The Lock-In [2014]

[Cross-posted on the Bad Movie Night Facebook page.]

We're back with more Christian nonsense! We've watched Christian horror movies before but the ones we've seen have been more based on the idea that hell is the horror that you are trying to avoid. This film is instead a pretty blatant rip-off of "Paranormal Activity" but set during a church lock-in (basically a sleepover for religious kids) and using a porno mag found in a dumpster as the instigator of the demonic activity. Even that cover looks like a horror bootleg.

The film starts with an introduction from a pastor who says that a weird thing happened at a church lock-in and that they have pieced together footage from one kid's camera and the survelliance cameras. We get a warning that the following material is only meant to be seen by church elders. The story is told from the perspective of three 25-year-old high school seniors: Cameraman, Everyman, and Fratman. We see Fratman going to Everyman's house so excited about the lock-in because he thinks it will be the opportunity for Everyman to kiss his crush, Jessica. Everyman's parents overhear and give him an uncomfortable, long speech about not having sex. Then, on the way over to the church, the trio stops for some dumpster driving and find a pornographic magazine that they decide to bring with them. At the lock-in itself, the magazine ends up slipped into Jessica's bag and the pastor goes with the kids outside to burn the magazine. Soon after the magazine is destroyed, it appears again and the boys try to bury it at the bottom of a trashcan only to have the trashcan go flying across the room. Around here we get a random scene of a man confessing to the pastor that he has a porn addition before we return to our regularly scheduled haunting. From there, everyone disappears except our four mains who wander around the vacant church and lament their stupidity as doors are mysteriously unable to opened and there are random growls and light flickers and such. Jessica cries about how porn "ruined her family," Eventually everyone is lost except Cameraman who has a "power of Christ compels you" breakdown before he enters the main chapel to see everyone from the lock-in sitting there the next morning with no memory of the night before. Our last scene features Cameraman throwing away a ton of porn mags he had hiding in his closet.. 

The film was only okay. The concept was pretty funny and we did get some nice laughs at the melodrama stirred up by porn, but overall it was only about as much fun as "Paranormal Activity 2."

Spoon Rating : 3