JP Nunez
I’m a big fan of religious horror. Whether it’s cults, exorcisms, or just religious people being evil, the combination of faith and fright resonates with me on a deep level. I’m a religious guy myself, so seeing something I value so highly get twisted for nefarious purposes gives me the same horror high many fans get from creepy kids. I just love this stuff. Naturally, a film called In the Name of God is right up my alley. The name alone was enough to grab my attention, and when I finally read the plot synopsis, I knew I had to check this movie out.
In the Name of God was written and directed by Ludvig Gür, and it stars Linus Wahlgren, Lisa Henni, Vilhelm Blomgren, Charlie Gustafsson, and Thomas Hanzon. In the film, Theodor is a priest (he’s not Catholic, but he definitely belongs to some Christian denomination) with a seemingly normal life, but one day, his world is turned completely upside down. His wife, Felicia, becomes seriously ill, and his old mentor offers to ordain him as a new, truer kind of priest. The man tells Theodor that God will now hear his prayers and heal his wife, but there’s a catch.
He has to offer a human sacrifice every time he wants God to perform a miracle. It’s a hideous bargain, but Theodor is so desperate he accepts it anyway. And you know what? It works. Felicia immediately gets better, and when Theodor heals a few more people in his congregation, he becomes a local sensation. This newfound fame eventually attracts a cult buster named Erik, and the guy soon starts to suspect that Theodor’s methods aren’t as holy as they seem.
I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a nearly genius premise for a horror movie, and thankfully, In the Name of God does not disappoint. Let’s start with the acting. This whole cast is on point, but as is often the case, there’s a clear standout here. Linus Wahlgren plays Theodor, so it should come as no surprise that he’s the star of the show. Not only does he play the main character, but he also gives the film’s best performance.
Whether he’s sick with anxiety about his wife’s illness, horrified at what his healing abilities entail, or determined to do what he must, this guy is totally convincing. He’s so good he manages to overcome his character’s biggest flaw. Without going into too much boring detail, the theology behind this “true priesthood” is absolutely ridiculous.
To take just one example, it’s based on the sacrifices God commanded the Israelites to offer in the Old Testament, but anybody with even a passing familiarity with the Bible knows that those sacrifices involved animals, not people. It’s theology 101, and I’d expect a priest to know that. But Theodor’s seminary training must have gone in one ear and out the other, and in most movies, his ignorance of something that simple would be too much to swallow.
But not here. Granted, In the Name of God still asks you to suspend disbelief quite a bit, but Linus Wahlgren’s performance as Theodor does a lot to ease that pain. The guy is just that good, and as the film goes on, his performance never falters.
On top of all that, In the Name of God also features some excellent horror. To be fair, the first 50 minutes or so play more like a supernatural drama than a straight up horror flick, so don’t expect chills and thrills every few minutes. Sure, this first hour(ish) sprinkles in a few frights every now and again, but that’s all you’ll get.
The terror really comes to the fore in the final 30-35 minutes, and for my money, this is hands down the best part of the movie. I don’t want to spoil anything but trust me, this last half hour features some genuinely intense moments. They’re admittedly not particularly gory or scary, but the way I see it, they don’t have to be. Writer/director Ludvig Gür just lets the horror inherent in these scenes do all the heavy lifting, and he uses the cinematography, score, and performances to highlight just how horrible these events truly are.
What’s more, this part of In the Name of God also takes some crazy twists and turns you will not see coming, and I’m not just talking about narrative surprises (although there are a number of those too!). The final act steers the film into one of my absolute favorite subgenres, so while your mileage may vary, my experience just got better and better as the story neared its end.
Last but not least, I want to talk a bit about the message of In the Name of God. Like a lot of religious horror movies, this one doesn’t take a 100% clear stance for or against religion. It could be seen as anti-religion, and especially anti-Christianity, but it doesn’t insist on that interpretation. In fact, since Erik is a cult buster rather than a religion buster, I think it’s better to take this as an anti-cult story.
And on that reading, the egregious theological errors I mentioned before become surprisingly important. A lot of cults pervert the Christian faith into something horrific and barely recognizable, and that’s exactly what Theodor and his mentor do. They twist the Bible and prey on people’s emotional vulnerability in a very cult-like way, and the results speak for themselves.
So if you’re a fan of religious or cult-based genre movies, I think you’re going to love In the Name of God. It’s a fascinating story anchored by great performances and some legit horror, and it highlights just how insidious cults can be. It’s a great time from start to finish, so if this film comes to a VOD platform or a theater near you sometime in the future, I highly recommend that you give it a watch.
In the Name of God played at FrightFest on August 24.
