User Reviews

This one was a little genre-defying at first but you quickly realize it is a SERIOUS film that takes it's subject matter and characters seriously, but it is also a comedy with some genuine laugh-out loud moments populated by some refreshingly relatable and genuine characters surrounded by a rather good soundtrack.

DO NOT dismiss this as a low-tier "faith based" film, even though almost all the characters are Christian. The scenes know just when to cut away so it is not preachy but instead both showcasing what the life of a Christian is like while allowing audiences to get a good hint at the message the scene is showcasing, even though the message is not being pounded over your head.

It is neither mocking of religious folk nor caving to portraying them the way most faith-based movies do.

These multi-dimensional characters are VERY HUMAN, with their own flaws. That get put into realistic situations. You understand why the characters are the way they are and the choices they make without exposition-heavy scene after scene to explain it.

The plot is not predictable so you will be entertained by the character's surprising choices (and both surprising & sometimes not surprising consequences) that develop throughout the story which culminates into an extended epilogue that is heart-warmingly emotional without being sappy.

And yes, Brian Baumgartner ("Kevin" from the office) does have a substantial role... think Tom Hanks role in "That Thing You Do" except we get to know this multi-dimensional character here a lot more. However, the performances from his fellow actors are equally top-notch so you will very quickly be invested in all these characters instead of remembering Baumgartner is one of the only recognizable stars (which is a testament to all the actors ability). To me, it's much better to get drawn into a story & characters than to stop & think to yourself "these are great actors" (which ye can do after the movie is long over).

While there is no traditional big stadium with huge audience scene, the filmmakers stretched the million dollar budget to make it seem like a film with a much bigger budget but the story & characters are so enthralling, you probably won't care what the budget is as the production values service this story very well.

It's not the greatest movie ever made, but it is not a bad movie at all. It has all the ingredients that make a good film.

Great soundtrack and story that was executed well by the cast but there were way too many plot holes in the storyline. It seemed like there were deleted scenes that would've helped the story along. A more fully developed and tighter script with deeper characters in the band would've made the movie better. Nonetheless it was a very original idea and a fun movie.

Just saw this as part of the Nashville Film Festival. Going into Electric Jesus, I thought I was in for a satire lampooning Christain Rock ala Spinal Tap. However, this movie is a charming indie film about the rise and fall of a Christain hair metal band in the 80s. It's not preachy, and is much more focused on the human experience of the characters involved. Though certain aspects leave a lot to be desired, what carries the film for me is the enthusiastic young cast, particularly the earnest performance of the lead Andrew Eakle as Erik. Highly recommended for music fans and indie film fans alike.

Films that mention Jesus tend to fall into two categories. Some reek of a religious agenda and are idolized among the faithful while being dismissed as propaganda by everyone else. Others are satisfied with criticizing the behavior of religious people: often fairly, but sometimes to the point of ridicule.

Electric Jesus does neither, which makes it a simply wonderful film.

Set in the summer of 1986, Electric Jesus invites the audience into a piece of American culture that many have experienced, even if in isolated bursts that we never really learn how to talk about. We are invited to the intersection of adolescence and Christianity through a world of Bible camps, church youth group skating parties, and an aspiring hair metal band who are heaven-bent on making Jesus famous.

The story portrays the earnestness and innocence of teenagers surrounded by religion as they discover who they are in this world. The evangelical subculture that the story emerges from is neither mocked nor glorified; instead we are invited into witness the characters as they come of age. There are moments of giddiness, of youthful idealism, of stupidity, of awkwardness, and everything that comes with adolescent friendships that are as intense as they are short-lived because life has other plans. There are also moments that simply take my breath away because they are so very human that they seem to come out of nowhere in a comedy.

Electric Jesus allows teenage characters to carry the story with the same dignity that John Hughes perfected during the same decade that the story is set in. It is also a deeply satisfying film about music, telling the story of a fictional band that never makes it. The original music captures both the rollicking humor of the film while demanding to be taken seriously. Additionally, the Christian youth subculture of 1986--the music, the clothing, and the people--is captured with a meticulous eye for detail that provides pure delight to anyone who lived through it and an accurate glimpse for those who never found themselves being asked to commit their life to Jesus while sitting on the floor of a roller skating rink during a heavy metal altar call.

