The Devil Made Them Do It — But He Should’ve Made Them Edit It
There are horror movies about possession. There are psychological thrillers about guilt. And then there’s Nefarious, a film that tries to be both and ends up looking like The Exorcist got rewritten by a Facebook uncle with a “Keep Christ in Christmas” bumper sticker.
Directed by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman — the duo behind God’s Not Dead, which should already tell you something about the subtlety we’re dealing with — Nefarious is a 90-minute theological hostage situation disguised as a horror film. It’s like watching a debate between a demon and a psychiatrist that somehow makes you root for early electrocution just to end the conversation.
The Setup: Satan Checks In for a Psychiatric Evaluation
The film opens at a state penitentiary so grim it looks like the director color-graded it through a used Bible. Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) is called in to determine whether death row inmate Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery) is legally sane or just really, really committed to his bit.
Edward claims he’s possessed by a demon named “Nefarious.” Because apparently “Beelzebub” was too subtle, and “Steve” didn’t test well with focus groups.
From here, the film locks us in a single interrogation room — literally and metaphorically — for what feels like an eternity of smug theological monologuing. Dr. Martin, a proud atheist, just wants to sign the paperwork and go home. Nefarious, however, has other plans: he wants to convert him to Christianity via the least entertaining PowerPoint presentation ever made.
Sean Patrick Flanery: Oscar for Overacting
Let’s give credit where it’s due — Sean Patrick Flanery goes all in. He doesn’t chew scenery; he deep-throats it. His “possessed” Edward/Nefarious alternates between whispering like a youth pastor in a haunted house and shouting like he’s auditioning for a demonic TED Talk.
He twitches, smirks, and drops lines like:
“You humans! You love your abortions, your euthanasia, your despair!”
He’s the kind of demon who reads Facebook comment sections for inspiration.
If Flanery had played it campy, this might’ve worked as absurdist horror. But the film insists he’s delivering the literal word of God — or, rather, the word of God’s PR team. Instead of chills, we get lectures. Instead of horror, we get homework.
Jordan Belfi: A Psychiatrist in a Religious Infomercial
Meanwhile, poor Jordan Belfi as Dr. Martin spends the movie reacting like a man trapped in a theology debate he didn’t sign up for. His character arc goes from “smug skeptic” to “confused hostage” to “reluctant believer,” but mostly he just looks like he’s regretting not taking that Netflix pilot instead.
Every time he tries to assert logic, Nefarious counters with “Ah, but what about THE SOUL?” It’s like watching Richard Dawkins get dunked on by a demon who majored in youth ministry.
The “conflict” is basically two guys sitting in a room: one insisting science exists, the other ranting about abortion, euthanasia, and how Satan invented feminism. It’s 12 Angry Men if all 12 were Glenn Beck.
Speaking of Glenn Beck…
Yes. Glenn Beck — the actual conservative talk show host — shows up as himself. Because nothing screams “immersive horror” like a cameo that makes you wonder if you’ve accidentally tuned into an AM radio segment called The Devil Wears MSNBC.
It’s as if the filmmakers wanted to make sure no one mistook this for entertainment.
The Message: The Devil Is Bad, But Secularism Is Worse
If Nefarious has a thesis, it’s that modern society is doomed because we’ve stopped going to church and started watching Netflix. The film’s real villain isn’t demonic possession — it’s moral relativism.
Every line of dialogue feels like it was written by ChatGPT trained exclusively on sermons and Facebook memes about “kids these days.” There’s an extended rant about abortion that makes you want to leap into the electric chair yourself just to avoid hearing the word “Molech” one more time.
The film’s idea of subtlety is having the demon say:
“You think you’re free, doctor? You’re enslaved to sin!”
Meanwhile, the audience is enslaved to a runtime that refuses to die.
The Tone: Christian Horror by Way of PowerPoint
Here’s the problem — horror and evangelism mix about as well as holy water and Red Bull. One wants to scare you; the other wants to scold you. Nefarious somehow fails at both.
The movie has all the visual energy of a tax seminar. The cinematography is washed-out beige, the pacing is funereal, and the score sounds like someone repeatedly hitting “ominous drone” on GarageBand.
Even the scares are theological. The big “twists” are things like:
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The demon knows about your sins!
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He can quote Latin!
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He doesn’t like atheists!
It’s like The Exorcist reimagined by the producers of Fireproof.
The Climax: Death by Dialogue
After a solid hour of arguing about who’s really evil (spoiler: it’s you), the film finally gets around to executing the prisoner. The demon cackles, the lights flicker, and Edward dies screaming in the electric chair — which is probably the audience’s cue to applaud for surviving the runtime.
But then, in a twist so on-the-nose it could sprain your septum, Nefarious possesses Dr. Martin, forces him to attempt suicide, and — wait for it — the gun misfires three times.
This is treated as a miracle. Personally, I think even God was trying to spare him the embarrassment of being in the sequel.
The Ending: “To Be Continued!” (Please Don’t.)
In the end, Dr. Martin writes a book about his experience called A Nefarious Plot (wink, wink, nudge, source material). He’s now agnostic and possibly haunted, which the film presents as character growth. Then he meets a homeless woman who’s clearly possessed by the same demon, because even Satan apparently doesn’t have better things to do.
And just to make sure you didn’t miss the franchise setup, a voiceover hisses, “To be continued.”
To which every sane viewer responds, “God, please no.”
The Theology: Demonsplaining 101
You can tell Nefarious was made by people who really wanted to teach you something — and that’s the scariest part. The dialogue reads less like horror writing and more like a debate club for exorcists. Every “conversation” is a lecture about the evils of secularism, liberalism, and basic human autonomy.
It’s Hannibal Lecter meets Focus on the Family. The demon doesn’t want to eat your liver; he wants to make sure you’re against euthanasia first.
The Real Horror: Realizing You Paid for This
The most frightening thing about Nefarious isn’t the possession, or the execution, or even Glenn Beck’s cameo — it’s the realization that this movie cost money to make. Real, human money.
It’s shot like a stage play, paced like a Sunday homily, and written like an angry Reddit thread titled Why Hollywood Hates God. You could cut out every supernatural element and you’d still have the same movie: two guys arguing in a room while the audience contemplates original sin and whether they can sneak out for snacks.
Final Judgment
Let’s be fair — Nefarious isn’t the worst movie ever made. It’s just the most smugly sure of its own importance. It mistakes proselytizing for profundity and ends up being a sermon disguised as a thriller.
Sean Patrick Flanery deserves a medal for sheer commitment; he gives a performance so intense it’s almost satanic. But no amount of acting can save a script that feels like a Chick tract stretched into feature length.
If you’re looking for a horror film that challenges your faith, watch The Exorcist. If you’re looking for a film that punishes you for not having one, Nefarious is your guy.
Rating: 3/10 — Less “The Devil’s Advocate,” more “The Devil’s Podcast.” Bring holy water and caffeine. You’ll need both.
