“The Shack” is a new film from director Stuart Hazeldine. The film wasn’t received well by critics but I strongly disagree. I saw the reviews and I have to admit I was skeptical. I’m not a huge fan of faith/religious movies because I feel they always feel the need to show the religion on screen at all times. This movie breaks that trend.

“The Shack” is about a man named Mack. Mack experienced a family tragedy (shown early in the film) and falls into depression. Mack receives a mysterious note from God to meet at “the shack”, a pivotal location in the story’s plot. There he experiences a supernatural event in which he spends the weekend with God. While the plot sounds like it would fall into the same trap I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t. The focus of this movie is about Mack and his mental state more than God. The religious tones are fairly subtle. While characters are referred to by their Biblical titles and the viewer is constantly reminded of their divinity, their actual divinity is understated. God is made very human, feeling emotion and suffering. This movie also throws away many ideas we associate with traditional religion. Jesus admits that he is not a Christian and says “I do not want faith, I want friends.” God herself is the complete opposite of what we usually associate with God. As you probably guessed, God is a woman. Usually we imagine God as an old, white man; In “The Shack”, God is a mid-40’s black woman. This forces the viewer to unlearn what they think of as God. God also denies punishing for sins or sending people to Hell. These are only a few of the largest examples of this concept.

I feel the writing in the movie was good, but not great. It falls victim to many of the tragedy movie tropes and anyone who has seen a few dramas will be able to predict what will happen next during a few moments of the movie. The cinematography is fantastic most of the time, although there are a few times when the CG looks very cheap and amateurish. The plot, while fairly par for the course, remains interesting and keeps your focus. Overall I feel “The Shack is a great movie that entertains both fans of the genre and those who don’t like the genre.

Final Score:

8/10