults it’s totally fine! Even though you can do a lot of immoral and just purely disgusting things between 2 consenting adults.

If you are a Christian, you shouldn’t stray away from God’s word, the holy bible, but you should cling to it. The only real morals that man is supposed to live by is in that book.

THE MOVIE SHOWS HOW SATAN WORK’S TO DESTROY PEOPLE, LIKE GODS WORD SAYS, SATAN GOES ABOUT LIKE A ROARING LION LOOKING TO DEVOUR AND DESTROY. EXACTLY HOW SATAN WORKS😁😁😁

For atheists everything that smells to Christianity is shallow and not even worthy to watch it.

SPF is a God. Kill it all to hell if you’d like, the man picks projects with substance

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