I enjoy watching great films and T.V. shows, but my not so guilty pleasure is to sit and enjoy really bad movies. These are movies that are so hilariously awful that they end up entertaining you and making you question the origins of their production. I watch a wide array of horribly bad movies, but today I wanted to take a closer look at bad Christian cinema.
In terms of the faith and religious genres there has not been a great deal of high quality content. When looking specifically into the Christian genre there are even more poorly made films and music that cater to specific points of view. You have endless Christmas related movies, films that praise the country/simpler way of life, horribly boring bible retellings about Joseph and Mary, and much more. Luckily, with services like PureFlix, Netflix, and YouTube it’s easy to find plenty of bad movie gems directly related to Christian films. If, like me, you enjoy being a masochist and watching bad Christian movies then enjoy my list of favorites:
- Loving the Bad Man
This movie painfully goes through the detailings of a woman being raped, getting pregnant, and somehow finding faith through it all. It is possibly the most controversial and disturbing film on this list as it tries to mask faith with fixing all problems. The whole reason to watch this movie is to see Stephen Baldwin with a face full of tattoos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9MuFFQL87w
- A Matter of Faith
Have you ever wondered what a debate between a creationist college student and an evolutionist teacher would look like in a film? Well, then this might not be for you. Unfortunately, women aren’t allowed to debate their professors and need dad to step in and take the lead. With plenty of sexism and straw man fallacies this movie is a classic bad Christian film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ6bUfOVf1g
- God’s Not Dead
An atheist college professor, a reporter with cancer, a Christian college student, and a priest with the inability to do his job do not all walk into bar. Instead we learn that atheists are just angry Christians, cancer can be willed away by praying, and putting together a mediocre powerpoint presentation proves that God’s not dead. This is the first movie on this list to introduce both Kevin Sorbo and David A.R. White, who have both created such wonderfully awful Christian content.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMjo5f9eiX8
Extra: God’s Not Dead 2
This horribly boring sequel to God’s Not Dead showcases an evil portrayal of the ACLU and Melissa Joan Hart going to court just for saying Jesus in a classroom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxz-Y-c2UUc
- Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
Kirk Cameron is as smug as ever in this bewildering and horrible explanation of Christmas. The spirit of Christmas is really all about swaddling cloths, a sociopathic maniac Santa, and Christmas trees symbolizing crosses if you squint really hard. If that seems confusing there are plenty of other baffling justifications for buying a ton of presents and drinking hot cocoa in Kirk Cameron’s ultimate ego project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5-yA66kaVc
- Old Fashioned
The creepier and more unsettling version of Fifty of Shades of Grey is the movie, Old Fashioned. A man who refuses to date or set foot in a woman’s house alone is the protagonist and love interest of this film. He somehow attracts the attention of a quirky, attractive, young woman who would rather take long drives and stupid religious quizzes than finding someone else to have fun with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p0ozDjAQco
- Me Again
This movie showcases David A.R. White and his real life wife, Logan White. A body swapping movie that has David in drag as a model and also uncomfortably in the body of his daughter’s boyfriend. Bad parenting is resolved by finally building a treehouse, anorexia is treated by just calling your mom, and the use of birth control for protective sex is totally out of the question in this film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeCpdqG1j40
- Holyman Undercover
Another David A.R. White film with his wife as the love interest and co-star. David laughably and uncomfortably plays many different characters in this movie. If you want to watch a comedy gone wrong in all the right ways, then this is one to check out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXu2W7GpNAs
- God’s Club
A Stephen Baldwin movie where no one could act less interested if they tried. Working with a therapist and taking medications regularly to help with your mental health are not the right solutions in this film. If you pray hard enough and believe in God then all of your problems will go away magically. Most Christian films take a hard stand against therapy and this movie is no exception.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xgOnIUyFIk
- I’m in Love with a Church Girl
This movie is probably my favorite on this list. There are scenes so hilariously bad that I had to pause the movie from laughing so hard. A former Cheetah Girl actress who is godly and Christian but dresses provocatively falls in love with a man who has an awesome life living in sin. If your dream vacation was always to visit a Sandal’s Beach Resort, then definitely watch this movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnULsIsuwDY
- Christian Mingle
Starring Gretchen Wieners from Mean Girls, Christian Mingle is the ultimate ad played out into an entire movie. Gretchen decides she needs to get married because she is a woman and in her thirties, so she signs up for a Christian Mingle account. She meets and falls in love with the most boring man alive while pretending to be Christian. There is plenty of not so subtle racism and sexism in this movie, as per the usual for these movies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E10Vo42MJEc
Honorable Mentions:
- Once I was a Beehive
A surprise Mormon movie that is uncomfortable and may or may not have a dead dog in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kFRRBC2UTQ
- Joyful Noise
Not as Christian based as other movies on this list, but it might be one of the worst.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJnqTSDSEO4
- Love Different
This movie is Christian and painfully racist, watch at your own risk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htQnsidSFlo
- Brother White
Another racist movie, but this time starring David A.R. White again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_eJofHCTOE
- Princess Cut
Misogynistic, sexist, and includes some sexual assault. What more would you expect from a Christian movie?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCinYfZKnmI
Partner’s Picks:
Melissa would not pick some of my favorites, but I felt these movies needed to be mentioned.
- Leap and Leap 2: Rise of the Beast
This double feature of crazy in an amature Christian “parkour” film. Possibly the most egotistical film of all time (save Tommy Wiseau and his masterpiece, The Room) with the worst parkour, acting, story, and apologetics you have ever seen. And with a “twist?” in the second one that will leave you laughing for days or possibly make you question your sanity. All I can hope for after the cliffhanger ending is a trilogy in the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsXmD0Lgjiw
- Reggie’s Prayer
Ok, I take back what I said, this is the most egotistical movie I have ever seen. Football star, Reggie White, stars in a film about Reggie Knox, a football star who decides to give back to the community by becoming a history teacher and high school football coach. Reggie White is about as good at acting as Reggie Knox is at teaching. And while the movie’s plot rarely makes sense, it is hilarious to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMSF4o0CDHM
There are plenty of other bad Christian movies that I did not mention, but be warned that many of them end up being painfully boring (as do some of the one’s included on the list). If you want to torment yourself with more Christian related films, then definitely check out the God Awful Movies podcast. They go through many of the movies I have on this list into hilarious detail and have inspired my love for watching these piles of garbage. Enjoy!