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“Brave the Dark” also does a good job of writing about male problems from the perspective of men rather than women such as their moms or wives. “The Forge” was a film from the Kendrick Brothers about a young wayward man in need of male Christian mentorship. But it never attempts to understand why the young man is dysfunctional from the young man’s point of view. And its solutions to how he needs to grow in Christian maturity end up resembling femininity more than Christianity.
Right from the get-go, “Brave the Dark” avoids these problems. The entire film is built around empathizing with and understanding Nathan, and why he’s dysfunctional. In fact, not listening to him, and just labeling him a “bad kid,” are two of the strongest things this movie morally condemns in people’s responses to him. That’s true whether it’s the teachers and administrators or his adopted parents. As a result, Deen is portrayed as heroic specifically because he reaches out to him and tries to help and understand him.
The ways Deen helps him grow are also very traditionally masculine. They banter, tease each other, talk back to one other, work on tasks together and give each other tough love. All things that research and everyday experience show are important expressions of how men bond — yet are often vilified in modern society. And yet they’re also not afraid to have them cry, hug and show tenderness towards one other.
These things may indicate positive growth for Angel Studios movies going forward. But it’s complicated. “Brave the Dark” is distributed by Angel Studios, but wasn’t produced by it. Many of their biggest films, like “Sound of Freedom,” “Sound of Hope” and “Bonhoeffer,” were not made what’s called “in-house” by Angel.
Instead, it was selected for consideration and then voted on by Angel Guild members Think Netflix subscribers if they could vote on their streaming library. This is one reason why the film is less friendly to religion than other Angel offerings. There’s also just a few references to faith in this film, with most of them being negative. Nathan’s problematic grandparents, for ecample, are the most overtly religious characters in the film.
This means that the quality on display in this movie isn’t necessarily reflective of the growing skill of anyone on Angel’s team. But it may possibly be indicative of a developing judgment of the Angel audience. Hopefully, it may mean we still get more movies like this in the future.
The movie isn’t perfect. It hits the expected genre story beats in a way that’s more conventional than other recent movies like “The Holdovers.” There are also pacing issues and some plot points get rehashed more than once. Nathan crosses the line with his ex-girlfriend when trying to get back together with her and Deen reprimands him. Then the whole sequence repeats again for no obvious reason. It also stretches our sympathy for Nathan and our belief that the school wouldn’t finally expel him for it.
Deen’s reactions to Nathan’s vices don’t always ring true. Deen gives Nathan a gentle warning when he stalks his ex-girlfriend. When Nathan makes Deen’s house messy as a result of a party — a mess Nathan’s cleaning up himself — Deen kicks him out of the house.
Despite these weaknesses, “Brave the Dark” remains a genuinely good film and a positive sign for the industry. Hopefully, audiences reward them, and movies in this genre can continue to grow in quality for all audiences. Either way, this film braves new ground that its makers can be proud of.
“Brave the Dark” arrives in theaters nationwide Jan. 24.