Tom Canboro is a police detective with a Christian sister, Eileen; a brother, Calvin; a wife, Susan; and an eccentric brother-in-law, Jason. One night, Jason seemingly goes insane and tries ... Read allTom Canboro is a police detective with a Christian sister, Eileen; a brother, Calvin; a wife, Susan; and an eccentric brother-in-law, Jason. One night, Jason seemingly goes insane and tries to kill Eileen, calling her a "hater". Tom realizes this may be a conspiracy going as far ... Read allTom Canboro is a police detective with a Christian sister, Eileen; a brother, Calvin; a wife, Susan; and an eccentric brother-in-law, Jason. One night, Jason seemingly goes insane and tries to kill Eileen, calling her a "hater". Tom realizes this may be a conspiracy going as far as devil worship, but as he speeds in his car to get help, he suddenly loses control and c... Read all
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- See all cast & crew
- Director
- Writers
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Margot Kidder, she and Howie Mandel were unaware that this was a Christian film until well into filming. Kidder is an atheist and does not agree with the message this film presents.
- GoofsPatrick Gallaghers character Jake Goss is in this even though he was shot in the back in revelation.
- Quotes
Tom Canboro: Anybody who starts a sentence with "UFO," "extraterrestrial," "alien," or "Jesus Christ" -- I don't have to listen to the rest. Because I know what's coming.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Making of 'Left Behind: The Movie' (2000)
- SoundtracksHearts Of Passion
Performed by Scott Faircloff
Produced by John Elefante and Dino Elefante
Written by Scott Faircloff
Is "Tribulation" a Christian movie? Read the reviews and marvel at how many nonbelievers enjoyed it. Why not? Was the name "Jesus" uttered even once in the 95-minute running time? There's a lot of "God talk," but nothing at all about salvation through Christ alone by faith alone. This is NOT a Christian movie, just a tepid suspense thriller minus the profanity, nudity, and gore featured in most movies of the genre. The late Margot Kidder claimed to have been unaware this was a Christian film until well into its production. Reading the script, what would lead her to think it was Christian-themed? Nothing. She was an atheist and Howie Mandel is a secular Jew. Neither of their characters ever named the name of Jesus and both performers could thus cash their paychecks with clear consciences that nary a soul was saved due to their efforts.
I was going to snarkily snipe that Kidder was a one-hit wonder--Lois Lane--but I actually most enjoyed her in James Garner's pre-"Rockford Files" Western series "Nichols." She showed some of that same girlish charm in the scene where Gary Busey agreed to go to church with her. I smiled and enjoyed that exchange and hug between two veteran performers. But I also wondered just how many packs of cigarettes were puffed between them to get those raspy voices. Jeff Fahey in "Revelation" had that same ersatz Eastwood rasp. The Lalondes must believe gravelly voices lend gravitas to characters. "To hell with cowbell, more rasp!"
Gary "Buddy Holly" Busey was the breakout star of this show and I am sure he relished a leading role with top billing after being regularly relegated to bit parts like "Highway Patrolman" and "Sheriff." He still had what it takes to carry a picture. I winced watching Howie Mandel, however, thinking how this role presaged his own real-life descent into the maelstrom of mental illness. He did a pretty good job reenacting Richard Dreyfuss' mashed potato scene in "Close Encounters" (subbing the spuds with bananas) before giving a nod to Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
Weirdest moment was the Rip Van Winkle scene with Busey going all Rock Hudson from "The Spiral Road," suddenly filling the screen with a prodigious mane and beard. That was a creatively questionable although clever narrative end-run around the necessity to show all that transpired over those many months, thus avoiding retreading ground already covered earlier in the series. It also revealed that the biblical Rapture and Tribulation were just plot devices and not integral to the good guys versus bad guys story being spun.
Random thoughts:
I suspect writer/director Andre Van Heerden confused eschatological with scatological, or else why the wince-worthy wetting oneself scene? The film was never able to achieve escape velocity after opening with that gratuitous grossness.
Numerous reviewers refer to this film as American (one claims the film "plays on small-minded middle-American paranoia and hatred of all things non-American"). The irony is this film is thoroughly and clearly Canadian minus the Hollywood imports.
Why do religious movies still trot out the tired trope of hooded monk robes? And that scale model of the Tower of Babel. Was its sole purpose to be used as a dramatic visual demonstration? Okay, now that I stacked up the three pieces and impressed you all, does anyone have a kid who might get some more use out of it?
What was with the knockoff Ouija Board? The real thing has been around since the 1800s and is surely in the public domain by now.
Mandel's character doesn't name it, but the phenomenon he described of ideas traveling around the world sounded a lot like Carl Jung's theory of a "collective unconscious."
In closing, this was the weakest entry in the series thus far. The first film was the strongest, the second stumbled, and this one plummeted like that night school prof out a fourteenth-floor window. I fear we'll be in freefall come the fourth and final installment, but I pity da fool who misses it because "Judgment" is the one boasting B. A. Baracus himself!
- GaryPeterson67
- May 23, 2023
- How long is Tribulation?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Apocalypse III: Tribulation
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro