Paranormal, the (Christian!) Movie

Posted by owner on February 15, 2010

A Demondope Interview:
When Mike Garrett, teaching pastor at Crossroads Fellowship, told me folks at a nearby church had produced a movie on the paranormal, I just had to find out more! I checked out their web site and got in touch with April Kruger, the COO and producer at Cross Shadow Productions in Apex, North Carolina. She arranged for me to meet with the Director, Dr. Matt Mitchell, who is the Worship Pastor at the Potter’s Hand Bible Church. I learned that “Paranormal” is the third feature-length film the team has made. Here’s what I found out when I went to the church and visited with Matt, a friendly and enthusiastic 37 year old film Director and Worship Arts Pastor.

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Demondope: Matt, what target audience were you shooting for when your team wrote, filmed, edited and produced Paranormal?

Matt: Teens and adults today are looking for a fun, clean, thrill ride. But most of the secular films that are out there are so objectionable. Tiaan (the Cinematographer and Executive Producer) and I wanted to produce a morally clean film that would provide some good scares, but would also present the Truth from a biblical worldview. Hopefully, in addition to the church, the movie will draw secular audiences as well, as they need to hear this message more than anyone.

Demondope: I’ve found that most churches stay as far away from the paranormal and demons as possible. Why are Cross Shadow and your church different?

Matt: For one thing, my Pastor (Dr. Steven Rumley) isn’t afraid of the truth, or tackling tough subjects. If it’s in the Bible, he’ll preach it and I love that about him! Recently he’s been teaching a series on Spiritual Warfare, and that means teaching on angels and demons. If we won’t share the Truth on this topic, who will? I’ve read that research has shown that 8 out of 10 teens and young adults are interested in the supernatural, but fewer than 1 in 10 have ever had any biblical teaching on it. That’s why we made our latest movie.

Demondope: I know. I recently checked and found 66 programs on our cable TV that promote pagan or occultic notions about the supernatural. And there’s a new one starting this week on network TV: Past Lives.

Matt: This topic is everywhere now. We wanted to reach people in our culture who like the suspense/thriller type movies, while communicating the truth about the supernatural. In addition to being a fun, exciting story, we always want to introduce the Gospel, not in a preachy way, but naturally.

Demondope: So, what’s your movie about?

Matt: Without giving away too much, it’s ultimately about a Paranormal Investigation Team that is trying to help a best-selling author who is being “haunted by ghosts” in his beautiful mansion. The Team uses all the scientific equipment used by TV’s “Ghost Hunters” and we even get to show some of their other investigations, including an allegedly haunted Sanitarium! Of course, everyone gets in over their heads, as they come in contact with the truly evil spirits that are behind paranormal experiences.

Demondope: That sounds like it could be scary!

Matt: (laughs) Yeah, hopefully it has enough good clean scares to keep the audience on the edge of their seats! This is one of those movies that a teen can invite friends to see at church or at their home without worrying about it being preachy, or offensive. Our movies will never have bad language, sexuality, gore, or over-the-top violence. The friends will get their adrenaline rush . . . and they’ll also get the truth.

Demondope: Say you’re a Youth Minister in a local church. How would you use this film?

Matt: I’d have an overnight lock-in or retreat at church, and encourage the kids to invite their friends. About 10 o’clock after all the games, I’d turn out the lights and show Paranormal. Then follow that up with the Bible study/discussion guide we make available free online at paranormalthemovie.com

Demondope: That sounds really effective, Matt. But Paranormal isn’t just for young people, is it?

Matt: No, it’s for adults too. I wouldn’t recommend it for young children, obviously, as we tried to have a few good scares spaced throughout the movie. When we were shooting this movie, we’d be rehearsing the scene before we filmed it, and I would try to give them a feel for how scared they should, or should not be at this point. We came up with a “Fear-Meter” where I would say, “Okay, in this scene you’re pretty freaked out here… you’re probably about an 8 or 9 on a scale of 1 to 10”. There are probably two or three scenes in the movie where they hit a full-blown “10” (And no, I’m not allowed to tell you where they are. J ) I do want to mention that while you will jump a few times, Cross Shadow doesn’t really make “horror” movies, but rather our movies tend to be more creepy and atmospheric in nature. Most people tend to label them as Suspense/Thrillers.

Demondope: All of your movies start with the letter “P”. Will there be another Paranormal movie?

Matt: Perhaps! (Smiles and laughs) Cross Shadow is always willing to do whatever the Lord leads us to do next. Tiaan and I were instant messaging each other a few weeks ago and we got on the topic of possible future movie titles. Most of them were hilarious, although some were actually pretty good! Tiaan came up with a title that I absolutely loved! I can’t reveal what it was yet, but I can tell you it did start with a “P”. J

Demondope: So where can people find your movies?

Matt: All of our movies are available online and at most Family and Christian Bookstores nationwide. (For an up-to-date list of places to find Cross Shadow movies, click here: http://crossshadowproductions.com/index.php?page=WhereToBuy )

Demondope: Some research I just shared with registered users on my blog, www.demondope.com, indicate that at least 50% of those who go to evangelical churches have bought into the false beliefs about the supernatural that are spread through TV, movies, and the Internet. I’m really excited to see what you’re doing to combat error in this area with truth, and do it in a really powerful medium like movies.

Demondope: In addition to purchasing a copy of the DVD, what else can readers of demondope do to find out more about Paranormal, the Movie, and help promote it?

Matt: On the Official Movie Website (paranormalthemovie.com) there is a button called “Spread The Word” that offers a lot of great ideas to help us out. I would also recommend getting the free, downloadable Bible study/discussion guide as something Youth Leaders can use with their students after viewing the film. They can also show the film in church, at retreats, lock-ins or other groups. We didn’t do this for the money, so we want individuals who buy the film to share it and make it available to others who may need to hear this story. A person can also subscribe to our blog at http://blog.crossshadowproductions.com, to keep informed about Cross Shadow.

(By the way, be careful when going to their site for the movie. After they’d titled the film and secured the domain for their website, the secular film “Paranormal Activity” came out with a similar web domain. So don’t look for Paranormal Movie. Look for Paranormal THE Movie. That ‘the’ in there makes a big difference! )

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I left my meeting with Dr. Mitchell at the Potter’s Hand Bible Church feeling encouraged. It’s great to find others who are committed to communicating truths that have been so distorted in our culture. And it’s great to find a team of movie makers in a local church who are not afraid to deal with spiritual warfare. Matt will be sending a copy of the film to me, and I’ll review it in a future post. As this is the third feature-length film the team has produced, I’m expecting great things.

Until then, I recommend that you visit the blog at the address above, and that you also check out the other films the team has produced at www.crossshadowproductions.com.

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