I'm not a christian but this flick came off very well made from my viewing. Great acting. Good story flow. Good special EFX.. what more could you want in a sci fi? I'm really glad I didn't go by the ratings many gave it and watched for myself. I think if you enjoy a good story with a lil suspense though not scary suspense this is a good watch.

This work is a disaster film with a difference: masses of people struck by a mysterious "sudden death" syndrome while others are left living to face the apocalypse predicted by the Book of Revelations. During this ordeal, a group of young friends - one of them about to be wed - are forced to survive a nightmarish situation while examining their feelings for each other, in a church, then a hospital, then an emergency shelter. Most of them don't survive, and the ending, as vast Biblical loci descend from the sky toward the emergency camp, is ambiguous as to who will survive. This film is fairly well-done; it's special effects effective, the chaos well-conveyed via hand-held camera. The characters were not original but believable. What made me queasy was the the apocalypse itself. Horror is visited upon people who aren't actually sinners, but simply lax in their beliefs (one character, a doubting pastor, says those who were initially struck dead were mankind's purest). This apocalypse, it seems, pushes those doubting or indifferent to faith toward belief, a "white light" representing God. But they were good people whatever and hardly responsible for blasphemy or evil. The film doesn't show bad or dubious people being punished; thus, the punishment doesn't fit the "crime." Of course, it's realistic even in this film's context to remind one it's always the little people who suffer the worst.

I saw this available as a rental at the local Red Box and it looked interesting enough. As it turns out, it is very reminiscent of the "Left Behind" series. As is typical with it, the good citizens of Earth disappear while the evil ones stay behind. The entire movie plays out on this concept; but it does use its own unique concept on how it plays out.A wedding party, as all wedding parties go in movies, is underway when suddenly the festivities turn awry as people start tipping over with dead bodies. At first it is seen as a disease around the world, but is seen as the coming rapture. A few individuals, the protagonists of the film, are left to mull their fate as they consider why they weren't taken and if they will give themselves to God or not. The film is not horror as far as horror goes, but it does have a few nasties that are seen briefly and a few cinema moments where a monster is implied. One particular scene which stands out in my mind is where a guy is screaming for help, and all we see is the shadow of a monster grab him outside of a window; we never actually see them. Other moments include airplanes crashing from the sky and massive hail raining down. The special effects are needless to say, good and the suspense elements are a cut above; but the acting in the movie, the rather complacent characters, reminiscing about what was, or otherwise characters preaching about their mistakes; does not do them justice. I would avoid this one.Originally posted to Orion Age (http://www.orionphysics.com/? p=6693).

...simply fails to measure up to any of the promises it may have made, thanks to a simplistic, overly preachy script, relatively lukewarm acting and direction, and a budget that belies the cataclysmic nature of its premise. Names need not be mentioned since no one involved will be highlighting it on their resumes. "The Remaining" isn't quite as bad as the aggregate score here on the IMDb indicates, but remains a strong example of Sturgeon's Revelation nonetheless. In this day and age of CGI wizardry, the fx are made-for-TV or direct-to-video at best, and despite the earnest effort, fail to convey any genuine sense of worldwide end-of-times catastrophe. This is "Left Behind" lite, to be generous, and no more worth your time than that Nicholas Cage misfire. That it actually garnered theatrical release is a mystery to me; I can only guess it was targeted toward fundamentalist strongholds in the South and Southwest.The only "remaining" you'll be wondering about if you happen to watch this nonsense is how much time is left before it's over.