Electric Jesus is a coming-of-age road movie that chronicles the rise and fall of fictional Christian rock band '316'. The band members, all teenagers, decide to embark on a national tour to 'make Jesus famous' after grappling with their own spiritual priorities and the opinions of their parents and pastors.

The 'make Jesus famous' refrain will be immediately familiar to a subset of folks with experience in evangelical churches and is one of many references to that brand of church culture in the film. The religious elements of Electric Jesus are handled with nuance and a clearly intimate understanding of the source material, though I often felt that the named references were occasionally laid on a bit thick and won't mean much to folks who don't have a very specific background. Especially the recurring Amy Grant shenanigans.

The tour, proposed and organized by used-car-salesman-esque (though perhaps they were going more for skeevy tent revivalist?) band manager Skip Wick (Brian Baumgartner), is initially a small potatoes venture hitting skating rinks and youth meetings. Skip's interactions with the band are fun to watch as the tour continues. Stowaways, hormones, and big breaks knock the narrative around a bit until a climactic final show.

The musical performances are excellent. The songs are well written and engineered, with catchy hooks and clever lyrics that accurately reflect the ideological temperament of these sorts of groups. The actors are actually the ones doing the performing, which was put to brilliant use in a scene featuring mixing board sabotage. (Correction: Not all of the actors actually play their instruments, so props for fooling me there.)

Off-stage, the band members are serviceable actors with great chemistry. Sadly, most of them are underdeveloped as characters. They're always around but we don't really get to know much about them, with the relationship between the band's sound guy and a stowaway pastor's kid occupying far too much focus for a movie about a rock band.

The epilogue could've been removed in favor of an extra scene or two of the band members.

I'd have loved to have seen a Spinal Tap-esque approach to this project, with the band members and writers developing a massive amount of shared lore/fiction, internalizing it all, and then filming as if they'd truly lived those lives. I understand that not everyone has the luxury of 4 years to develop such a thing and the ultimate aim of the filmmakers may have been elsewhere.

The film was enjoyable and visually pleasing, the music is still rattling around in my brain, and it was great seeing this subject matter presented with heart and understanding. As a survivor of awkward Christian youth culture, I'm thrilled. As a mockumentary fan, I'm a bit disappointed. Still, there's nothing like this and it's worth seeing.

I really don't understand what Christians thinks is funny. This is suppose to be funny, and i should have been warned by the title with "Jesus".

These movies tend to be cringeworthy. Well this isn't. It's just plain boring, with inept acting and dialogue.

Music is not so bad, and a cong or two is quite good, but it's not enough to save this movie.

I would say the actors are OK, but they are given a script that was so bad it's impossible to save as well.

And of course, in Christian movies lovers don't even kiss!

This is a movie you can leave on the shelf, or recycle, because it's not a 10/10 which 38% have given this tripe.

If you want a cozy movie not being fun, I guess you can be bored to this, but it's not worth it.

Do yourself a favor - stay away.

This is little long, but bear with me here because this film's worth it:

"Electric Jesus" is so many things ... and it's not: a) A comedy as much as it is a dramedy; b) A roman-à-clef as it is an ode to the soundtrack of youth; c) Strictly a teen love story, but an overarching love song to music itself.

Writer/director/co-producer Chris White deftly blends those into a cohesive story about a hair-metal band. Not just any hair-metal band, but a Christian hair-metal band, whose members emerge from a South Carolina high school circa 1986.

Southern Evangelical Christianity makes an easy target, of course, for cheap, shopworn laughs. "Electric Jesus," though, threads an expert needle between needling Bible thumpers while threading its characters together with durable strands of, uh, Christian compassion.

Set in heavy metal's heyday, the story is told through our narrator, Eric, the ultimate music nerd who lands a gig as the sound guy for the band, 316. Next thing we know, Eric and the boys go on tour, taking their music to churches, skating rinks, fellowship halls and other temptation-free establishments.

