Don't Believe the Hype

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

When I first skipped through the plot of "Between the walls", I thought it could be a low-budget suspense-thriller that makes up for some production value by keeping its audience thrilled and entertained.What they seem to have forgotten to mention is that this is mainly a film about finding god rather than anything else. While I really don't have any problem with religion as a personal or even public way of life, I do have some problems with hidden (or not so hidden) propaganda in what is supposed to be a non-religious film.Not only does the movie make some very questionable statements concerning the main character "being guilty" after losing faith over his abusive religious father, it also spends a ridiculous amount of time trying to convince each and every one that a loss of faith is the source of all evil. By the way: You can't just say "Bible hour ha ha" and then really start with one. The laughing makes nothing better, it just shows you're perfectly aware of what you're doing.You could have delivered the same message through a preach, but at least that would have been a less sneaky and more honest way.

There's bad acting and then there's bad acting and in my opinion this movie had neither. Of course the performances weren't exactly 'Oscar worthy' but then again this film doesn't exactly have a million dollar budget – or at least I highly doubt that it does. The performances were adequate; for the most part they were believable, in some scenes the actors did try too hard (especially when acting with props – like holding their hands over a doorknob for dramatic effect) but those were few and far between. I don't know if I've gotten used to the acting in low budget films (and no one really gets accustomed to bad acting) but I've seen acting that has made me cringe but for the 70 minutes of this movie I actually believed that Patrick Midgley (who plays Peter King Jr) was on an emotional roller coaster and I felt as if I was on the wacky ride with him. The story, as I conceived it, is about a man who's finding it hard to forgive his deceased father for the psychological abuse that he put him through during his childhood. Ultimately he is led, by an old childhood friend, to Jesus and surrenders it all so that he can forgive his father and finally have peace. The message is solid and while some may find it too repetitive we must remember that this is a Christian film, the sole point isn't to provide entertainment but to relate the message of the Gospel in an entertaining way. All in all, it was a decent film. There's character development, a little plot twist near the end, and the editing at the beginning made my skin tingle – in a good way (but that's only if you're into that kind of stuff).

I thought this was a good movie, though I have to agree with the reviewers that there was bad acting in it. This movie teaches about not to judge others.The Protagonist's father audio records his childhood actions and the tapes were not discovered until the house goes under an eviction notice by the bank.The Protagonist's friend who works for the bank became a born-again Christian after he stole money years ago from the Protagonist's father's bank account. Thus as punishment, the protagonist was forbidden never to speak and come in contact with his friend again.The Protagonist learns that his father's in Hades for judging and his friend tried to help him pay the mortgage in doing the Lord's business.In the end, the protagonist gave his life to the Savior and destroyed the tapes.The lesson from this movie is, don't judge others.

The only reason I rented this film was because it was not listed as a Christian film. Who could know the Family Friendly rating and the WYSIWYG Film Festival were Christian! So not knowing the above and only briefly skimming the notes, I tried to get into this film despite the terrible acting, hoping the intriguing backstory might be prove to be worthwhile.The main character's dad was a dictatorial Christian control freak who recorded everything in the house. He was both an omniscient and vengeful figure whose mode of interacting with his son is through punishment. The similarities to the god of the old testament are unmistakable. These tapes are not discovered until the house is to be repossessed.While there were some interesting juxtapositions where the main character as an adult relives his painful past through his father's tapes, the movie's heavy-handed fundemenalist message was overbearing. According to the filmmakers humanity by nature is inherently depraved and we are not worthy of anything unless we surrender to God. This is not a Christian message.The only way I can justify having wasted 72 minutes of my life is to warn others.