MovieChat Forums > A Thief in the Night (1973) Discussion > Scared the heck out of me!

Scared the heck out of me!

posted 18 years ago by angeldude98
7 replies | jump to latest

Oh, wow! I remember seeing this film for the first time at a church showing in Argentina when I was about 5 or 6, and didn't pay attention to it, as I was too young to fully understand it. But then I saw it again here in the U.S. also at a church showing when I was 8 and was scared out of my wits! That, and the fact that all our pastor ever preached about was Bible prophecy and the rapture really did it for me. I couldn't sleep for days, and then I was constantly scared that the rapture would happen and I'd be left behind. It literally took me years to recover. I couldn't even hear the theme song from the movie because my heart would start pounding and I'd get spooked about everything. When they'd show it privately or at church, I'd refuse to see it. I din't see it again until I was about 16 and even then it still spooked me. Oh man! That really is some movie. I'm an adult now, and of course, I know better. I'm a Christian and own all 4 of the movies in the series, along with every other rapture/end-times movie out there (like the "Apocalypse" and "Left Behind" movies)and scores of books, both fiction and non ficton (like "Left Behind"), on the subject. I became a devout student of prophecy myself and have taught it, preached about it, and lectured on it many times. I now look forward to the rapture because I know now that I won't be left behind, since I have given my life to Christ. As you can tell, this movie is a great attention getter, and while by today's standards it is outdated and amateourish, the message is clear and well presented and can lead people to search more until they eventually find what they are looking for. I consider this a Christian movie classic, and I'm quite satisfied to keep it in my DVD collection (though I still don't watch it that often... brings back memories... :-) ).

[–] sundance7490 18 years ago

WHY OH WHY OH WHY does everyone keep saying they got the crap scared out of them? First off, I saw this when I was 12 and I wasn't scared at all. Heck, I was just thrilled they had made a more exciting movie and quicker paced than that horrible remake Left Behind. A Thief in the Night was so much fun to watch. I don't know why everyone's saying they were freaked out. It shocked me more to hear that people weren't entertained. I have all four in my collection but A Thief in the Night has always been my favorite.

Adriana Barraza for best supporting actress...YAAAAAAAAY!!!!!

[–] youllneverbe 18 years ago

Our teacher showed us all four of these films in Religious Education class when I was... fifteen, maybe. Four full movies in 30-minute instalments, one instalment per week. Needless to say, it got very boring indeed and seemed absolutely endless. And in a way, it sort of DID scare me a little bit.... but only in the same way as stock footage or 1970s information films scare me.... they're devoid of any directional flair whatsoever. It's like being stuck in a world that LOOKS like Earth, but something is very very wrong... kind of like waking up in 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers'... It's creepy.

...by the way (not that it matters when judging the film), I'm not religious in the least. I would like to own these films though, just so I could put them on when people come over to get drunk.

[–] david-2271 18 years ago

This movie is only scary if you don't realize that The Rapture is nothing but a modern day fairy tale. First, it has no real scriptural basis; Jesus never mentions it. Oh there are passages in John and Luke that refer to people being "taken," but you need a very vivid imagination to build these brief mentionings into a scenario where people are floating up into the sky. The epistles contain some passages that are equally as ripe for mangling, but come on: Don't you think that if Jesus expected us to float into the sky, he would have been explicit about it?

Second, it is an aggressively modern, pop-cultural concept. although its proponents insist that they represent, "Dat ol' time religion," references to The Rapture are absent from Christian literature before the mid 1800's. If you had tried to talk to Martin Luthor or Thomas Aquinas about it, they would have dismissed you as nuts. These men had work to do promoting the name of Jesus, they didn't have time to look for "signs" uder every rock.

Third, look at the people who are promoting it. The list includes false prophets like William Miller, opportunists like Hal Lindsey and paranoid fearmongers like Tim LaHey. Are those the kind of people Jesus chose as his disciples? What would Jesus say to their using His name to make their profits?

Please remeber that the message of the gospels is a message for life. Our savior wants you to live his word, and you cannot do that while sitting around waiting to be lifted into the sky. The Kingdom of God needs you, so turn off the cheesy sci-fi flicks and join in!

[–] sundance7490 18 years ago

You know what, you are probably the smartest person on this entire board. I must honestly say Jesus does speak about his coming but he doesn't specify on when. The tribulation could start and the rapture could happen anytime after that, but there will be one, we just don't know when.

You are so right, though. Too many people are waiting around for the rapture, which is probably the biggest mistake you could ever make.

I love me.

[–] sgaudio 18 years ago

I'm not sure if this is the same film I am looking for. I saw it in church also, when I was very young. I recall people had to have the 666 mark on their hand or forehead to do anything like buy groceries. Those that believed in God and didn't have the mark, had their head chopped off by guillotine. There were a group of people hold up in some kind of garage in a field. I am going from the memory of an 8 year old, so some details are fuzzy. I am not sure if this was the film.... If not, does anyone know?

[–] strangefindings 18 years ago

Yup...it sounds like the same film.

Scared me senseless too...I think the 666 stuff was maybe more in the sequel?

Not sure...

[–] am_buglet_82 16 years ago

Well, you're right about not knowing when it will be...but the rapture is most certainly NOT a "modern day fairy tale".

-Amanda

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