Late One Night

God doesn’t love me—I’ve seen too much suffering and pain… I don’t believe in hell, but what if it really does exist?… Religion is just a way to make money, I’ve seen those fakes on TV always asking for money… Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites… Random thoughts from a skeptic named Larry, SWM 32 years.

Larry has seen a lot in his 32 years. As a young boy his hateful father left his family, causing his mother to have to scrub toilets for years to provide for herself and small son. Now 25 years later Larry looks back on his life of sorrow. he’s been in and out of jail more times than he can count. Clearly he believes God doesn’t love him. it’s easy to see how he could come up with such conclusions. His anger at God surfaces when a softspoken Christian mockingly called “Jesus” walks into the diner where Larry and two buddies are late one night.

“Late One Night” is more evangelistic than many other Christian films out there—certainly more so than any of the late “blockbuster” films like “Left Behind” or “Carman: the Champion,” etc. In fact, there are several layers of the gospel message being presented. First, there’s the small part played by a friendly and eager “street preacher” who tries to engage passerbys in conversation, letting them know God loves them as he hands out a tract that relays this message. Basically the “Four Spiritual Laws” approach. But most people ignore him and walk on by. Then there’s the message laid out in the tract about the Creation, the Fall, and how each man is separated from God because of sin. But the most effective message comes from the mouth and turn-the-other-cheek actions of “Jesus”. And the strong visual example at the film’s conclusion of what Christ did for us speaks volumes.

At 33 minutes, “Late One Night” is the perfect length for youth groups, Sunday Schools, or one-on-one meetings. Aside from the aforementioned topics this film presents an in-depth look at what the Bible means when it says “you must be born again.” (John 3:7). This film is just as much for the churched audience as for the unchurched. In one pivotal point of the film Larry says “If Hell’s real, it’s loaded with people. and 9 out of 10 of them were church members.” Perhaps those statistics aren’t exactly accurate when you look on a global scale, but how real is that for a North American audience? Good food for thought as the reality of hell is brought home.

Highly recommended for teen to adult audiences. (Shot on film in widescreen format.)