Filmmakers Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman have brought some of the most popular and inspirational faith-based movies to the marketplace. The duo directed and penned the script for “Unplanned” and were the writing architects behind the runaway hit “God’s Not Dead.”
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Their new project, “Nefarious,” takes on a very different tone and tenor, tackling evil, possession, and spiritual warfare through the story of a possessed inmate on death row.
While the horror-thriller might seem surprising and unique, especially under the faith-based banner, Solomon recently told CBN’s Faithwire at the film’s red-carpet premiere in Dallas, Texas, he and Konzelman felt God calling them to the project.
“It’s something that we felt called to do,” Solomon said. “It’s just very intense, but it’s also very compelling.”
“Nefarious” centers on two characters in a room — the inmate and a psychiatrist — and a shocking dialogue unfolds between the parties, with evil and spiritual truth permeating much of the chatter.
Far from a mere entertainment venture, Solomon said “Nefarious” is a movie that speaks of important and eternal truths and addresses an obsession with the occult overtaking portions of society.
“We believe every single word of what we said in it,” he said. “I believe it’s a contemporary problem in our society. The occult is everywhere. [Young people] don’t understand that they’re playing with fire.”
Konzelman hopes the themes in “Nefarious” help bring people “who would never go near a church” to stop and consider the true battle raging between good and evil.
“What this movie does is — we’ve heard over and over again — it doesn’t leave people alone,” he said. “Days later, they’re still thinking about what they saw. And so it opens up the thought process, it opens up a conversation, and it’s because … the movie’s not about a cultural battle; it’s about a spiritual battle.”
Solomon spoke about the chaos raging in society today, noting America and the world seem to be experiencing something “dark.”
“There’s something different now in America. There’s something different in the world,” he said. “There’s some kind of dark thing going on. Just look around.”
Solomon continued, “This is the time we felt called to make this movie for that exact reason, and we feel that we were told to make it for that exact reason.”
Both filmmakers said their hope for a Hollywood legacy is simple: “More souls in heaven.”
The movie surpassed expectations over the weekend, coming in at number nine at the box office and raking in $1,330,000.
Watch the full conversation here.
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