Plot: As the world has gone through some drastic, inexplicable changes, Thorold Stone (Jeff Fahey) finds himself in the middle of all the chaos. He is an officer of the law, so he is tasked to hunt down the Christians accused of all kinds of terrorist acts in recent days, but he has more than the law on his mind. Stone is also desperate to find his family, as he was separated when the mass disappearances happened and he has struggled to cope in the wake of those events. When he and his partner discover a group of Christian in hiding, one of the worshipers gives him a mysterious disk, but before he can even think about anything, Stone finds himself under fire from non-Christians that storm the location. His partner is shot down and he is left for dead, but he survives and is framed for his partner’s murder. Can Stone survive long enough to uncover what the disk holds and can it help him clear his name?

Entertainment Value: Revelation is the second installment in a four movie series that deals with the rapture and rise of the Antichrist, with an obvious and heavy handed religious propaganda style approach. The first film was Apocalypse and while this sequel is a significant improvement over the original, it still fails to spark much in terms of even b movie level entertainment. The tone shifts from a dialogue driven drama to more of a thriller at times, but the pace remains rather slow and despite the improvements, the story leaves a lot to be desired. I assume those with similar religious views will enjoy the narrative more than others, but even then the weak script and mediocre performances are likely to lessen the impact. Although some of these religious movies can be dialed up and offer unintentional or b movie style vibes, that isn’t the case here. The tone is always serious and the approach is restrained, which means aside from the heavy handed religion involved, never goes too over the top. Again, Revelation is a marked step up from Apocalypse, but the movie still stalls out and fails to work as either a serious drama or a humorous b movie. So unless your interest is related to the religious content or you are just a big Jeff Fahey fan, this one is hard to recommend.

Most of the cast from Apocalypse wasn’t brought back for Revelation, but the series’ lone connecting thread is here, in performer Leigh Lewis. Her role is put on the back burner to an extent in this sequel, but her narrative thread is continued and she would remain an important presence as the series rolled on. But now that the series seemed to have gotten more budget resources and pulled in some famous faces, Lewis does see her time reduced, at least until the final picture. Even so, her presence helps tie the movies together and that is a welcome element. The lead in this one belongs to Jeff Fahey, who turns in a forgettable, but competent performance. The blame for the run of the mill work rests mostly on the material, as Fahey isn’t given a lot of chances to shine, but he does what he can. He provides a capable lead, even held back the script, which the original movie sorely lacked. The cast also includes Carol Alt, Nick Mancuso, Patrick Gallagher, and Tony Nappo.

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