Eric and the band clearly are high on Christ. Then Sarah, a pretty young thing, stows away on 316's ratty RV whose former owner, a band, of course, graffitied "Joy Explosion." Sarah, of course, becomes Eric's love interest and she also happens to have plenty of musical talent and an agenda of her own

"Electric Jesus" undoubtedly gets plenty of John Hughes '80s teen-amour comparisons, but this film makes considerably more of that dead-on verisimilitude. (Disclaimer: I ran a concert hall for 20 years, and, I mean, I got a little PTSD watching the movie. White absolutely nails the crappy reality of bottom-tier bands' touring lives.)

The real story in "Electric Jesus" is heartbreak. Great songs that set out to break your heart do a fine job of it without coming off as self-conscious. In much the same way, this story doesn't set out to break your heart, either, but the film delights in doing exactly what good songs do.

I'm glad those who actually know and follow Christian music enjoy this film. I really don't recommend it for the secular viewer though.

First of all, you have to actually like hard rock. I can only take so much and really can't judge if the Christian version was an especially good take on it. The songs sung by "Sarah" are actually very nice, but blips in the overall soundtrack. In terms of story, there isn't much of one. It's basically a road film with one or two surprises along the way, but a lot of talking about goals and ambitions without a great deal of progress towards them. The moments of sexual/romantic tension are so wishy-washy you're left wondering what the point is. Above all, no character, except arguably Sarah, really grows through the film. Basically, if you don't have a fondness for the underlying genre, this film probably won't do much for you.

Ok first off these guys did their research for the era this takes place in 1986. The movie was a trip down memory lane for this Christian metalhead . The band wants to be the next Stryper and Stryper is mentioned a bunch in the movie as well as a lot of other christian bands. The story is great too they go on your and learn a lot about themselves and the shady music industry. It's like reading some of the bands from the eras interviews in Heavens Metal magazine back in the day. You don't have to be a Christian to enjoy this movie it presents the guys and gals in real feeling situations and you get to see first hand how many christians bands were treated back in the day.

I give it 10 stars outta 10!

That easily could have been better sown together and even better rehearsed as a band. Its all about christian hard rock music era history, i remember myself the grumpy old man were dragged by some class mates on a petra consert in 82-83, dont remember excactly, but they used digital drumsets and that fascinated me alot back then.

But they werent able to ressurect me from the rapture , im still a netralist on the barren plains of religion, but as a film it touches something called nostalgia, and it almost made me cry in the end.

So let call it an ok try, its a low budget production with just by the average acting therefore just a recommend with a neutral digit in front. Its for the nostalgists and young christians of today to view, it has music, soul, love and fun.lets call it a religious rockomedy.

I had the joy of seeing this film with a live audience at the Nashville Film Festival. This movie is a fun, humorous and charming coming of stage story that follows the tropes of "the muse and artist" like Almost Famous with pointed and clever satire on Christian popular culture, in the vein of "Saved!" The cast are mostly relative newcomers to acting, but create strong and believable performances, while also making room from appearances from veteran actors such as Brian Baumgartner (The Office) and Judd Nelson (Breakfast Club, and others). The dialogue is fun, sharp witty, and the soundtrack music is what the 80s sounds like at it's best, and the lyrics will cause you likely to laugh out loud, if you pay attention.

Great story, heartfelt, fun and touching - you will love it.

It was just a coincidence that this movie was on when i turned my TV on, and i can't sweat enough how much i liked it!!

I LOVE Christian cringe, my favorite series of all time is 7th heaven, and this master piece is in the same league 👌🏻

The fact that they'd taken bands like judas priest, iron maiden and other bands from that era, and just changed the lyrics and names, it's

It reminded me of Almost Famous, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and maybe Dazed and Confused.

If you like christian cringe movies like this, just watch it, mate!

Oh and they had soooo bad stereo types of both metal heads and rockers, it was hilarious!

Let's go commando for Jesus! \m/

John Hughes would be proud of this coming-of-age film set smack dab in the '80s. What makes it unusual, unique and universal for so many is its rich, laughable yet authentic and endearing setting. Electric Jesus centers around a Christian heavy metal band that tours the Southeast in the summer of 1986. This odd mix of testimony, testosterone and teenage life really happened for many in the Western world and this movie accurately portrays this in the background as six underage rockers do their best to make Jesus famous while playing skating rinks, youth group rooms and church sanctuaries with eyeliner, spandex, hair and falsetto vocals.

