Films such as this validate the reality of evil while questioning—and sometimes denying—the existence of a good strong enough to counter that evil. “Good” is weak, paltry, sometimes worse than ineffective because it offers a false hope.

HJ’s reviews of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Let Me In raise questions involving brokenness and what’s wrong with the world. Contemplating these issues could challenge us to redefine our priorities and concerns.

Many recent films, and the HJ reviews they’ve inspired, focus heavily on relationships. After all, how we relate to others forms a core element of our self-identification—as gay or straight, as people of certain spiritual persuasions, as parents and children and friends and siblings and spouses.

Horns tackles the issue of evil and the seeming absence of God in the face of horrible events such as rape and murder. Ig’s solution is to embrace his transformation into a devil–a devil who in some ways acts more kindly and less selfishly than he does as a human.

Yo and Matt Hill both took a stab at this on opening weekend. Both frame their comments within an evangelical Christian perspective, naturally; but this is where I hope to open space for more conversation across spiritual beliefs.