MovieChat Forums > A Thief in the Night (1973) Discussion > Possibly the worst film ever made....

Possibly the worst film ever made....


I am a Christian and a Pastor...and I can honestly say when I see this film I think....no wonder people think Christians are so lame. Don't get me wrong, I believe the Bible and my view of the end times is that of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture...mostly the stuff Theologian Tim LaHaye put in Left Behind books. That being said, Thief in the Night is as awful as a movie can get production wise. The lead actress is so bad that I often turned away from the screen, too embarrassed to watch this poor girl deliver her lines. The movie makers get an A for effort but failed miserably in everything else. They say Ed Wood was the worst movie maker of all time...those who say that never saw this film.

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"I am a Christian and a Pastor...and I can honestly say when I see this film I think....no wonder people think Christians are so lame. Don't get me wrong, I believe the Bible and my view of the end times is that of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture...mostly the stuff Theologian Tim LaHaye put in Left Behind books. That being said, Thief in the Night is as awful as a movie can get production wise. The lead actress is so bad that I often turned away from the screen, too embarrassed to watch this poor girl deliver her lines. The movie makers get an A for effort but failed miserably in everything else. They say Ed Wood was the worst movie maker of all time...those who say that never saw this film"


If you think this is the worst film, then you must not have seen the others in the series. Each sequel that was made after got progressively worse. If you don't believe me, then go watch Prodigal Planet (Thief in the Night part IV)-- if you can stomach it.

As for Tim LaHaye and the Left Behind series, I found that to be boring, unrealistic, and stupid, too. But I will admit that it is a tiny bit better than the Thief in the Night series.

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Watching this film as a chalky, inexperienced 7-year old, I was scared straight and haven't looked back since. I've taken this film around my neighborhood, knocking on doors, and showing it to poor people that only have VCRs. The reaction is the same by all who watch it - delayed shock.


"action!", director

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lol is this a joke?

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nickel_slots_addict - you need your butt kicked. These films cause nothing but harm and fear, at least they do to children.

-- Leet.

~ Gíñä ®ïl€ÿ ¡§  GødÐes§! ~

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I would have 2 totally agree with every1 who says this movie and it's sequels are the worst movies ever made. If the actors were any stiffer you could take them to the ocean and surf on them, wooden acting at it's best. I hate the way this movie and other christian films depict us, even the ones about the life of jesus. They act like we have no other emotions except being good and doing everything to please God. I'm saved, jesus lives in my soul, and am a christian. But also I'm human and make mistakes, listen to heavy metal groups like slipknot who by the way are from des moines iowa where most of the movies in the series were filmed, watch horror and sci-fi movies, drink a beer every once in awhile, and say dirty words every once in awhile, if that means i'm not saved and going to heaven or am going to be left behind then every1 is going to hell and is going to be left behind. I remember when I was first exposed to this God awful movie at my church in 1987, I was 11 years old at the time. The first movie didn't phase me that much, but the second movie a distant thunder scared the s h i t out of me esp. the ending. Our pastor had all the young people including kids much younger than me sit in the front rows. The movie was fine until the guillotine scene, I was old enough to handle it, but there were several small children who cried there eyes out and ran to there parents. My parents as well as several other parents were enraged at our pastor. My mother decided that any parent who didn't want there children to view the final 2 movies could leave them in the dining hall and play games and such. The church I attend now that I know of has never showed these film's. To be honest and quite frank they are the biggest piles of hot steaming s h i t I've ever scene. I'm now 32 years old and watched image of the beast and prodigal planet a few years ago when i rented them from a christian book store. Image wasn't that bad except for the first part where patty get's killed, but I was an adult and could handle it. The last movie prodigal planet is worse than the first, I didn't realize the last 2 movies where released in there early 80's. If I could say anything to any parents out there these movies should not be viewed by young children unless you want them to keep you up all night with nightmares of having there heads chopped off. One last thing I will leave with is it just me or is patty in a distant thunder kinda of hot? Anywho just wanted to comment on the films c you in heaven won't be here after the rapture happens. Peace, love, and, ragweed. Email tell me what u think [email protected]

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Ummm...how come in EVERY movie board there's ALWAYS someone who says "worst movie ever made"?

I'm sick of it.

I'm not saying this is the BEST movie ever made, but it's not the worst. I've seen worse (Space Mutiny, Monster in the Closet anyone?).

