Director – Nathan Rumler (Fangboner)
Starring – Brian Papandrea (Space Babes from Outer Space, The Big F), Dave Parker (Halloween Spookies, Applecart), and Sadie Tate (Beyond the Valley of Belief, Nutsack Pt. 1: Lucifer’s Cosmonauts)
Release Date – 2017
Rating – 3.5/5
Indie cinema should be fun but a lot of filmmakers take themselves way too fucking seriously. Some make a film and immediately start considering themselves rock stars (you’re not). Others sell a few copies and let the success go to their head where they start releasing more “serious” films that suck ass and lack originality. Luckily, we have Rock Bottom Video to deliver on the no budget indie flicks. To date, RBV has delivered some of the most unique and entertaining films I have been lucky enough to review. If you have yet to check out Fangboner, The Big F, and Beyond the Valley of Belief I suggest you do yourself a favor and check them out.
Not long ago director Nathan Rumler announced a new exploitation comedy, Gay for Pray: The Erotic Adventures of Jesus Christ with RBV director and actor Brian Papandrea portraying the savior himself. I was so excited for the release of this film and prayed I wouldn’t see Brian with his shirt off. I followed the film closely and when it was completed Nathan was kind enough to hook me up with a review copy. Thank you Nathan!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows three roommates who find a surprise visit from an old wizard who offers to make their lives better if they do as he says. One of them is skeptical of the old man but the other two are open-minded to what he has to offer. After trying to few things the old wizard outs himself as the son of God, Jesus, who had his power taken away by his father because he is openly gay. Now the three roommates help Jesus get his powers.**Spoiler Alert**
I started running news on this several months back with those posts becoming very popular among you. Some of you found the concept of this film funny and was excited for a low budget exploitation comedy while others got their panties in a twist. Personally, I find religious parodies to be funny. A lot of people complained and whined that this movie was offensive and, sadly, those people lacked a sense of humor. Life would be so much more enjoyable if they didn’t live with their heads so far up their ass.
The acting in this one is solid. Once again Brian Papandrea knocks it out of the park. He is one of my favorite actors in the indie horror scene. He always brings his characters to life and his comedic timing is fucking perfect. Not since The Passion of the Christ have we seen Jesus take on a comical role like this.
Nathan Rumler, the writer and director of the film, has a small role in the film. He delivers a pretty entertaining performance but his character is severely underwritten. I could see a prequel or sequel following his portrayal of Judas and his romance with Jesus.
Sadie Tate delivers a great performance as well. When I watched The Big F I wasn’t sold on her as a lead. She has natural skill and beauty but her interactions with other characters did not feel genuine. That changed when I saw Beyond the Valley of Belief. She felt more comfortable on camera and her dialogue didn’t feel forced. In Gay for Pray it looked as if she was having fun on set and this reflected in her performance. She had her own moments of comedy and delivered a great performance.
Terrence Cover did a solid job as another one of the film’s lead. As the film starts rolling I started to question Rumler’s decision to make Dave the atheist asshole and Cover the naturally nice straight man trying to get Jesus’ life back together but that changed once the film progressed. His character was very caring and continuously gave Jesus the benefit of the doubt. He did a great job and I can now see why Rumler cast the way he did.
Dave Parker is my only real hang up. Dave is easily one of the nicest people I have ever met. Dave treats someone he just met the same way he would treat a lifelong friend or family member. He is polite, courteous, and always happy. He is a damn good actor as well and the perfect example of this is his role in Headless where he absolutely awed me. In Gay For Pray he is the physical manifestation of the social media atheists that feel the need to constantly argue and bash people of religion while filling a complex they have. It was funny and added to the theme of the film but watching him yell about his beliefs just didn’t feel genuine even though it was funny.
The story for this one is pure comedy gold. Organized religion has some of the most conceited, full of shit people I have ever met in my life. I’m not speaking for all people of faith but a good portion refuse to let others live their lives the way they want. It’s their God fearing way or fuck you. This story is the perfect parody of that thought process. The film takes several jabs at contradictory principles found in the bible while delivering some pretty fucking funny moments. You can tell this was a passion project because there was a lot of thought put not only into the story but into the dialogue.
Finally, the film has a decent amount of gore. We have a Westboro parody group ripping the fetus from a woman because it could grow up to be a solider. We also follow Jesus as he chainsaw fucks the same group. The effects are gruesome with some fun practical effects. There is a few shots where you can see the film’s budget but that doesn’t take away from the humor. Overall, Gay for Pray: The Erotic Adventures of Jesus Christ is fucking powerful film. It’s spiritually enlightening and side splitting. Fans of religious erotica and indie comedies will want this one! Check it out.
