The Believer's Heaven (1977) TEASER

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The collaborations between Baptist preacher Estus Pirkle and the Ormond family of filmmakers are considered some of the most legendary Christian genre films ever for their shocking imagery and urgent sermonizing. With our review this week of THE BELIEVER’S HEAVEN, we here at Boys’ Bible Study have now reviewed the entire trilogy, which also includes IF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU, WHAT WILL HORSES DO? and THE BURNING HELL. All three films feature fiery narration by Estus Pirkle intercut with colorful, dramatic vignettes by the Ormonds. THE BELIEVER’S HEAVEN is unique in the trilogy for focusing on the pleasure of heaven rather than the tragedy of earth or the horrors of hell (but don’t worry — we still get enough of those in this piece to keep our interest piqued.) “In My Father’s House there are many mansions,” says Estus Pirkle quoting John 14:2. He then proceeds to take us on a tour through a real mansion to hype us up for the delights of heaven. This gleeful literalness drives the rest of the film, which includes lots of time spent filming Christians with physical disabilities to prove to non-disabled viewers that they should be excited to take on “glorified bodies” in heaven. However, the close-up shots on the deformities of disabled people remind the viewer that the Ormond family first made their mark in vaudeville and carnival entertainment, where the disabled were frequently displayed as sideshow “freaks”. By titillating the viewer at the expense of the disabled and in the name of religious education, the Ormonds show their talent as “mondo” genre filmmakers, a style marked by a moralizing tone that barely disguises the actual purpose of selling the audience on morbid or lurid imagery. The contrast between the exploitative tone of the Pirkle/Ormond films and their seemingly sincere moral message makes THE BELIEVER’S HEAVEN, and the rest of the trilogy, one of the most fascinating watches in all of faith-based film.

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