Producer Interview
Interview with Brian Godawa by Robert Kramer
documentary called Lines that Divide, about stem cell research. And right now we’re trying to get traction around the country to show it. It’s a documentary that nobody’s really done yet about examining the issues connected to that debate; the moral, scientific, etc. And we’re looking for broadcast and distribution, but in the meantime it’s available on the internet at www.linesthatdivide.com. I’m also going around speaking at talk shows and around the country for the bioethics organization that funded it. So that’s been a real meaningful project for me. And a very powerful discovery, I didn’t know that much about the subject prior to doing the documentary and it really taught me a lot about the issues. I’m also trying to get a horror movie funded that I’ve written. It’s about a serial killer who is a brilliant philosopher and he captures university professors and debates with them. He begins the debates and the topic is his moral right to kill them. He says, if what you say is true about the universe. Give me one valid reason why I shouldn’t kill you and I’ll let you go. It’s sort of a horror movie with a serial killer about the existence of God. And all that stuff is on my website www.godawa.com and I talk a little bit about the projects I’m working on and you can find more information there. CVM: That’s interesting. Can you give me your thoughts about Christian horror movies? Brian: When you say Christian movies, you’re talking about a genre of film that’s very specific. I don’t really do that. I’m making a horror film and as it happens, some horror films deal with the existence of God. The Exorcism of Emily Rose was a great film. It wasn’t a Christian horror movie, it was a horror movie and that’s really what I write. If you want to make a Christian horror movie then there has to be certain things in there that meet the Christian genre, like there has to be a conversion to Christ, there has to be some kind of a prayer, that kind of a thing has to be in there that I don’t really focus on. But, as a Christian making horror movies, I
Christian Video® Magazine
actually believe that horror is one of the most powerful moral genres and especially in this post modern culture. In a culture this relativistic, one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist that refuses to make moral distinction therefore, a horror movie hits you in the gut with the belief that there is real evil. And one man’s serial killer is not another man’s freedom fighter. You walk out of a horror movie with that sense. I think that’s one aspect. I have an article coming out in Christian Research Journal this month and it’s called an apologetic of horror. And it talks about all the different ways that horror is a very moral medium. And its precedents are in the Bible actually. God himself uses horror as a genre to communicate several important things throughout the Bible. The biggest is example of this is, of course, the book of Revelation, which is literally a horror fantasy epic, along the likes of Lord of the Rings. You’ve got mutated monsters eating people. You’ve got all the traditional things that now we know of as in horror movies. And it’s used to communicate the spiritual seriousness of what God is trying to communicate. Those are just a couple of examples. Now, that doesn’t mean that therefore, all horror movies are acceptable any more than it means that all epic movies are good based on the fact that Braveheart is an epic with a great Christian message. Well, no. The movie Troy is an epic that is anti-christian. So, to defend the horror genre is not to defend all horror movies. We should understand that clearly. But, that’s one of the ways, you know, look at the prophets and God uses a lot of horror in the prophecies. Because I think horror is one of the ways to communicate the seriousness of life and of the issues that you’re trying to address. CVM: Thank you for talking with us. We look forward to seeing your projects and thanks for the insights. Brian: Anytime.
March 2010
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