In April 2023, the independent horror flickNefariousearnedjust over a million dollarsand placed tenth at the box office on its opening weekend. The movie hit theaters around the same time as other horror movies likeThe Pope’s Exorcist,Evil Dead Rise,Scream IV, andRenfield; 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 bySteve Deaceand was written and directed byChuck KonzelmanandCary Solomon(the duo behindGod’s Not DeadandUnplanned). But despite the film’s distinctly Christian label,Nefariousrises 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,Nefariouspresents 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’sSilence of the Lambs; but mostly,Nefariousis 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,Nefariousplays 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 laSplit), there’s a good amount of time there where we wonder if he’s just insane. Part ofNefarious' 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’sthe demonic element of this case study that makesNefariousunique.
“[Nefarious] is the best movie portraying demonic possession ever produced,” wroteFather Carlos Martins, a Catholic priest and host ofThe Exorcist Filespodcast, which recounts his personal experience with demonic activity (viaThe 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 theGod’s Not Deadbatch of “sermovies,” it’s the performances inNefariousthat 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 makesNefariousso thrilling.
Flanery is frightening as Nefarious, exuding the same sort of bent charisma thatElias Koteasdoes as Azazel in the 1998 thrillerFallen, another demon-possession picture thatchallenges everything we think we know about the horror sub-genre. LikeFallen,Nefariousgets 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,Nefariouswas made with a specific audience in mind — Christians (albeit with the hope of additional general appeal).
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Despite the overwhelmingly positive audience ratings, critics didn’t care much forNefarious.TheRotten Tomatoesconsensus 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 thatthere’s power here in Sean Patrick Flanery’s performance that propelsNefariousabove most faith-based productions. And considering that many recent faith-driven stories likeJesus Revolution,The Shift, andThe Chosenhave 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 ofNefarioushappens 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 ofFather Merrin (Max von Sydow)orFather Karras (Jason Miller)fromThe Exorcist, the results couldn’t be more different. Considering thatNefariousopened alongsideRussell Crowe’sThe Pope’s Exorcist, it would be a bit repetitive to have two demon-expelling priests in theaters on the same weekend. ButNefarioustakes 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 (viaPew Research), that still leaves another 30% (a calculation that has varied over the years,even among Christians) of folks who don’t.Nefariousexplores 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.Nefariouspaints 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. WhileNefariousmight 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 inThe 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 famedChronicles of NarniaauthorC.S. Lewisat the beginning of his 1942 workThe Screwtape Letters, which itself mirrors the “Dark Gospel” inNefariousthat 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.“Nefarioususes 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,Nefariousaccomplishes 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 ofThe Screwtape Lettersby any means or even the first to do a “modern reimaging” of the same idea (theMillenniumepisode"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
Nefariousis 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 ofGlenn Beckat the end, but strange doesn’t mean bad. There’s no denying thatNefariousis 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 likeNefariousto end with a hamfisted conversion scenethat 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 originalNefariousnovels, has since announced thata sequel film is in development, as isa subsequent television serieswith stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Jordan Belfi set to return. How that all will work is yet a mystery, but one thing is clear: theNefariousstory will far outlive the electric chair.