This movie is like a love letter written to Christian heavy metal - an entire subculture and sub-genre that existed and exploded side-by-side with everything else that made that decade so fun.

The soundtrack is brilliantly written - both musically and lyrically to be believable and memorable. You'll be embarrassed for liking it, but you'll find yourself singing, "Comman-do for Christ - let's all go Commando!" The lyrical wit and intentional irony won't be lost on you as you laugh your way through the film.

Comedy, comradery and nostalgia all fit very nicely inside this film. I dare you to watch it and say you hated it. I've seen it four times now and I can't wait to see it again.

ANYONE who likes comedies ( so almost EVERYONE ) will enjoy this! VERY funny and heartfelt movie about a Christian hard rock/metal band who goes on tour in the summer of 1986. Brian Baumgartner (who plays Kevin on The Office ) is the band's promoter.

If you happen to dislike or even despise CHRISTIAN movies, don't worry - this is just a really good comedy. And to those who were wondering if this movie throws Christians under the bus-- it doesn't. The movie is made with love and respect but is DEFINITELY not afraid to point out flaws. Often, it is just showing how Christians talked, felt and believed at the time. It has fun with the culture, resulting in plenty of laughs but is not irreverent.

You don't have to be familiar with the Christian music scene of the 80s to understand or appreciate the movie but if you are you will find plenty of cool Easter eggs. The songs are really cool and despite the at times ridiculously silly lyrics, they get stuck in your head and you can't help but sing along. The soundtrack is brilliant ( composed by Daniel Smith of indie rock/folk band Danielson). One of my favorite movies!

Electric Jesus is a film about a Christian rock band in the 80's, but it is not a film just for Christians. I do believe that Christians can enjoy the film and find a lot to relate to, but really anyone can relate to the characters on some level. Anyone with a dream knows what it feels like to work hard toward something, even if the outcome isn't always what you want it to be.

The performances in Electric Jesus are fantastic, with a mostly unknown cast. My favorite performance was from Andrew Eakle, who plays the main character, Erik. I thought his performance was honest and I can really see his career taking off in the future.

There's so much to enjoy about this film, but the soundtrack may have been my favorite part. So much great music, you will definitely want to get your hands on the soundtrack after you finish the film.

Do yourself a favor and check out Electric Jesus whenever you can. You won't regret it.

Fun movie that's not preachy. Great young cast pulls you in and makes you feel invested. Good family movie.

I felt like I was reliving my childhood. I laughed, I cried, I rocked and even reflected. I've seen it twice and would see it again. Love the sound track!

Watched once, had to watch again to capture the essence of the story and fully appreciate the music lyrics. This is a "true to life" portrait of more than just Christian Rock music. This is as well written as any "coming of age" movie I've ever seen!

Such a wonderful family movie! In my church in 1986 we hosted a similar band so the story was very real to me. It was really nice to be able to share a wholesome movie with my family and friends.

The whole family really enjoyed this one which is rare. Nothing really offensive to anyone and a couple of the songs really stick in Your head. Highly recommend.

...let's all go commando...

"Stryper... Petra.. Steve Taylor... First Strike, produced by Mike Roe of the 77's." This coming-of-age dramedy captures the experience of those of us who were enamored with Christian music (specifically hard rock or metal) in the 1980s. It actually captures not just the experience as a teenager, but how it carries with you (or not) into middle age. For the protagonist, as for so many of us, one's relationship to the music serves as a surrogate for deeper spiritual changes. This film succeeds at convincing me that the characters are really in that world. They know the names of the artists, sometimes names you only saw on a posted bill or heard on a friend's bootleg cassette tape. They use the vocabulary of that culture during that time. For some, it is a comedy about naive teenagers. For others it may be a tragedy about falling away from the faith. For the few it touches in a special way, it provides a connection across 36 years of emptiness to a time when this medium gave them hope and joy.