Reviews

Mel Gibson has done the impossible. He has created a tale of the Christ that works on three separate levels.

As a spiritual message, the film is overwhelming, bringing tears of renewal to the believers in the audience. Even if you are not a believer, though, I still think there is something in this for you.

As an historical observation, the film is brilliant, depicting the social and political dynamics of the Romans and Sanhedrin with clarity and accessibility. This is the most believable interpretation of what happened to Christ, and although I knew the story going in, I found myself getting caught in the narrative, hoping someone would realize that this was an innocent man and that the persecution would stop.

Finally, as a work of art, this film is unparalleled. Mel borrows from the works of Caravaggio, Puntarmo, Michelangelo and Leonardo et. al., as well as the Medieval Passion Plays. As one who was made to study this in college, it all came back to me in a graphic context, with production design so amazing that it felt like I was going back in time, that I was seeing Jesus and Pilate and Peter and Mary.

This film will rock your world, and that's an understatement. One of the most beautiful films I have seen.

The best thing about this movie is the video box cover when it was released not under the title "Blood Shack," but under the alternate title of "The Chooper." At the time, my two movie buddies were named Cooper and Hooper, so I assumed that The Chooper was a genetically spliced hybrid of the two. But the picture of The Chooper on the box--with skeletal face and snakes coming out of the sockets--is not The Chooper of the films.

"Blood Shack"/"The Chooper" is a rodeo film disquised as a horror film. It looks like a movie I made when I was 16--shot at the local businessman's rodeo--but mine was only eight minutes long (perfect length for a rodeo horror film). For better rodeo footage, check out Pee Wee Herman's bullriding stint in "Pee Wee's Big Adventure." For a better cheesey horror flick, check out "Spawn of the Slithis." For a more productive 90 minutes of your life, try volunteering in a homeless shelter or playing dodgeball with a poisonous puffer fish. But by all means, don't be swayed by the cover. The name Ray Dennis Stengler should send you screaming from the aisles.