-Amanda

"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"

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Monster In The Closet? I thought that was a great cheesy tribute to 50's monster movies, not even remotely the worst. BUT I agree, every other thread on here has someone saying it's the worst movie ever made.

For truly awful, try:

The Brainsucker
Night Of Horror
Back Woods '01
The Bloody Video Horror That Made Me Puke On My Aunt Gertrude(it's not even listed on here)
Freeway Maniac

I collect dead pigeons then I press them between the pages of a book.

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As a horror fan (and being a highly spiritual person - yes that is a possible combination), I really quite enjoyed these movies back when I was literally forced to watch these as a kid in my baptist church (think Clockwork Orange, when they are showing him images of violence). but I am pretty sure I enjoyed these for the wrong reasons. Even at an early age, I was pretty good at sifting out the BS that was constantly being fed to me (thank goodness!) and was able to take what I wanted and leave the rest. Too bad the only things I took out of this film series were the awesome decapitation scenes and the little red-cloaked radiation monsters...

But now, older and more twisted, and a fan of low-budget 70's exploitation films(and that is just what this film is - do not kid yourself or each other), these are pure gold! Horrible acting, horrible dental care, horrible direction, and a truly AWFUL approach to "win" souls (an even worse phrase). I mean, "lets teach about the wrath and anger of God and focus solely on that". How did John 3:16 go again? "For God so hated the world that he had absolutely no compassion and saw to absolute death and punishment to all who did not either bow before him, or even was never taught about him in the first place..."? Oh yeah how could I foget that??

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I enjoy the whole series. The acting, directing, props, etc. are horrible but I enjoy the message.



In the Czech Republic too we love Pork...You ever had our Sausages?

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The worst thing about this thread is that you don't seem to have gotten the point of these movies. They are not for entertainment, and astoundment through special effects. These movies are a way of allowing us to see what is to come and see that we don't need to live though the Great Tribulation. We don't need to endure what will happen after The Rapture (which by the way will be influenced by the devil through the anti christ and NOT God!)

Remember what Patti said..."But God is love, but God is love". Yes He IS love, and by revealing to us what is to come in the Book of Revelation, He is giving us a chance to repent and avoid the tribulation and torment to come. Now if that isn't love, what is? He didn't have to reveal the time to come. We could have just existed not knowing what was to come, and not being ready.

Satan is not playing. What is to come will be NOTHING compared to what we've seen in these movies, and other rapture based fiction such as the Left Behind series.

These films helped me alot. I take my Salvation a lot more seriously now. Yeah I was scared, but isn't it better to be scared now and do something about it rather than later when it may be too late?

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Films need to be entertaining. That's the point! A good films had a message wrapped in entertaining elements such as good special effect and likeable characters. These films offer nothing in the way of entertainment.

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I have to counter this with "The Judas Project". Now THAT is a turkey of a 'Christian' movie if ever I saw one.

At least this 4-part series is coming from actual Biblical passages, rather than trying to modernize the Gospel with "Jesse, Pete, Jude, Andy, etc etc .. "
"Bring me the bread and cheese."??! Come ON.

... oh, and the sweaty pits. Gotta love those. (those who've seen TJP probably know what I mean)

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Thank Goodness that someone else can see the real reason behind this series!!! The real importance!! I would much rather be a little scared because truth be told...when are we scared??? We are scare when we don't know what tomorrow holds...Get Ready...God is telling us what tomorrow holds and humans are trying to spread the gospel....maybe you can find fault or find it ridiculous..whatever your reason...You can laugh and carry on but it could all happen tomorrow. It will be to late to laugh then!

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[deleted]

Who do you think you are to make judgements on the OP's faith? And what did the OP do to demonstrate the "heart of a serpent?" The man was criticizing the acting, which is admittedly very bad. Even you love the message and general story of the movie, you can't seriously think it had a great production budget and good acting.

You harleydaddy06 demonstrate the judgmental nature that many people hate about the Christian church.

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[deleted]

Nope... it's people like you who give christianity the bad name that it deserves.

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[deleted]

I have to respectfully disagree with the fact that the movies were bad. Yes, maybe they weren't the cinematic masterpieces that they could have been, but as someone else pointed out, it was the message in the movies that mattered. I first saw them in Sunday School when I was in high school and my husband and I bought the series a few years ago.

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