The Age of Nefarious

devil, demon, satan, evil, temptation, swearing
SPOILER ALERT

If you haven’t seen the movie Nefarious, then read no further until you do. If you aren’t going to see it, you are missing out on one of the greatest films of all time. IMHO, Sean Patrick Flanery deserves an academy award for his portrayal of the demon Nefarious. It’s not many actors who can make you hate his character and feel sorry for it all at the same time. One of the great things about this film is how Flanery morphs into the demon and back into his human victim Edward almost instantaneously.

The movie is about an atheist psychiatrist, Dr. James Martin, who has to evaluate a condemned prisoner, Edward, for sanity. If sane, he gets executed; if insane, he will live. So the life or death call of Edward is 100% reliant on James’ assessment.

Spiritual Warfare on the Big Screen

So I’ve been to see this movie about demonic possession twice now, and I must say, it was much better the second time around. The first time, I just sat there in awe that finally SOMEBODY was saying out loud, in a public forum, the truth of Satan’s lies (no oxymoron intended!)  And the fact that it was just two guys in a room talking about spiritual warfare, with no special effects, made it even better.  I feel like spiritual warfare, where the war prize isn’t land or a country, but rather my soul needs to be talked about a lot today.  This movie did exactly that. The second time I watched it,  I was able to better savor the nuances of what the demon Nefarious was actually saying about his tactics to drag us all to hell. Of course, demons lie a lot, but occasionally they will let the truth slip out if it serves their purposes.  For the record, the professional critics didn’t like this movie, but the audience loved it.  Let’s now take a look at what Nefarious said.

“We Own Him”

 This statement by Nefarious concerning Edward, the man he was possessing, was a lie.  While it is true that the demons (i.e., “Legion) certainly had a lot of power over him, satan owns no one until they are finally in hell.  Demonic possession means that the demons control your body, but not your will, and not your mind.  However, unless an exorcism takes place (in the movie, it did not), the demons do gain some control over the person. If an exorcism by a priest, in accord with the local Bishop, had been performed, the demons would have been gone. But unfortunately for Edward, no one in the prison believed in demonic possession, especially the wimpy priest who came in to “comfort” Edward. The demon instantly recognized the power of this modernist priest by cowering in fear, but since the priest said that he didn’t believe in possession, Nefarious settled down and thanked the priest for stopping by. In short, the demon believed in the power of the priest, but the priest didn’t believe in demons. Simply amazing.

“You Will Commit Three Murders”

Nefarious told Dr. James Martin, the atheist psychiatrist, that he would commit three murders before the day was out. This was a half-truth, as it seems that James was a bystander in all three deaths (one of which had already happened), rather than pulling the trigger itself.

Murder #1: The demon called out to James about letting his own mother commit physician-assisted suicide in Oregon. He said that James allowed this in order to get her $ 6 million inheritance, and because he was tired of going to the hospital to see her. James retorted that she was terminal, and in a lot of pain, so it was for the best.

Murder #2: The demon knew that Melanie, James’ girlfriend, was getting an abortion that day.  This astounded James because there is no way that the inmate Edward could know this.  James said that “he wasn’t ready to be a father; the demon responded with “Yes, you are “only” 35 years old!” When James told the demon that it was her body, and she could do whatever she wanted to with it, Nefarious responded with the demonic commandment, “Do what thou wilt.” The demon stood up and told James that his son was being dismembered at that very moment,  (Nefarious seemed to draw power from it).  This shocked the psychiatrist, and when he soon made a call to his girlfriend at the clinic, he discovered that she was indeed in the “recovery room,” post-abortion.  At this point, James is starting to lose his composure, a lot. When James told the demon that abortion wasn’t murder, the demon responded that “all creation cries out that it is murder!” Lesson learned here is to never talk to a demon. Instead, just start saying Hail Marys until he goes away.

Murder #3: James, after almost being choked to death by the demon, hurriedly signs off on his analysis that Edward is sane, and therefore eligible to be executed.  The demon then tells James that his original prediction that he would commit 3 murders has now come to pass. Nefarious chooses the electric chair over lethal injection, because he says it’s the second cruellest form of torturous death (after crucifixion), and therefore is the most fitting way for his victim (Edward) to enter hell.

“The Cross and the Carpenter”

The demon said the cross and the carpenter were their biggest mistakes. They thought that by killing the carpenter, they would win the battle between good and evil. They had no idea of the Christian backlash that resulted in the post-crucifixion/resurrection Church of Jesus Christ and His followers.  This, it seems was the demon finally telling The Truth (and the Way and the Life!).

