In this sequel to "A Thief in the Night", the disappearance of the Christians (known as "the rapture") has occurred and a hell on earth (known as "the tribulation") has begun. Those people who have become Christians during this time are being rounded up and told to renounce Christ or be executed. Those who choose to renounce their faith are required to get the "Mark of the Beast" and are damned for eternity. "Patty Myers" (Patty Dunning) is one of those who knows the truth but is unsure of what to do and this film follows her up to the point of no return. Like the original movie, the acting and script are pretty basic. However, I thought this film was more polished and was a bit more exciting than the first. Again, this is a Christian movie which is based on a controversial interpretation of the Scriptures which some viewers might not understand or appreciate. In any case, it's worth watching for those who might be curious or simply enjoy this specific type of film.
9 Reviews
Magical religion
BandSAboutMovies26 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Remember when Patty jumped off a dam rather than get the Mark of the Beast? Yeah, well six years later, she's still alive and about to be executed the next morning for refusing to take the Mark.
Even though Patty knows what lies ahead if she takes the Mark, she still can't believe in a God that would put everyone through the End of All Things. So what happens next? Where can Patty go to avoid the UN troops, now known as UNITE, who want to kill every Christian who remains faithful?
Patty and two of her friends, Wenda and Sandy Johnson - hide out at Patty's grandmother's. Our protagonist has lost her grandmother and husband to the Rapture, but she's been left behind. Everyone is now against her, from a beggar she helps to her other friends Jerry and Diane.
This movie has descended to the depths of evil formerly reserved for Jack Chick's tract The Beast. There must have been some meeting of evangelical Christians who decided that the Satanic New World Order would destroy those left behind that still believe in God with guillotines.
There are plenty of things to learn in this movie about prophecy, how the end of the world will all happen, why you shouldn't believe in UFOs, how credit cards and the Mark of the Beast are the same and different, why authorities on Judiasm don't get Raptured and Christians do...seriously, this movie will simultanelously frighten and educate you.
Russell Doughten - who also wrote these movies - appears again as Reverend Matthew Turner, a survivalist with an elaborate chart of the exact timing of the end of the world. I love that this character basically tells Patty that it isn't his fault that he was a bad preacher; it's her fault for not believing.
Before all this evangelical craziness, Doughten produced and did uncredited direction on The Blob. Yes, really.
Unlike other end of the world theories, like the astounding Ron Ormond film If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? which thought Communism would bring about Armageddon or Jack Chick blaming the Vatican, Doughten figured the United Nations as the ones who would be behind it all.
Even though Patty knows what lies ahead if she takes the Mark, she still can't believe in a God that would put everyone through the End of All Things. So what happens next? Where can Patty go to avoid the UN troops, now known as UNITE, who want to kill every Christian who remains faithful?
Patty and two of her friends, Wenda and Sandy Johnson - hide out at Patty's grandmother's. Our protagonist has lost her grandmother and husband to the Rapture, but she's been left behind. Everyone is now against her, from a beggar she helps to her other friends Jerry and Diane.
This movie has descended to the depths of evil formerly reserved for Jack Chick's tract The Beast. There must have been some meeting of evangelical Christians who decided that the Satanic New World Order would destroy those left behind that still believe in God with guillotines.
There are plenty of things to learn in this movie about prophecy, how the end of the world will all happen, why you shouldn't believe in UFOs, how credit cards and the Mark of the Beast are the same and different, why authorities on Judiasm don't get Raptured and Christians do...seriously, this movie will simultanelously frighten and educate you.
Russell Doughten - who also wrote these movies - appears again as Reverend Matthew Turner, a survivalist with an elaborate chart of the exact timing of the end of the world. I love that this character basically tells Patty that it isn't his fault that he was a bad preacher; it's her fault for not believing.
Before all this evangelical craziness, Doughten produced and did uncredited direction on The Blob. Yes, really.
Unlike other end of the world theories, like the astounding Ron Ormond film If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? which thought Communism would bring about Armageddon or Jack Chick blaming the Vatican, Doughten figured the United Nations as the ones who would be behind it all.
Hypocritical
PyroSax12 July 2007
The popular Christian film "A Thief in the Night" (and it's sequel "A Distant Thunder") talked specifically about the evils of "uniting" (they called it "U.N.I.T.E."), as well as the satanic computer network of the future. Funny - how we *embrace* the very network of computers they were calling "Satanic" back then (the Internet), and the USA is trying to UNITE Canada & Mexico with them, as well as many other countries. (see http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/solguide/VUS09/essay09a.html)
THE VERY COUNTRY THAT PUTS OUT THIS FILM - IS THE VERY ONE THAT IS DOING IT ALL!
