The Visitation; Book vs. Movie

A weeping crucifix heals a crippled man. Worshipers see a vision of Christ in the clouds. Is God speaking to his people in the last days? When a small farming town is turned upside down by supernatural occurrences, it's up to a burned-out pastor to determine whether these miracles are from heaven---or straight from hell.

I enjoy comparing books with their movie adaptations. Preferably reading the books first, which is what I did with The Visitation. I really enjoyed the book. It has a serious creep-factor and, as any Frank Peretti book, packs a spiritual message.


The movie, while sticking very closely to the story-line of the book, was laughably bad. The cinematography (which is not something I would normally even notice) was horribly choppy, cutting from scene to scene rather disjointedly.

And the acting... oh my the acting. So, so bad.

Here is a taste:


The one thing I will say this movie got right was the creep-factor. It totally nailed that icky, slimy, skin-crawling feeling that I got with the book too. Maybe it is just the subject matter - demonic possession, evil, murders - but I don't know. It gave me a shudder to watch.
That said - just read the book. That movie is an hour and a half you just can't get back. :)