I don’t watch new movies often. I like a select few and just keep those on repeat. For example, found out last night Xfinity has Brokeback Mountain (2005) for free and immediately threw that one on because it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. After that ended, I felt adventurous so I started sifting through some of the other LGBT movies they had for free. Low and behold I ended up on one called “The Revival” (2017). I’d seen clips of this movie, I loved the actors, and the trailer was pretty sick. It’s about this Baptist preacher in Arkansas who has a secret love affair with a drifter that comes to town. It has a lot of those basic tropes like “oh I’m gay but my religions says this or that ahhhhh” and grappling with that but regardless I was intrigued, it was only 86 minutes, so I threw it on.
MAJOR Spoiler Warning For “The Revival” (2017) Below This Line.
Don’t read if you haven’t seen it or don’t want to know the ending. It’s my blog, I’ll rant about what I please but don’t say I didn’t warn your ass. Seriously, we’ll fist fight in the Arby’s Parking lot.
I don’t know why I do this to myself, of course it didn’t have a happy ending.
When the trailer said “riveting, surprising twist at the end”, I don’t know why I was like “yeah, they’re gonna be happy in this one.” NO! That is not at all what happened.
(once again spoiler, this is basically the end of the movie)
Basically, when Daniel (drifter) says he has real feelings for Eli (preacher/god damn disaster) and that he’s not going to leave town after a photo comes to the surface of them hooking up, Eli goes off the rails. He just drives around while getting fucked up so Eli’s very pregnant wife June (general annoyance) decides she’s gonna go convince Daniel to leave. And of cooourse, he’s like “I’m not fucking leaving” so June sends Trevor (undercover serial killer for sure) in to beat the fuck out of Daniel, which he does, and Trevor ties him up a very concussed Daniel so he can’t escape. Trevor makes Jimmy (cousin fucker) watch over Daniel as he goes to relapse with his drinking. Cut to Preacher Eli obliterating a deer in the road to which he decides “wanna know what? killing things really ain’t half bad” so he appears at the cabin where Daniel is being kept, sends Jimmy off to fuck his cousin, and sets the place on fire WITH DANIEL INSIDE. Then we get a clip of Trevor relapsing, Jimmy fucking his cousin, and Eli watching the cabin burn. I was hoping the camera would pan over to Daniel in the passenger seat but NO.
I shit you not I just sat staring at the TV for a solid 20 minutes because I could not comprehend how this ended.
I get the whole grand scheme theme here but COME ON PEOPLE. We always mention the trope of “kill your gays” because we never get the happy ending but I think of all the movies I’ve seen, this one has upset me the most. Sure I was shocked and saddened by Brokeback the first time I saw it and I cry every time but for some reason, this little 86 minute long indie flick has wormed it way under my skin and I’ve been losing it since 3:45 AM. Like I understand the overrunning theme with God and how He can’t make you do this or that (shows with the remaining 3 main characters giving into their temptations and whims) and I get the symbolism of baptism by fire. And that’s all good and deep, I’d usually love shit like that in a movie.
BUT AT THE COST OF THIS LITTLE FACE?!
Homeskillet just fell in love with a nice little preacher boy and got fucking killed for it. He stopped making and doing meth for the preacher, he loved him and he get’s roasted worse then a witch at the stake. Personally I am quite sick of all the gays dying horrifically at the end of movies, it’s on my “reasons I thought I’d be dead by 20” list but at the base of it all, the ending here was so unsatisfying and angering that I’m going to bitch about it for the next 6 weeks at least.
Overall great movie, if I wasn’t so angered by the ending I probably would watch it 600 more times. I’ll rewatch it. One day. When I’m not ready to sit in the blaze with Daniel. Anyway I’m gonna go stare at the ceiling and think about my repressed catholic guilt, thanks for listening.
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The ending of this movie was so unnecessarily demeaning and quite frankly, disturbing that people continue to have such mindset based on another’s sexuality. I completely agree with your statement regarding burned at the stake, just because he fell in love with a preacher. My concern with this atrocity is the message it sends to the people watching. It is not, nor will it ever be, okay to denounce an entire community based solely upon their sexual preferences.
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