Who knew?
THE VERY COUNTRY THAT PUTS OUT THIS FILM - IS THE VERY ONE THAT IS DOING IT ALL!
Who knew?
#2 in the series ROCKS!
burdurhur12 February 2004
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILERS AVAST! Right, so, seeing as how A Thief in the Night was all a dream, well, it's almost as if this film starts from scratch. The only things carrying over from the first film are the main characters--bless 'em all--and the fact that the rapture came. People are fine, having come together under a world government and receiving the mark of the beast--which is just a tattoo symbol of 666 in binary numbers. Seriously, no one seems to spaz out except the new Christians, who only just realized the evangelicals were right when they all disappeared. For everybody else, it's fine. Well, except weird things start happening, straight outta Revelation. I dunno, it's utter rubbish, but I love it all. I mean, you get the beheading of true believers and the big Blob-inspired cliffhanger ending where you don't know if our heroine is gonna be beheaded or not--that rules. And the fact that the filmmakers basically had to reestablish everything because film #1 was just a dream, well, I think it's great fun. Very innovative stuff here for the
low budget and the fact that it was filmed in my home state of Iowa. I'm all for this kind of filmmaking, even if I'm utterly offended by the views it presents. God bless free speech and the videostore girl who turned me on to this epic, ya know it? Plus, this golden nugget of gold is followed up by a third film in the series: Image of the Beast (filmed in the year of my birth, good ole 1980)!
low budget and the fact that it was filmed in my home state of Iowa. I'm all for this kind of filmmaking, even if I'm utterly offended by the views it presents. God bless free speech and the videostore girl who turned me on to this epic, ya know it? Plus, this golden nugget of gold is followed up by a third film in the series: Image of the Beast (filmed in the year of my birth, good ole 1980)!
A Distant Blunder AKA The Christian Propaganda Machine at it's Worst
haxboob30 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This movie absolutely blows, In every aspect of the film-making process, from directing to the music, it's just horrible. According to this film, the End Days are actually happening, Satan comes out as being REAL. If this were true, most of the globe would be all "damn, I better get on the right path here or SUFFER FOR ALL ETERNITY IN A PIT OF FIRE". Not a whole lot of people would be stupid enough, out-right BRAINLESS to accept Satan as their master just to buy water and food bars for a few years. It seems that no one has a problem accepting the mark of the beast, "ho hum, I guess I'll just suffer for all eternity" I mean am I going crazy here? I give humanity more credit than that. I believe when it comes down to it, when faced with tangible evidence that the bible was in fact real, humanity will GET IT and UNDERSTAND THE STAKES. This film talks to you as if you are a silly little child who just doesn't understand the difference between good and bad. The characters spend their time ANGRY at God that their loved ones went to heaven, they curse Jesus and scream "I hate you" when they find Grandma has gone to Gods Kingdom, how stupid is that? Our lead characters know more about Jesus and talk more about Jesus than Tammy Faye EVER did, but somehow they aren't worthy because some dude didn't touch their for-head and go "you are saved"? God is really that petty? And even though they are supposed to be hiding in the country they spend a lot of time driving around in a fire engine red mustang, going to the park and stuff. You will find yourself laughing out loud a lot, but not because of the awesome writing, but because the writing is so bad you can't believe people actually talk this way. If SEARS mannequins could have conversations, they would speak like this to each other. It's just that bad. They could have saved money by just passing out pamphlets at the mall saying "only born again Christians are going to heaven, the rest of you aren't good enough", it would have saved everyone from having to view such a train wreck.
