RipDelight
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Mischa Redfern
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Wuchak
Released to video in 2002 and directed by Andre Van Heerden, "Deceived" is a sci-fi/drama in the mold of 1997's "Contact" or 2003's "Alien Hunter" except that it's decidedly a 'B' production with several comic book caricatures rather than characters. Although, thankfully, there are a few likable and realistic characters, like the ones played by Michelle Nolden and Judd Nelson. The story centers around seven people who meet at a remote observatory in the mountains after contact from (presumably) space has finally been made. But something weird and eerie is going on and they might not make it out alive. While this is a Christian production, the ideology doesn't become a factor in the story until the third act and it ties into the reality behind the strange phenomena happening at the observatory. The production quality is akin the the typical comic booky Syfy movie, but without any palpable monster. As noted above, at least three of the characters are over-the-top caricatures -- the new ager masquerading as a reverend (Jefferson Mappin), the colonel (Louis Gossett Jr.) and the hot reporter (Deborah Odell). Stewart Bick and Ramona Milano complete the main cast.There are kinks in the script that needed worked out and so the story flow is uneven at times and lacks suspense build-up. But I liked the confined environment and the interplay between the characters. All the main actors (not the peripheral ones) take the material seriously and give their best, despite some campy elements, which was the script's issue, not the actors.Several other things impressed me. For one, this ain't no conventional Christian movie. Despite its low-budget, it's ambitious and has a unique plot. The three females cast members are all beautiful in their own way, with Ramona standing out, but they're each exquisite. The images of Kara (Odell) holding a candle in the dark tunnel are striking. Then there's the interesting way the Reverend is depicted: At first glance you'd think he's a Southern Baptist preacher, but it becomes clear that this isn't the case. He's a New Ager, but he's not really a hypocrite in that he really believes what he says and is even shown practicing what he preaches, which isn't to say that he's without flaws. He's obviously a glutton, for instance. Speaking of which, it seems like the screenwriter tried to implement the seven deadly sins into the story but, if so, it was half-hearted. Lastly, as cited above, the character of Smitty and her possible relationship with the computer geek, Jack, is compelling. Smitty is the sole Christian character and I like the way she's portrayed as sincere, but flawed; and walking in some morally-conflicting situations, like working for Shaw (Bick), a company whose goal contradicts her belief system. The movie runs 95 minutes and was shot in Toronto, Canada, substituting for the Sierra Nevadas in California.GRADE: C+ (5.5/10)
mike-ryan455
I am a Christian. I believe Jesus is the son of the living God, the only begotten of the Father and the only name whereby we can be saved. And I believe this movie stank!The movie's theme was the broadcast from the pseudo-extraterrestrial source that really was evil. Strange and horrible things happen. We see the evil of government, the evils of telepathy and mind control and the evil of phony religion and the evil of phony news broadcasters, and in the end the cute couple are saved (physically as well as spiritually) and make it through just fine. They even make a convert.And it was still BAD.Lou Gossett was just utterly wasted. I do hope they paid him double. The rest were cheap Canadian actors.
webmaster-1271
Concerning your post, Tenacity..I'd have to agree that B-movies are not usually worth watching, and this may be one of them. Now, on to the Christian movie genre and your comment (quote:Before seeing this movie, I had no idea that a Christian Film genre even existed. I will probably not sleep well tonight knowing that it does. It's not nice to sugarcoat your brainwashing, people.)Every parent tells their child repeatedly not to touch a hot oven, it's not brainwashing to do so, it's protecting the child. God tells us, his children and creation, time and again in many ways (to include movies like this) that we're going to get burned if we don't open our eyes. Don't be like a child stomping his feet begging to touch the oven.
kevino-4
Well, it can be truly horrifically bad, as in "Battlefield Earth". Or it can be stupidly cheaply exploitatively bad, as in "Attack of the Giant Leeches". Or, it can be painfully embarrassingly bad as in "Face the Music". "Deceived" is innovative in that it creates a new kind of bad, cheap certainly but in a preachy posing altruisticaly bad way. It's as if the actors, most of whom are at least competent, sacrifice themselves for the good of the cause, saying words and performing actions that must have caused their thespian guts to wring themselves inside out. Still they trooped on and we have the result. There's enough camp to make it watchable, sort of, and of course with this kind of thing there's always curiousity about just how far down the road to "Plan 9..." it will go. The answer is quite a ways.
