a review by Jeffrey Overstreet
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Scripture exhorts us to “speak the truth in love.”
Hell House speaks the truth about its subject–a Pentecostal extremist community–with fairness and compassion. But the well-intentioned churchgoers in the spotlight shout only semi-truths in a presumptuous, tactless fashion that remains frighteningly un-Christlike.
Hell House is a new independent film about one church’s unique method of spreading the gospel. It is not, as the title suggests, a horror film, although some viewers might be horrified by some of what they see. It is instead a challenging documentary that is starting debates among viewers, earning raves among critics, and winning awards at film festivals as it tours the country.
Director George Ratliff takes us behind the scenes in the construction of a haunted house organized by the Trinity Church (Assemblies of God) in Cedar Hill, Texas. The exhibits inside are written and performed by well-intentioned young churchgoers who want to “encourage” visitors to turn to Jesus by showing them melodramatic, bloody, nightmarish spectacles of sinful behaviors like suicide, abortion, domestic violence, and more.
The Hell House experience is drawing thousands of people, and a profit, to the church, not to mention a great deal of criticism from unbelievers and other Christians alike. The director of the program responds to the nay-sayers: “Is our ministry driven by fear? Is fear a part of it? Absolutely. A part of salvation is the fear of going to hell.”
Hell House organizers are proud of their conversion rate, and the numbers we are shown is indeed astonishing. But do the numbers represent true, life-transforming conversions, or split-second reactions as a result of pressure… the kind of conversion that evaporates overnight? I wonder… should Hell House even pay attention to the numbers? McDonalds has served something like 75 zillion customers. That doesn’t mean McDonalds deserves our money, nor does it mean McDonalds gives us much benefit.
Ratliff deserves all of the praise he earns for not taking sides in his film. He just lets the camera roll. He shows the brainstorming sessions for skits like “the Rave Scene”, where someone asks “Does anybody know the name of the date rape drug?” He shows the set construction, as designers try to paint a good pentagram on the wall of the Occult Scene, and others install openings in the floor where visitors will look down and see hell-dwellers trapped in their misery. Ratliff also takes us to the Sunday morning service at Trinity Church, complete with an outburst of tongues-speaking.
It is impossible for me to discuss this film without editorializing about the event it covers. I hope you get to see the film, and that you share your own reactions with me.
The efforts of these young, passionate, well-meaning evangelists troubled me. Drawing stark lines between a sinner’s behavior and a saved person’s behavior, the performers imply that we can judge for ourselves who is going to heaven and who is going to hell. This seems to be a portrayal of life under a rigid law, where you can be sentenced to hell for participating in a certain list of sins like rape, spousal abuse, abortion, or homosexuality. More common sins like pride, jealousy, or self-righteousness, just as heinous in God’s sight, don’t show up on the Hell House radar.
Further, in their zeal to warn people about cultural dangers, Hell House’s writers make dangerous generalizations, focusing on what they perceive as evil forces in popular culture rather than emphasizing the places that sin takes root in our hearts, the flawed thoughts that lead people into misbehaviors in the first place. Several of their assumptions remind me of the church leaders who once told me that listening to rock-and-roll records was going to fill me with demons, and that when I watched Star Wars I was being drawn into the occult. They equate reading Harry Potter with Satan worship, and going to a “rave” with participating in drug culture. These unfortunate assumptions soil their credibility in commenting on contemporary culture. It seems they want to pull kids out of popular culture and planting them in a church community where they will be safe. But popular culture is where we are to live and work, resisting temptation. We should not be afraid of it, withdrawing and forming our own fenced-in counterculture. Sin can be found in church communities too.
Trinity’s approach to Hell House will raise questions for viewers. How can they condemn “the rave scene” because attendees might encounter drugs or sexual predators, when these same evangelists spend time surfing the Internet and promoting their Hell House there, where pornography, gambling, violent video games, and all kinds of debauchery are available? How can they insist that homosexuality is a one-way ticket to hell, and yet not deal with the sins that are active in their own hearts even now, as they stand under the banner of the Saved?
It is also disturbing to watch young people giddily auditioning for the part of “rapist” or “abortion girl”, eager to scream and bleed in the spotlight. And when the show goes on and people file through the Hell House, they are pressured to make a quick decision-choose Jesus and move into a room where church members will pray with you, or else leave the Hell House and show us that you are willing to “gamble” your life away to the Devil. “I’m going to count to five!” declares a grim tour guide, as the visitors make their hasty decision. How many lasting, healthy relationships with Christ have come out of such hurried, pressured, terror-induced decisions?
The genius of Ratliff’s film is that he is brutally honest about the sincerity and good intentions of these churchgoers. In spite of these uncomfortable revelations, Hell House also shows us that God is indeed at work in the Trinity community. We hear testimonies of changed lives, healthy relationships, and a sincere desire to serve God. A father testifies that he lost his wife to an Internet affair, and he patiently and steadfastly cares for his children, including a boy with cerebral palsy who slips into a seizure while the cameras roll at the breakfast table. As the father immediately calls out to God, what transpires might be a natural occurrence, or, as the father claims, it might be “the hand of God” caught on film.
There is much to think about in this thorough, challenging documentary. I encourage Christians to seek it out and watch it with fellow believers, discussing the tactics of Trinity Church and the things that Jesus told us about ministering to the lost and feeding His sheep. I encourage everyone else to watch it as well, and discuss the difference between Christ’s ministry and the “ministry” of these high-pressure gospel salesmen. Is Hell House a worthy response to Christ’s example?
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A LETTER FROM A FORMER ‘HELL HOUSE’ PARTICIPANT:
Jeffrey,
I attending Trinity AOG (Assembly of God) from 1988-1993. I was involved with their ministry including the production of Hell House. I stopped going to the church, in part, because of what this represented.
“Is Hell House a worthy respone to Christ’s example?”
Your question was what I asked myself during my involvement. I had to answer for both myself and my family. I played the doctor in the abortion scene and my 11-13 year old daughter the girl.
It was emotionally ravaging. I was a relatively new Christian (3-5 years). I wanted to ‘win’ people for Christ. Yet I was troubled by the tactics.
They were certainly sensationalistic. Yet I soothed my conscience, for a while, with justification from Jude 1:23. Ultimately, that failed.
Hell House is not Christ’s way. Christ suffered with the lost. He challenged their notions with reason and extended love. His goal was redemption. He never shocked them. It was grace…
Thanks for the even handed review. It was interesting to see that a film was made about this. I am honestly surprised.
Some good will come from this in that those who see it will consider what The Great Commission does mean for them in their life and in this culture.
In His Name,
Frank Meyer