Patty Dunning is the worst actress of our times YET she WON AN AWARD for acting in this film. The new DVD version even advertises this as having "award winning actress Patty Dunning", the award was given to her by The Christian Filmmakers Association or something like that, her competition? no one. There is even a part in the CD where you can listen to Patty Dunning talking about how honored she was to have won the award and what it's like to be an amazing actress. Go on IMDb and pull her credits and you'll see how amazing she isn't. The best scene though, in any film PERIOD and the scene that is worth renting the film for is where Patty and her retarded gal pals are in that awesome mustang headed back to grandmas house in the country and her friend is reading a letter from her husband who is a soldier. It goes "honey, today a pastor came to the base and talked to us guys about accepting Jesus as our lord and savior" she pauses for dramatic effect and finishes with "and I did it sweetheart, I HAVE...ACCEPTED...Jesus Christ AS MY LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR!!!! NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!" It's SO good and she screams so bloody loud when she finds out her husband is with Jesus that I need to record it and have it as my outgoing message. It's such a wrong reaction but our leading ladies aren't credited with having any smarts so you just learn to let it go. There is a great part where the barn burns down and our 3 ladies run out in front of the barn for 5 minutes not really doing anything but running back and forth. You can almost hear the director yelling "ok run 20 feet to your left, now stand there and cower, now run back to your right about 20 feet and cower, now look around and run back to your left and cower some more". You'll especially love the earthquake scene. Our Patty the award winning actress, who got her acting skills from the Wide Eyed Screamers Acting School, keeps her eyes wide like saucers and lays there under a table screaming bloody murder while bits and pieces land next to her. I've been in an earthquake, you close your eyes so stuff, like debris for instance, doesn't get into them. She lays out the Welcome mat on all falling bits and pieces into her eyes because, there isn't anything falling, props forgot to drop stuff from the ceiling, except for an air duct and some lumber but those are too big to fall into your eyes, so Patty opens them up for all the world to see, go Patty GO!. It's just bad acting, bad choices. And the director doesn't shake the camera, it stays stationary as stage hands shake different parts of the set at different intervals, "shake the lamp and the curtains, now someone shake the wall and shake the chair, now shake the chandelier and drop the ceiling". Bad directing. Bad camera work. Bad Bad Bad. I think people should call this film what it is, a total failure, and then demand a better product. Someone WILL step up to the plate eventually. The only good thing about this movie is the cool silver laundry basket they use to catch heads in at the end of the film AND the fact they filmed this in Iowa. I am from Iowa and it's about time someone shined a light on how everyone in Iowa is going to hell.
Patty Dunning is the worst actress of our times YET she WON AN AWARD for acting in this film. The new DVD version even advertises this as having "award winning actress Patty Dunning", the award was given to her by The Christian Filmmakers Association or something like that, her competition? no one. There is even a part in the CD where you can listen to Patty Dunning talking about how honored she was to have won the award and what it's like to be an amazing actress. Go on IMDb and pull her credits and you'll see how amazing she isn't. The best scene though, in any film PERIOD and the scene that is worth renting the film for is where Patty and her retarded gal pals are in that awesome mustang headed back to grandmas house in the country and her friend is reading a letter from her husband who is a soldier. It goes "honey, today a pastor came to the base and talked to us guys about accepting Jesus as our lord and savior" she pauses for dramatic effect and finishes with "and I did it sweetheart, I HAVE...ACCEPTED...Jesus Christ AS MY LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR!!!! NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!" It's SO good and she screams so bloody loud when she finds out her husband is with Jesus that I need to record it and have it as my outgoing message. It's such a wrong reaction but our leading ladies aren't credited with having any smarts so you just learn to let it go. There is a great part where the barn burns down and our 3 ladies run out in front of the barn for 5 minutes not really doing anything but running back and forth. You can almost hear the director yelling "ok run 20 feet to your left, now stand there and cower, now run back to your right about 20 feet and cower, now look around and run back to your left and cower some more". You'll especially love the earthquake scene. Our Patty the award winning actress, who got her acting skills from the Wide Eyed Screamers Acting School, keeps her eyes wide like saucers and lays there under a table screaming bloody murder while bits and pieces land next to her. I've been in an earthquake, you close your eyes so stuff, like debris for instance, doesn't get into them. She lays out the Welcome mat on all falling bits and pieces into her eyes because, there isn't anything falling, props forgot to drop stuff from the ceiling, except for an air duct and some lumber but those are too big to fall into your eyes, so Patty opens them up for all the world to see, go Patty GO!. It's just bad acting, bad choices. And the director doesn't shake the camera, it stays stationary as stage hands shake different parts of the set at different intervals, "shake the lamp and the curtains, now someone shake the wall and shake the chair, now shake the chandelier and drop the ceiling". Bad directing. Bad camera work. Bad Bad Bad. I think people should call this film what it is, a total failure, and then demand a better product. Someone WILL step up to the plate eventually. The only good thing about this movie is the cool silver laundry basket they use to catch heads in at the end of the film AND the fact they filmed this in Iowa. I am from Iowa and it's about time someone shined a light on how everyone in Iowa is going to hell.
really, really slow people eventually comprehend the obvious
Raymond_Marble23 August 2023
Frustratingly idiotic film about the christian tribulation. The film follows a young lady and her friends who were 'left behind' after the born-again christians of the world disappear in the rapture.
