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Talk About It

1. The killer in this movie seems intent on having Kevin repent of his past sins. Can we as Christians escape from our sinful nature? How are we saved?
2. After Kevin confesses, RK suggests it's still not enough. Is confession enough when it comes to sin, or are we still accountable for the consequences of sin? To what extent? What role did Jesus play in our accountability to the consequences of sin?
3. The central theme of the movie seems to be about the nature of good and evil within each of us. Are we all capable of the same kind of good and evil? How do we reconcile this inner conflict? (See Romans 7:21-25.)
4. Kevin's Aunt Belinda explains to Jennifer how they insulate themselves from the world. Is it possible to overly insulate ourselves from the world around us? To what extent should we as Christians be involved with the world? What does it mean to be "in the world, not of it?"

The Family Corner

Thr3e is justifiably rated PG-13 for its intense style and continuous sense of terror, with characters regularly threatened by an unseen killer. There are lots of explosions, and while a couple of characters die, no one's really killed onscreen. The extent of the film's violence involves flashbacks to an abusive childhood, including a bully threatening a teen, and someone who gets shot in the leg. There's no objective language, though the bully repeatedly refers to the teen as a "puke." It's a relatively "clean" film, but not recommended for kids under 13.

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There's a lot of enthusiasm in Christian media today about the new surge of "Christian filmmaking." But there's a problem. Most of those faith-oriented films are getting bad reviews, even from Christian film reviewers.

In the case of Thr3e, the new thriller about a serial killer based on a novel by Ted Dekker, Christian film critics are wasting no words about the film's shoddy quality. Sure, it's important that a movie's message be excellent. But is God glorified by mediocre craftsmanship and lousy storytelling? And what if the film's redeeming elements are buried by the film's darker elements?

Cliff Vaughn (Ethics Daily) isn't just disappointed. He's frustrated. "It bothers me, and it should bother you too, that out of all the movies that could have been made with a couple million dollars, Thr3e was chosen. This alleged psychological thriller … is so derivative as to be pointless. … We're supposed to care about a theme of confession planted in the movie, but the characters, like the plot, have been so derived from standard Hollywood fare that we don't recognize life—just other, better movies."

Jeremy Lees and Steven Isaac (Plugged In) are impressed … with what isn't in the movie. They liked "how the film tries to dispense with the over-the-top gore, profanity, sexuality and preternatural decadence so prevalent onscreen these days any time 'horror' or 'suspense' even begins to enter the filmmakers' vocabulary." But what do they think of what is in the movie? They say that "one could easily view this movie as a standard indie thriller, missing entirely the author's and director's oft-stated attempts to convey a Christian worldview."

Lisa Rice (Crosswalk) criticizes it as "sometimes confusing," frowns on "bad casting," and says, "The sparse, tacked on faith elements seem like an afterthought, and it is doubtful whether audiences will truly come away with greater faith or a greater knowledge of God and His ways …" But she does calls it "a cleverly-written psychological thriller with a fun twist at the end …"

Mainstream critics give it thr3e thumbs down, declaring it to be "r3ally, r3ally aw4ul." But the best cutesy quote comes from Frank Swietek (One Guy's Opinion): "Thr3e isn't even half the movie Se7en was."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) calls it "a conventional thriller, and not a very good one at that. … Despite a twist ending that deciphers the title, the movie's flat writing, competent but colorless performances and overall made-for-TV vibe generate only low-grade suspense."

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