Remnants of Christian Fears in the Year 2000
Y2K Fears
Nearing 2000 was a special time in history; the millennium was near, yet religious people and even technology workers were freaking out. What exactly did Y2K mean—was the end of the world here? People genuinely thought 2000 signaled the shutdown of computers, which would lead to civilization breaking down. Christians thought this was a signal that the end was near and events in Revelation were on their way. Neither sound even sounds remotely correct to me, but apparently it was all a huge concern. To me, the millennium signaled fun hats/an awesome party I fell asleep during (I was six) as they continued until midnight. For programmers, it was possibly the end of computers from coding issues. Now, it all turned out fine, but the fear spurred on better coding/ computer systems, so we ultimately overcame these issues and came out better for all that fear. Still, those fears lingered in film, which gave way to curiosity/continued mistrust of the church. What aren't they telling us?
Christianity & Horror
Horror can be a folkloric tool to assess what truly caused anxiety during certain time periods. 1999 was rife with movies trying to solve (or at least ask questions about) the mysteries of Christianity. Stigmata (1999) explained fears of mysterious wordings of Christ appearing on people and this fear of being "chosen" for such messaging; it also introduced the idea that perhaps the gospel isn't correct. The Ninth Gate (1999) made people wonder if a human could actually meet the Devil himself from clues he'd possibly left us. End of Days (1999) explained Satan's activities to usher in the Antichrist; he was focused on impregnating the chosen woman with his demon seed so he could bring about the end of the world. People had questions; these movies, though clearly fiction, offered the possibilities, if not actual answers. Horror plays with those possibilities and explores anything that could happen within those fears. Y2K passed and people laughed when nothing monumental happened except that we were now technically in a new age. However, that didn't mean those Christian-based questions/fears/anxieties disappeared from film; Dracula 2000 (2000), and The Gathering (2002) proved that.
End of Days 1999
A woman always suffers somehow in these movies, probably because of Christianity's blaming of Eve (fun fact: Islam blames Adam and Eve equally). Christine is chosen because "the stars were aligned" when she was born, so she's going to bear Satan's child (more like the stars are maligned). And that dude must've not been right in some way for Satan himself to be like, "Yes. This one to possess so I can impregnate Christine." Christine also seems to exemplify the ideal Christian woman: pretty, demure, sweet, needing to be protected, and terrified out of her mind though she can get testy/be sharp. Needs a man to save her from the evils of the world.
Also props to Gabriel Byrne, who has a completely different vibe in this movie than Stigmata. This speculation about Satan having a son just like God did is interesting if you think about "as above, so below"; the hierarchy of hell in demonology mimics the angelic order of heaven. Maybe Satan does have a son, and that's who the Antichrist in Revelation is.
Stigmata 1999
Stigmata came out in the same year and here we see the fears of modern women/life. This idea that women are brightly colored peacocking birds: showing skin, drinking, are promiscuous and not bound by religious thinking. This whole "are we in an age of sin?" question is a little tired but at this point in history, it was probably a more valid question. It's essentially putting out the idea that we're overdue for the Christian reckoning since our world is steeped in sin. All that rock music, pearl clutching, holier-than-thou Christian "love". I genuinely believe much of Christianity stems from wanting to feel better than other people and that's why it persists. Women are their own people and can live their lives the way they want to. Get over it.
Frankie absolutely got the raw end of the deal; she's living her life in color, doing what she wants and all because some kid stole a religious relic, she's bleeding out.
They even did the biting of the apple, like she's Eve polluting the world up with her curiosity. As if this is all punishment for being a modern woman in modern times when she was a victim of sympathetic magic-she touched the dude's stolen rosary and started getting stigmata, which sucks. "I love being me-ask anyone", totally implies women who love themselves deserve Christian judgment on their heads. Because why aren't men judged the way we are? Oh yeah, cause we ate the forbidden fruit first like Adam didn't eat it right after like an idiot. Naturally, she doesn't believe in God either-which is apart from stigmatics anyway because they're super religious.
Some of the phenomena we see are real: smelling like flowers is a phenomenon known to Catholicism/during possessions as a sign of respite from an evil spirit-our girl didn't look like she was filled with the spirit of God, mmkay. The phenomena fits with possessions in general-demons hop in and out when the will of the person is low. She looks terrible, so yeah, demon. That and the languages she doesn't know coming out. Also, the unnatural strength, levitation, things flying across the room, etc.
The story talks about a new gospel, which is essentially rejection of the old one-definitely penetrating the mysteries of Christianity. With the onset of 2000, people had questions, fears. There was also a seeming distrust of the church, like they weren't telling us everything. If the story had kept the demonic aspect, it would've been accurate because that's how possessions actually look. Instead, Frankie is possessed by a holy man trying to tell the "real" gospel of Jesus Christ. My dude, once-human possessions simply don't look like that or have mysterious new powers; I should know. I have had a personal experience with non-demonic possession; I wasn’t that ugly.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
The Ninth Gate from the same year asked the real questions: who is the devil really? Could we meet him? It also made us aware of just how weird rich people are and obsessed with "something more" since they've had everything on earth. Money can buy almost anything. They've never struggled so their lives are essentially meaningless; people only experience true joy when they know hardship first. It gives Garden of Eden/Matrix: Reloaded (2003) vibes: how would we know Paradise was so great if we hadn't suffered first?
The characters are a good example of how money and riches make us less good as people. Dean Corso is, after all, a man loyal to the almighty dollar and nothing more. The most soulless are the rich, it makes sense they're interested in meeting the devil. Their reasoning: Balkan wants something different than everything else he's ever had, Kessler met him and fell in love (??), Telfer as a way to indulge her desires/acquiring money & success.
