The minister of a once vibrant, landmark Baptist church, now struggling to survive, is the sole hold-out in a decaying Philadelphia neighborhood earmarked for gentrification. But ultimately, the preacher’s steely resolve to preserve his family’s evangelical legacy in the community and dwindling congregation dissolves under relentless pressure from his status-seeking wife and greedy church leaders—Lured by cash bribes and promises from unscrupulous developers to establish a flashy “mega-ministry” elsewhere. Soon, the spirits of founding congregational members – stirred from the disquiet of their graves by the remorseless trespasses of another generation – begin to make their displeasure known. As the sinners – abruptly and inexplicably bound within the confines of the sanctuary – fall prey, they must all re-examine their choices and bow to the will of the covenant … only to reveal the righteous among them.
Similiar movies
The Apostle
After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.
Desire Under the Elms
Ephraim Cabot is an old man of amazing vitality who loves his New England farm with a greedy passion. Hating him, and sharing his greed, are the sons of two wives Cabot has overworked into early graves. Most bitter is Eben, whose mother had owned most of the farm, and who feels who should be sole heir. When the old man brings home a new wife, Anna, she becomes a fierce contender to inherit the farm. Two of the sons leave when Eben gives them the fare in return for their shares of the farm. Meanwhile, Anna tries to cause some sparks by rubbing up against Eben.
Higher Ground
Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, HIGHER GROUND, depicts the landscape of a tight-knit spiritual community thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith. Inspired by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir This Dark World, the film tells the story of a thoughtful woman's struggles with belief, love, and trust - in human relationships as well as in God.
Louis Theroux: America's Most Hated Family in Crisis
Following up on his 2007 documentary, The Most Hated Family in America, Louis Theroux returns to Topeka, Kansas, for a week-long visit with the Westboro Baptist Church. He again joins the Phelps family on their controversial pickets where they try to antagonise communities with offensive slogans and anti-gay placards. But four years on from Louis's last visit, there are signs of disarray in the Phelps clan. A series of defections of family members has shaken up the church.
Hatemongers
Documentary tracking the exploits of aging Calvinist preacher Fred Phelps, a convicted felon who leads his cult (primarily composed of his wife, nine of their children, and his fifty-two grandchildren) on their "love crusades" across America, which include calling for gays to be killed, praising terrorist attacks, mocking mourners at the funerals of AIDS patients and murder victims, and literally dancing and spitting on the graves of his enemies.
I'd Climb the Highest Mountain
A minister from the Deep South is assigned a new parish and moves with his wife to a town in Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains, where he tends to the spiritual and emotional needs of his small flock.
The Preacher's Wife
Good natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighborhood they live in. On top of all this, his church is coming under threat from property developer Joe Hamilton. In desperation, Rev. Biggs prays to God for help - and help arrives in the form of an angel named Dudley.
Amish: A Secret Life
Miriam and Dave Lapp are a charming young couple with a brood of adorable children. Dave works in and part owns a construction company. They are also members of the 'Old Order' Amish community in Pennsylvania,whose church forbids all technology - though Dave gets lifts to work in a car and the couple,by allowing themselves to be filmed,risk the wrath of church elders. Having outlined their traditional life-style to camera Miriam persuades several friends to be happily filmed and it becomes clear that the Lapps and other,younger Amish,believe that,having been rebaptized to allow a more open evangelical approach - risking excommunication thereby - they feel the need for a change in the community. The film ends as the family consolidates its dream to own their own farm.
Wait, Wait, Don't Kill Me
On the hottest day of the year, an unknown virus spreads throughout inner-city Philadelphia. The infected victims, crazed by dehydration, begin attacking other residents of the neighborhood in gruesome ways. When the military is brought in to contain the situation, but realize they can't come up with a vaccine quickly enough, they fence off the area and let everyone die. A group of locals, stuck in the basement of their building, behind the fences, and separated from their family members, band together to try to survive.
Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi
Alexandra Pelosi travels through the United States interviewing and filming several evangelical pastors and congregations.
The Black King
A confident and unscrupulous minister begins a 'back to Africa' movement, proclaiming himself Emperor of the United States of Africa.
Home
She watches him through the window as he loads the final pieces of furniture into the truck. They are counting down the last hours in their home. Their seven-month-old baby is asleep, unaware of the trouble brewing. They will either vacate the apartment peacefully, or they will be forcefully evicted. Their home, her father's legacy, used to be their safe haven, their family nest. Now, corrupt courts, greedy bankers, and unscrupulous real estate investors have turned it into a site of their worst nightmares. As tension rise, they struggle to preserve their relationship. In the morning, as police knocks on their door, their future seems uncertain, but their options are very clear: either accept injustice or show resistance.