“We Desensitize You to Evil, Starting When You Are a Child”

This is very true. The demon talked about a grandmother giving her grandson an Ouija board and gaining control over the young man’s life early on. This was the basis for the true story of “The Exorcist” movie back in 1973. And this numbing-to-sin process is so slow and gradual, that parents think that the kid doing bad things is just the kid being normal, when in fact, it’s them acting on his brain. Over a lifetime, the desensitizing process is ramped up and completed, so that finally, the human (like you James!) can’t recognize evil even when it’s staring you in the face right now!

“You Are A Piece of Meat and A Means To An End”

Nefarious explained to James exactly what the demons’ game plan is.  They only had one chance to obey God and were sentenced to hell forever because of their one act of disobedience. Then God created humans much later on to take their place in the heavenly realm. Both demons and humans have free will, but the “Master” (Lucifer) and his demon followers couldn’t tolerate why they had to subjugate their free will to the divine will of the “Enemy” (God). Nefarious said that then “it wouldn’t be “free will” after all, now would it, James?”  And what really made the demons angry was that the Enemy (God) gave the humans chance after chance to repent, whereas they only got one chance, and failed. Therefore, the demons’ plan, since they can’t get God, is to drag those whom He loves (humans) into hell with them. And they consider us to only be a piece of meat and a means to an end to punish God for what He did to them. This reminds me of the mafia tactic to kill a person’s family rather than him, so as to either silence him or to get him to pay his gambling debts.

“You Were Made in His Image; We Remade You Into Our Image”

True!  We were made in the image and likeness of God, but through unrepentant sin, our souls are blackened and made ugly, like the demons are.  If we don’t repent and go to confession, then our future becomes very dark and sinister. The good news is that 15 minutes in the confessional saves us from an eternity of hellfire and torture. This is probably the greatest trade of all time. The confessional is like the tomb of Jesus; we go in dead with our sins and come out alive with absolution and forgiveness.  We are made in the image and likeness of God in the womb of our mother; satan so hates the fact that we aren’t made in his image and likeness, that he attacks us in the womb through abortion when we are helpless. 

“I Know More Theology Than Any Man Alive”

Nefarious and the demons have been around since the dawn of creation. They know the bible backwards and forwards. Satan even quoted bible verses to Jesus in the desert, in the first instance of “my verse is better than your verse” bible debate that is so prevalent among Evangelicals and Catholics today.  Demons are super intellects, and the only way to beat them isn’t with intellectual firepower (James told Nefarious that “he was smarter than you think!”). Rather, humility, confession, the Eucharist, holy water, the name of Jesus, the rosary, and exorcism are the ways to beat him.

You Would Have No Power Over Me Had It Not Been Given To You By My Master

Nefarious mocked Jesus by misquoting the words of scripture by saying the above when James told him: “Don’t you know that I have the power to either declare you sane or insane and to have you executed or not?”  I smiled when he said this because I recognized how the demons not only mock us but also mock our Master, Jesus. The lesson learned here is that when we mock someone, we are imitating the demons, not the Lord. So I am going to make a conscious effort to stop mocking people I don’t like, forever.

“You Are Judged at the Time of Death”

Nefarious said this in response to Dr. Martin’s litany of liberal human goals that “prove” how decent a society we are – We are more educated today, we have homosexual marriage, we have laws against hate speech, etc. The demon laughed at him, implying that none of those things are what we are judged by the “Enemy” for, upon death. He told James that because of the lack of faith in his Enemy today, his “master” satan is receiving a lot more of us into hell than God is into heaven. The demon said that there are 40 million slaves in the world now, more than were in the entire Roman empire 2000 years ago, and half of those are sex slaves, so it’s not such a decent world after all.

Wrap up

There are many other fine things about this movie, including unexpected plot twists and turns, for which you will have to see the movie. There was one and only one disappointment for me in this film, and that is the fact that the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in driving out demons was left unmentioned. All exorcists say that when Mary shows up, it’s game over for the demons, and they leave. But since this movie wasn’t so much about exorcism, but rather about demonic possession, I guess it’s understandable. But the lesson learned from the exorcists is twofold: A great sacramental life with regular confession and receiving the Eucharist as often as possible, in conjunction with a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother, are the ways to keep satan and demons away from you AND your family. Demons have revealed in exorcisms when they are commanded to tell the truth by the priest (yes, they have to) that if only one member of the family says the rosary, the entire family can be saved.

