The Wrap announced that Sony has green-lit the Will Smith vampire movie, “The Redemption of Cain.” Smith has been working on getting this project off the ground, wanting to step behind the camera to shoot the film himself. The unique thing about this horror movie is that the vampire saga ties in directly with the Bible story of Cain and Able.
“The Redemption of Cain” tells the classical story of the siblings that ended in tragedy. In the Bible story, Cain brought God an offering of food from the land while Able brought the Lord an offering of meat. When God chose Able’s offering over Cain’s, the shunned brother reacted violently in vengeance. Cain murdered Able and God cast him out in punishment. The movie appears to cast Cain as the world’s first vampire.
This is not the first time that the Bible has come into play with religious horror movies.
“Dracula 2000”
While “Dracula 2000” was critically derided and remains a forgotten effort, its twist at the end remains one of vampire movie’s most clever origin stories. In the film, Gerard Butler stars as Dracula, while Christopher Plummer takes on the role of Abraham Van Helsing. The movie sets two factions against each other, a group hunting Dracula and a group set to defend him. Overall, it is a generic story.
However, when the climax comes and the audience learns how Dracula became the world’s first vampire, the film dips right into Biblical history. In “Dracula 2000,” the first bloodsucker is Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus Christ, leading to his crucifixion.
In the Biblical story, Judas was paid in silver for his betrayal. The movie ties all this in to the original vampire origin, with the crucifix and stakes tied into the cross and the silver explained as well. Is was a very interesting premise that helped raise the movie into something unique.
“The Omen”
While there are many movies based on Biblical stories, none match up to the excellence of Richard Donner’s “The Omen.” Gregory Peck stars as the father of a young boy named Damien who turns out to be the Antichrist. Of course, the movie ties in with the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation. The book, written by John, tells the story of how the world’s fate and the end of days.
While Revelation ties into the apocalypse, it all begins with the ascension of the Antichrist, who rises and takes over the Earth, leading to the eventual battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell. If there is a book in the Bible that merges well with the horror genre, it is Revelation. “The Omen” deals with the birth and childhood of Damien and spawned three sequels and a remake.