Pray Away
In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their own “same-sex attractions” never went away. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, PRAY AWAY chronicles the “ex gay" movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the profound harm it causes.
Similiar TV Shows
Amen
Amen is an American television sitcom produced by Carson Productions that ran from September 27, 1986 to May 11, 1991 on NBC. Set in Sherman Hemsley's real-life hometown of Philadelphia, Amen stars Hemsley as the deacon of a church and was part of a wave of successful sitcoms on NBC in the 1980s which featured entirely or almost-entirely black casts. Others included The Cosby Show, A Different World, and 227.
Bringing Up Bates
Twenty-seven years ago Gil and Kelly Jo Bates tied the knot with no plans to have kids. Fast forward 19 kids later and this tight-knit family, seemingly too good to be true, has a tremendous bond but are far from perfect. As you will see, when you have a house full of 19 children, from ages two to 25, daily chaos is multiplied exponentially, but so are the joyful and poignant moments that life can bring.
Greenleaf
The unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, where scandalous secrets and lies are as numerous as the faithful. Born of the church, the Greenleaf family love and care for each other, but beneath the surface lies a den of iniquity—greed, adultery, sibling rivalry and conflicting values—that threatens to tear apart the very core of their faith that holds them together.
Midnight, Texas
Welcome to a place where being normal is really quite strange. In a remote Texas town no one is who they seem. From vampires and witches to psychics and hit men, Midnight is a mysterious safe haven for those who are different. As the town members fight off outside pressures from rowdy biker gangs, ever-suspicious cops and their own dangerous pasts, they band together and form a strong and unlikely family.
Still the King
Vernon Brownmule, aka "Burnin' Vernon," is a scandal-ridden, washed-up, one-hit-wonder who was kicked out of country music, only to emerge 20 years later as the second best Elvis impersonator around. After crashing into an old country church sign during a drunken bender, he is arrested and sentenced to return and serve as the church's handyman as part of his parole. Along the way, he pretends to be the congregation's new minister and reconnects with a former one-night-stand, when he learns he has a 15-year-old daughter he's never met.
The Soul Man
R&B superstar-turned-minister Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine was living the high life in Las Vegas at the top of the music charts when he gets the calling to go from soul singer to soul saver. Relocating to St. Louis with his wife, Lolli and his daughter, Lyric to take over the preaching duties in his father's church, his family is not exactly eager to give up the fabulous superstar life for a humble one.
Counting On
Follow the next generation of Duggars as they celebrate some of life’s milestone moments, including the realities of growing up and raising their own families.
Saints & Sinners
A large Southern church is the background for greed, corruption and murder.
The Secret
The true story of a Sunday school teacher and respectable dentist and pillar of the community, who formed a murderous partnership.
Graves
Former two-term President Richard Graves embarks on a Don Quixote-like quest to right the wrongs of his administration and reclaim his legacy 25 years after leaving the White House. His enlightenment takes place just as his wife Margaret Graves decides it’s finally time for her to pursue her own political ambitions.
The Tuckers
A character-led comedy about a family of chancers, low on cash but high on spirit - determined to survive through any means necessary. They run a catering business and a few things on the side. Peggy rules the roost with her son Glyn next in command. His children Billy and Bobby are never far from trouble, and Bobby's ex-wife Natalie lives next door, with Shaks, a young girl with an appetite for mayhem.
Children of the Cult
Explores the world's most notorious and prolific cults Children of God, through the stories of three British women who escaped its clutches.
The Long Call
Detective Matthew Venn returns to the small North Devon community he grew up in with his husband and begins investigating a murder whilst coming to terms with his own traumatic past, having been excommunicated by his family and the church community they lived in.
The Secrets of Hillsong
With fresh reporting and analysis from journalists, historians and policymakers, go beyond the sensational headlines and behind the velvet rope to examine the church's long pattern of covering up misconduct to protect itself.
The House of Paisley
Preacher, populist, politician - the electrifying rise of the Reverend Ian Paisley.
Reaching from Heaven
Just as church services are letting out, a shabbily-dressed stranger is run over by an automobile in front of the church. The stranger is helped mentally and physically by the minister and congregation members, who help him regain his self-confidence and also to accept the death of his wife as she was about to embark from Europe, as a displaced person, to join him in America.