There’s been quite a discussion going on over at the Cloud Ten Pictures blog. Should Christian filmmakers make horror films? Some people say yes. Some people say no. Some people think Dangerous Calling opens the door to the occult.

Now we don’t really consider Dangerous Calling a horror film. Thrillers are a very different genre. However, we do both love a good horror film, especially at this time of year.  Horror is one of the oldest genres and encompasses  a wide variety of films. Everything from Frankenstein to Saw. To say that the entire genre is evil is akin to saying all comedy is dirty. On the contrary, horror provides ample opportunities to explore the human condition and spiritual issues of sin and redemption.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of my favorite stories. I’ve seen just about every film adaptation. On the surface it’s about a man that drinks a potion and becomes a horrible monster, but at its heart it’s about a man’s battle to overcome his sin nature. Ultimately he is unable to do so illustrating that apart from Christ mankind is helpless.

Now granted, there are horror films that take sex and violence to reprehensible extremes, but you can find bad examples in every genre. Instead of avoiding genres that can and have been used inappropriately, Christian filmmakers should be encouraged to redeem them and put them to good use.

What do you think?