I'm not a christian and was not raised in a christian household, but i enjoy watching their apocalyptic movies. This one had me yelling at the tv as the characters repeatedly fail to comprehend what is happening around them, even though these events are explained to them in detail on a daily basis. How could anyone with even a basic knowledge of christian mythology not understand what is happening and what steps need to be taken? As soon as every fundamentalist christian disappears you should know IMMEDIATELY that their prophecies were correct and that you have to take jesus christ into your heart! Come on! Why would you continue to trust your OBVIOUSLY EVIL former friends who work for the OBVIOUS antichrist? Why would you go about your daily business and continue to participate in society when THE ANTICHIST has set up death squads to hunt down christians? Why would you worry about food and even interact with the antichrist's soldiers to get food when you live on an isolated farm in rural iowa? Iowa is the most fertile land in the entire world! There's no sign of drought or blight because every shot is filled with green grass and trees so MAYBE plant some seeds!! Maybe go fishing in the river we see them sitting at! Go shoot a deer; you have to swerve to avoid them on every rural road in the midwest!
These people are incredibly stupid. The idea that anyone could doubt that fundamentalist christian teachings are correct after every impossible prediction they've made has come true is enraging. Add to that that the characters can't figure out that they should be avoiding the satanic death squads at any cost and it becomes baffling. Maybe god used the apocalypse to weed out the stupidest people in the world and send them to the lake of fire... that makes some sense, i guess. I'm watching the whole 'mark iv' series and i enjoyed the first film, hopefully they get better from here.
I'm not a christian and was not raised in a christian household, but i enjoy watching their apocalyptic movies. This one had me yelling at the tv as the characters repeatedly fail to comprehend what is happening around them, even though these events are explained to them in detail on a daily basis. How could anyone with even a basic knowledge of christian mythology not understand what is happening and what steps need to be taken? As soon as every fundamentalist christian disappears you should know IMMEDIATELY that their prophecies were correct and that you have to take jesus christ into your heart! Come on! Why would you continue to trust your OBVIOUSLY EVIL former friends who work for the OBVIOUS antichrist? Why would you go about your daily business and continue to participate in society when THE ANTICHIST has set up death squads to hunt down christians? Why would you worry about food and even interact with the antichrist's soldiers to get food when you live on an isolated farm in rural iowa? Iowa is the most fertile land in the entire world! There's no sign of drought or blight because every shot is filled with green grass and trees so MAYBE plant some seeds!! Maybe go fishing in the river we see them sitting at! Go shoot a deer; you have to swerve to avoid them on every rural road in the midwest!
These people are incredibly stupid. The idea that anyone could doubt that fundamentalist christian teachings are correct after every impossible prediction they've made has come true is enraging. Add to that that the characters can't figure out that they should be avoiding the satanic death squads at any cost and it becomes baffling. Maybe god used the apocalypse to weed out the stupidest people in the world and send them to the lake of fire... that makes some sense, i guess. I'm watching the whole 'mark iv' series and i enjoyed the first film, hopefully they get better from here.
Armageddon and bell bottoms
imdb-57929 March 2001
Sequel to "A Thief in the Night", this one answers the question: Does Patty sell her soul to Satan? This is the best of the four movies; it's creepy, full of unintended humor, spookiness, and has a funky twist at the end. Accept Jesus into your heart now, before the rapture, or you'll have to hang out with crying high school girls for seven years.
Fascinating, yet Terrifying.
TJThayer3426 February 2019
Having grown up in a Christian household, I had been exposed to this title as well as the previous movie. Although this is just a novel movie, it's a cinematic look at what is slowly taking place, today, albeit differentially expressed. Of course, everyone's going to have their own views of this film, and to each his/her own opinion.
However, when I had seen this, I was about 9 or 10.......and it terrified me so that I couldn't watch it again. To think we're heading towards something like this, little by little.....it's alarming, staggering, and eye-opening!
Good Movie
Victorias_Secret1 June 2001
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