The Remaining: Casey La Scala

(Today, The Remaining comes out in theaters everywhere. I had a chance to screen the movie. I have to say, it’s the best “faith based” movie I’ve seen. Parts of the movie scared me and provided some great thrills.

Casey La Scala is a Hollywood rebel who makes his own way. He’s produced amazing cult films like Donnie Darko (one of my favorites) and mainstream films like What a Girl Wants. The Remaining, however, is his directorial and writing debut)

Many in the Christian world likes to portray Hollywood as “Bablyon” with no Christians. This very idea, in my opinion, is an insult to God. Further, it’s a simplistic and unrealistic viewpoint of the world.

Yes, Hollywood can be an utter black hole of bad behavior and torn apart lives. However, as someone who has worked in the church, it happens there as well. Where ever humans congregate, so will the black sin of our hearts.

As I’ve started to getting into the entertainment industry, I realized how many believers are here. However, I’m also struck by how many people are searching and willing to talk about the Christian worldview in regards to film.

La Scala is one of those people. When I asked him why he would write a faith based film, he replied,

“I started off just wanting to write a scary film that had global implications. I felt that some of the Christian end of the world films went way too global. I was more interested to see how people would react on a more local, visceral level. Plus, I started to reconnect with some of the faith of my youth, so I thought this film would be a good way to do that.”

When I pressed him further about his own faith, La Scala said,

“Working on this film has really made me reexamine my faith and figure out what God wants. I’m no where near being able to answer that question, but I’m trying.”

When I asked him what he wanted people to get out of this film, La Scala laughs.

“I hope people get a good scare out of it first. That’s kind of the point. However, there are some deep theological and life questions I want people think about. I think the film should speak for itself.”

La Scala chooses to mix the current filming trend of “found footage” with a normal film perspective. When I asked him about that choice as a storyteller, he replied,

“I really wanted people to feel the scale of what was going on while feeling the intimacy of people’s reactions. Sometimes, with found footage, you can’t tell what’s going on around the characters. I thought I would try mixing the mediums to see what happens.”

(The Remaining is in theaters everywhere starting today.)