The devil tried mightily to stop this movie from being made!

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23 thoughts on “The Age of Nefarious”

  1. Good article. Watched the film this evening. Whilst the infinite battle of right v’s wrong will rage on, what intrigued me more was the premise this battle is waged on. Humanity & the fallen angels of the rebellion were given ‘free’ will and so deserve to be free and not a slave to the omnipresent power’s will. To fight against oppression we see around us in the world today. Dictators demand unquestioned fealty and loyalty.

    I just thought it was an interesting take. I’m normally an atheist… but this film made me think! Oh and the guy who played ‘Nefarious’ agree, he deserves an award!

  2. WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN IS CHRISTIANITY. THEN WHAT ABOUT HALF OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH WHO FOLLOWS OTHER RELIGIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES ? SHALL THEY GO YO THE HELL ? HAVE YOU STUDIES EASTERN RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHIES ? THEN DO IT. RELIGIONS WHICH ORIGINATED IN MIDDLE EAST ? THESE 3 RELIGIONS ARE SEMETIC RELIGIONS WHICH SAY THAT IT’S THE ONLY AND FINAL TRUTH. PLEASE, DO STUDY HINDUISM AND OTHER EASTERN PHILOSOFIES WHICH DONOT DENY OTHER PHILOSOPHIES. OH YEI I’M A HINDU LIVING IN INDIA.

    1. Evan T Lewandowski

      The only way into heaven is through Jesus Christ. Yes Mr. DHANANJAY R, you and the rest of yuhs is going straight to hell for following a false religion.
      I haven’t read to much into Hinduism but I e read the Quran. The Quran says the Bible is true

  3. THEN WHAT ABOUT OTHER RELIGIONS WHO ALSO BELIEVE IN GOD BUT NO SATAN ? HAVE YOU EVER STUDIED RELIGIONS IN THE EAST LIKE HINDUISM, JAINISM, BUDDHISM, SHINTO AND OTHER PHILOSOPHIES, TAOISM, CONFUISM AND WARRIORS PHILOSOPHY OF SAMURAI ? THEN DO, OTHERWISE YOU LEAVE HALF OF THE POPULATION OF THE GLOBE IN YOUR WRITINGS. WILL YOU REPLY ME ?

  4. Saying the rosary doesn’t save you and that is not in the Bible. Jesus saves you by his finished work on the cross. Paying the price for our sins. There is only one mediator between God and man and that is Jesus Christ. He gets all the glory.

  5. Thanks for the article, Ray. I totally agree that the actor deserves the Oscar for Best Actor. His performance was masterful.

  6. Pingback: VVEDNESDAY AFTERNOON EDITION – Big Pulpit

  7. Oh to be a fly on the wall of “Intellectualist” when very soon all of academia is brought to its arrogant ungodly knees. It was never about how many degrees or things one accumulates. It is about humility and love. As to this incredible movie…..It is amazing in every way. eyes wide open…edge of one’s seat entertainment……brilliant eye opening truth about the fight between demons and God for our souls. Jesus told us: Step away from Him….step away from His Father…….and you will be blinded to the truth. This is why many more end up in Hell than in Heaven. Their arrogance blinds them. Thank you for the article Ray. Wonderful as usual. +++

  8. I apologize for the nonsensical comments by an atheist on this very Catholic website. Atheists believe that this world, with all of its timing, order, and beauty, just created itself, which goes against all logic and reasoning.

    1. He’s just a scared lost soul, whom we need to pray for….I was once lost…

  9. an ordinary papist

    If it wasn’t for Steve Deace, a conservative radio talk show host, an election denier and Trump supporter, the novel this movie was based on would not have happened.

  10. Intellectualist

    Luckily Pope Francis understands this. Atheists haven’t caught on that religion is complex science put into simple terms and imagery.

  11. Intellectualist

    Religion is a more advanced psychological system than our current professional one today.

  12. Intellectualist

    You write “atheist psychiatrist “ as a derogatory and you state “without sacraments I am nothing” you’re deferring your fear of smart people to your deity figure.

  13. Intellectualist

    Demons are just ptsd symptoms. Heaven is when you successfully transfer your personality traits to your offspring and live eternally. Hell is when you fail because of poor moral and ethical values. Teach your children well and they become you and essentially inherit your soul. Soul = good quality moral and ethical character with empathy. Nefarious is money.

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