Reviewed by Stuart O'Connor
Featuring Pastor Becky Fischer, Ted Haggard, Mike Papantonio,
Levi (aged 13), Rachael (10) & Tori (11)
Produced by Nancy Dubuc & Molly Thompson
Cinematography Mira Chang & Jenna Rosher
Certification UK PG | US PG-13
Runtime 87 minutes
Directed by Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady
No, this is not a film about a gay Messiah. It's a film about insane people and child abusers. Now we all know how weird and scary those right-wing fundy Christians are. But the ones in this documentary are absolutely terrifying. And the scariest thing about them? Most of them are under the age of 10. This is probably the most frightening film I have seen this year, and that's the God's honest truth, hallelujah and praise Lord Jeebus.
These are people who worship at the altar of George W Bush, a fundy himself and probably the biggest terrorist on the planet today. These are people who believe that Americans are "God's chosen ones". These are people who want to build armies and wipe all the other religions off the planet. And these are people who raise their poor, innocent children to believe in all this bullshit. The main focus of the documentary is the "Kids On Fire" summer camp in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. It's run by Becky Fischer, easily one of the most evil people ever put on film — she makes Darth Vader look like a saint in comparison. Oh, she appears all sweet and innocent, but Becky espouses hatred against Muslims, Jews, abortionists and anyone else who doesn't follow "her" God. She's encouraging the kids to become a "new army of God" and to "take back America for Christ".
FIlmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady steer clear of the Michael Moore approach and take a backseat, letting their subjects speak for themselves. It doesn't set out to be anti-Christian — Christian radio talk-show host Mike Papantonio comes across very much as a voice of reason — but is certainly anti-fundamentalist. This is a documentary that needs to be shown in schools around the world, to teach kids the danger of paying attention to crazy people.