Movies Are Prayers: How Films Voice Our Deepest Longings

Movies do more than tell a good story. They are expressions of raw emotion, naked vulnerability, and unbridled rage. They often function in the same way as prayers, communicating our deepest longings and joys to a God who hears each and every one.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

“Makes an inspiring case for treating a provocative variety of films as prayers for all seasons.”

MICHAEL PHILLIPS, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“A rare gift to cinephiles and more casual movie viewers alike.”

ALISSA WILKINSON, VOX.COM

“An essential book for anyone who thinks of cinema as a place of introspection as well as escapism, and believes that you can find signs and miracles anywhere if you know how to look for them.”

MATT ZOLLER SEITZ, ROGEREBERT.COM

Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies

Why would anyone want to watch horror movies? Why would Christians, in particular, bother with the genre? Fear Not! makes the case that monster movies, creature features, slashers, and other fright films artfully reflect our deep worries in a way that resonates with the Christian experience.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

“As a horror director, I admire and appreciate Josh Larsen’s new book and recommend it for anyone who loves wrestling with their fears in the darkness of a theater.”

SCOTT DERRICKSON, WRITER-DIRECTOR OF THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE AND DOCTOR STRANGE

“The strength of Josh Larsen’s commentary has always been its clarity of thought and purpose, and Fear Not! offers his most lucid criticism to date. Larsen finds the transcendent in a genre long mined by filmmakers to manifest our scariest earthly anxieties.”

ADAM KEMPENAAR, CO-HOST AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF FILMSPOTTING

“In Fear Not!, film critic and Filmspotting co-host Josh Larsen walks with zombies, exorcises demons, sprints from Blair witches to The Babadook to Jordan Peele — and reframes every kind of screen horror as a spiritual inquiry few of us have ever contemplated. It is an excellent addition to anyone’s bookshelf.”

MICHAEL PHILLIPS, CHICAGO TRIBUNE FILM CRITIC