The film is a meditation of the new world via capitalism's "evil" and the old-world books Corso is cheating people out of (Bartolomé Leal). New versus old evil (always money). I wouldn't say money itself is evil, but greed is.
I have questions. Why would the prince of darkness want to be conjured at all? Like any bean counter with the right pictures could bring him out; I can't imagine Satan would be psyched to meet just anyone. One would need all texts and must be smart enough to find the answers. But Corso? Honestly, he's the driest character there is; no personality whatsoever. Greed personified, so maybe that's why he's "worthy" to meet the Devil Himself.
Dracula 2000
This one came out in the year 2000, but had to have been written months or even years before the millennium. There's a lot of Gerard Butler being oddly goofy instead of sexy (I'll fight you on this), finding brides and sucking a lot of blood, as you do when you're Dracula.
Wes Craven explaining Dracula as actually being THE Judas Eschariot, who betrayed Jesus, which is why he’s allergic to silver (the pieces he sold Jesus for), eternal punishment as a feaster on blood, why he hates crucifixes is actually pretty genius, though wasted on such a goofball like Gerard Butler was at this point in his life. Be serious. ’s not a bad reading of the situation, I’ll give him that. Dracula 2000 is often a completely ridiculous reading of Dracula but it’s a fun one; also, ceiling sex is featured. Time to go be a bat with the original Batman.
The Gathering (2002) came out a good three years after the Y2K hullabaloo with an interesting premise: a buried church, a sacred bas-relief depicting people watching the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and a girl with amnesia who keeps experiencing strange visions. It is revealed the Catholic Church (who is keeping the excavation of the church a secret) knew about the Gathering; this is a group of people who came to observe the crucifixion some 2000-odd years ago. They were punished by God for their curiosity and made to endure all sites of suffering throughout history, unable to die or avoid seeing terrible things. Cassie is an amnesiac and was once one of the Gathering but decided to try and stop the coming tragedy.
The Catholic Church in the town of Ashby Wake had a home for children, some sort of orphanage that is now Lime Court, the home of where Cassie is staying (the wife hit her with her car and was weirdly trusting of bringing this unknown girl into her home; the husband happens to be working on the bas-relief). Fred Argyle was molested at Lime Court as a child and plots his revenge on everyone involved; the entire town knew and did nothing, so he plans a massacre. He also plans the death of the boy currently living there, Michael—perhaps he sees himself in him and is trying to spare the boy the pain of what he endured in that place. Motive is never fully established except probably an emotional connection with Cassie. She saves Michael though, dies, and is forgiven for her transgression from WAY back when.
Here is a folkloresque rendering of history based on legend (the folkloresque is a concept that lets a story that's made up that can be traced to real folklore, and feels enough like folklore to be mistaken as the real thing) (Tolbert and Foster 5). It's said Joseph of Arimathea (Jesus' stepdad) went to England at some point, which is from a real legend. While there, the movie tells us he built a church (which is the same church the bas-relief was found at), so this is a recreation of that event done by someone who was there. Clearly important. The church was then buried on purpose during the Black Plague. In religious letters (probably made up for the movie since I can't find a record of them), there is a postscript: "they came only to see, from the East and from the West, from the city and from the plain. They came not in holy reverence to the Lord but in lust." Though most likely an invention to push the plot forward, it does make a wonder of the possibility; people were at the crucifixion and watched Jesus die. Were they punished at all? This movie shows both sides of Christianity's God: wrath and forgiveness, along with both sides of the Catholic Church: devout yet have been caught using their power to molest children.
Cassie might have amnesia but she only cares about stopping the tragedy because it's the right thing to do, even after learning the truth about the Gathering (and her own part in it). These people not only observe the spectacle, they also stop anything from getting in the way of its inevitable happening. Cassie memorably dismisses the entire thing as "pathetic" and "obscene" as well as telling the Gathering dude telling her all this to fuck off with his plans to help the suffering along. Cassie then gets to die because she chose right this time, a very optimistic view of death.
I'm going to be honest: wandering forever, being made to watch terrible things sounds dreadful. The others in the Gathering learned absolutely nothing from their punishment. In her amnesia, Cassie learns her lesson and is granted redemption. The movie even implies the amnesia was a test to grant her a second chance. God might be pissed with you, but He also offers forgiveness; it's his whole thing in Christianity.
The ringing of 2000 came and went, but the religious questions remained and then were given new life by 2003 with the publishing of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, an idea that was possibly an offshoot of this Y2K Christian anxiety. This reawakening lasted about until 2006, when people became afraid again since it was 6/6/06, the number of the Beast in Revelation. Again, nothing happened on that date and the fear died down. My question is, what would have to happen that would resurrect those fears anew?
References
Bartolomé Leal, Andrés. "The Sense of Ending: Culture, Capital, and the Fate of (Late) Modern Europe in Roman Polanksi's The Ninth Gate (1999)", 2022.
Brown, Dan. 2003. The Da Vinci Code.
The Calling, dir. Damian Chapa. 2002.
Dracula 2000, dir. Patrick Lussier. 2000.
End of Days, dir. Peter Hyams. 1999.
The Gathering, dir. Brian Gilbert. 2002.
The Ninth Gate, dir. Roman Polanski. 1999.
Stigmata, dir. Rupert Wainwright. 1999.
Tolbert, Jeffrey A., and Michael Foster. 2015. The Folkloresque: Reframing Folklore in a Popular Culture World.