Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Faith Community'

Written by Scott Edwards

It can be difficult to find a place where you truly feel you belong. While it can take years to become comfortable with your surroundings and those around you, there are some places that will take you in, no questions asked. Being where I am now in life, I have found plenty of places I feel comfortable with myself and have plenty of fun with others. The goal is to make sure you are making the decision to join these places on your own and that someone else’s whispers are not persuading you to do something you do not want to do.
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After a couple of years of hard bible study, Hannah wants to see what else her faith has to offer. Getting in touch with a bible study retreat group, she is more than excited to visit and see what else she will be able to do to get closer to God. Coming along for the ride, her friend Andrew is ready to show his faith and Colin with video camera in hand is ready to shoot everything to show the folks back home how awesome the trip was. With the message from Pastor Dave Randell still ringing in their ears, the group is in for a life changing event, but maybe not the kind they were expecting.

Arriving at the base of a trail, the group is greeted by the retreat group and their charismatic Pastor who is more than happy to make them feel at home. Not recalling that there was going to be a camera present from their previous correspondence, the Pastor takes his new followers back to their campsite, but Colin is getting a strange vibe from his surroundings. Arriving at the camp site and seeing that it is nothing like what they envisioned, questions come into play about what kind of retreat this really is, but being told that everything is designed to bring them closer to nature makes things much easier.

Sitting down with the Pastor for an interview, Colin is not able to get his given name on tape, only that he calls himself The Messenger. The Messenger goes into his past life before he found his faith and how he is now preparing for the impending Rapture that will soon be upon the world. Getting called away by a new message, The Messenger lets Colin know that a storm will soon be upon them and they need to prepare for the night. Getting time to have another interview, Colin sits down with follower Michael who talks about his past life as well, but he has a much more disturbing message to deliver; that the group should leave as soon as possible. Trying to get Hannah and Andrew together to talk, Colin tries to convince them to leave, but The Messenger has promised them entertainment, so they will have to wait and watch the retelling of Adam and Eve, but with a more sinister ending.

From the description of this movie, I had a good feeling that there would be something strange happening on this retreat, but The Faith Community took it a bit further than even I expected. It was great seeing how the charismatic Messenger was able to get his point across and flags should have been raised after his interview that he might be willing to take things too far, that and he called watching horror movies a sin. I was very impressed how the movie took a turn for the dark during the special performance being put on by The Messenger and his followers, it really put things into perspective for Andrew more than anybody. Plus, I have to mention that Hannah’s transformation was downright incredible, but I won’t say much more than that, because you need to see it firsthand. With a beautiful forest, a group of devoted followers, a charismatic preacher, a camera and the promise of redemption if someone believes it is deserved, this movie shows faith at its most extreme level and leaves you questioning who the faithful are really talking to. Stay Scared.

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