�I wish that you didn�t have to see the things you�re going to see.� These opening words are addressed by the leader of the Trinity Church, Texas. His words refer to the Church�s yearly Halloween extravaganza, Hell House, where deadly sins such as drug-use, violence, homosexuality, drink-driving, and abortion are acted out and taken into Hell as an effort to convert erring souls.
Now. Skip onto your mental private jet and sit yourself in the liberal South Bank�s NFT, at the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, and these words are less likely to be taken in the precise way the conservative Trinity Church would wish. George Ratcliff documents the lives of those Texan churchgoers during the production of Hell House. 75,000 people pay $7 each every year to see the spectacle, with 15,000 of them converting or reconverting to the Trinity Church as a result.
The documentary style is deadpan, with no narrative or interviewing voice, allowing it this duplicity of significance that has been observed by the director himself: �People take it absolutely differently everywhere. I love that.� What we get is a not-particularly-slick, but honest and fascinating glimpse into the production. Set production, script meetings and auditions are filmed, the participants themselves unwittingly producing the humour rather than cheap shots on the Ratcliff�s part.
A lot of heartfelt soap-style acting, elbow grease, fake blood and cheap special effects go into the production. The show, though full of well-intentioned, soul-saving good workers, is ridiculously cheap in both concept and production. A rape scene is not portrayed as an example of men�s evils towards women, but What Happens To You When You Take Drugs. Other scenes had similarly 2+2=5 equations going on: homosexuality gives you AIDS (and the opportunity to be dragged off to Hell by an enthusiastic teen actress in rubber skull mask, black cape and impressively wicked cackles). Domestic violence is not a function of patriarchy but the result of the wife meeting other men online.
The controversies of the event could go on and on, from their famously insensitive restaging of Columbine one year, to the (unnoticed) mix-up that led to a Star of David being painted on the walls of Hell rather than the intended Pentagram. In the end, though, this event is scary mainly in its ambiguity; the sincere and selfless efforts of the participants, the awesome power of prayer, the genuine concern over disturbing and important social issues, all dealt with using the sledgehammer combination of narrow-minded, intolerant evangelism and very bad special effects. At least, as a left-wing liberal feminist like me is likely to think.
The beauty of this documentary is that whether you are a Pentecostal Christian or a rainbow-striped Green voter, you�re going to come away from this feeling as though all your beliefs have just been reconfirmed, meaning this documentary speaks volumes more � about us as well as them - than any strongly driven polemical piece. |
