Homestead
K G Kline
"The play's the thing that will reveal the conscience of the king" Shakespeare"s Hamlet
As a film critic it's sometimes my responsibility to issue warnings and even stir up a little controversy from time to time.
One of the most prolific film studios over the last couple of years has been the Christian- themed, Angel Studios. Based in Provo, Utah, Angel Studios has released a series of theatrical films, including the very successful "The Sound of Freedom", the true story of Tim Ballard, who rescued abducted children from sex traffickers, "His Only Son", a retelling of the story of Abraham, and "Bonhoeffer", the story of a German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident. The studio was also responsible for the TV series "The Chosen",about the life of Jesus.
Angel Studio has gained worldwide attention for making Christian-themed family films, but has incurred some controversy recently over claims that they overstated their box office sales, overemphasized the religious involvements of their central characters (especially Bonhoeffer), and in the case of "The Sound of Freedom", failed to reveal that its hero, Tim Ballard, had close ties to the Q'Anon conspiracy group.
Last week Angel Studios released its latest film, "Homestead", and has perhaps finally pulled back the covers on their political leanings.
"Homestead" is the story of a terrorist attack on Los Angeles. A group of Filipino terrorists detonate a nuclear weapon in the waters off the coast, obliterating the city and sending its survivors scurrying for food and shelter. All except for Ian Ross (Neal McDonough), a conservative billionaire who lives in the mountains and has spent part of his fortune constructing a huge survival bunker where he and his extended family can wait out society's inevitable collapse, surrounded by former Green Beret soldiers he's hired to protect the compound.
Early on its clear who the film believes to be the good guys. Ian and his wealthy "preppers" are portrayed as the smart, sensible ones. Their expectation of the coming tragedy weren't based on any prior knowledge of the LA attack but rather a belief that American society and its liberal government are ultimately doomed to fall for one reason or another
As the film progresses it develops a gun fetish, especially for high-powered military assault rifles and is soon filled with Pro-MAGA references, including cups of Black Rifle Coffee and a scene where a mother and her children abandon their car ("why did we buy a Tesla?!"), and steal a huge super-duty pickup from a gas station, since apparently driving a big pickup truck is one of the requirements of surviving the collapse of society.
The story goes on to tell us that when society collapses the "preppers" will become the new government. We see the soldiers chasing away the starving masses who come crawling up to the compound's barbed-wire fences. We learn that driving them off isn't as callous as the Bible tells us it is because the "preppers" will be the ones who must propagate and re-populate the Earth to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again. The enemy in the film is the threat of FEMA showing up and distributing food and Humanitarian aid that will only prolong the suffering of the unprepared masses.
As the pilot to an expected TV series, "Homestead" is a jubilant orgasm of right-wing joy that sets up a story in which testosterone-fueled judgment is confused with religious prophesy, and sometimes grounded in it.
"Homestead" has less Christian references than other Angel Studio pictures, as it focuses instead on the studio's far right political leanings. It appears to be a one-off before their next two films, "The King of Kings" and "David". Both are adaptations of the Bible, and will lack assault rifles and Black Rifle Coffee, I hope.