Persecuted (film)

Persecuted

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Daniel Lusko
Produced by Daniel Lusko
James R. Higgins
Gray Frederickson
Jerry D. Simmons
Written by Daniel Lusko
Starring James Remar
Bruce Davison
Music by Chris Ridenhour
Cinematography Richard J. Vialet
Edited by Brian Brinkman
Production
company
One Media
Distributed by Millennium Entertainment
Release dates
  • July 18, 2014 (2014-07-18)
Running time
91 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1.6 million[1]

Persecuted is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Daniel Lusko and starring James Remar, Bruce Davison, Dean Stockwell, Raoul Trujillo, Fred Thompson, Brad Stine, David House, and Tabatha Shaun.

Plot

Reformed drug addict and America's leading evangelist John Luther opposes Senator Donald Harrison's Faith and Fairness Act which would not allow Christians to state that they have the whole/only truth. To destroy Luther's credibility and ensure passage of the bill Luther is framed for the rape and murder of a teenage girl.

Cast

Production

Principal photography took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[2] The movie's production is finished and it was screened at the February 2014 National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, Tennessee and March 2014 at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.[3]

It has been turned into a book by Robin Parrish.

Release

Persecuted was released theatrically on July 18, 2014.

Critical reception

The film was widely panned by critics and is one of the worst-reviewed films of 2014. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 0% approval rating with an average rating of 2.5/10 based on 13 reviews.[4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 11 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[5]

In a review for the New York Post, Kyle Smith wrote, "The Lord works in mysterious ways but Persecuted works in blundering, obvious ways, straining a Christianity-under-attack theme through a dopey thriller."[6]

New York Times film critic Neil Genzlinger stated, "This terrible attempt at a political thriller for the religious right is aimed not at Christians in general but at a certain breed of them, the kind who feel as if the rest of the world were engaged in a giant conspiracy against their interpretation of good and truth."[7]

Justin Chang from Variety concluded his scathing review with, "At a time when the world offers us no shortage of examples of what actual religious persecution looks like, for a film to indulge in this particular brand of self-righteous fearmongering isn’t just clueless or reckless; it’s an act of contemptible irresponsibility."[8]

References

  1. "Persecuted (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  2. "“Persecuted” latest movie to shoot in NM". bizjournals.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  3. Kellner, Mark A. 'Persecuted' film examines freedom of conscience versus the state, Deseret News, February 13, 2014.
  4. "Persecuted (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  5. "Persecuted". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  6. Smith, Kyle (16 July 2014). "Even a higher power cannot save dopey thriller ‘Persecuted’". New York Post. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  7. Genzlinger, Neil (17 July 2014). "They’re Out to Get Him, Whoever They Are: 'Persecuted' Focuses on a TV Evangelist". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  8. Chang, Justin (17 July 2014). "‘Persecuted’ Review: A Ludicrous Exercise in Christian Paranoia". Variety. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

External links

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