When we think of God, in particular the Judeo-Christian God, the traditional image conjured up is often that of some kindly old gent, one who probably carries Werther's Originals around with him. He wears white robes, has a lustrous white mane of hair and a righteous beard to match. He's omnipotent, wise, serene, and important enough to be the only Simpsons character to warrant a fifth finger. This God is the man, but he's cool enough not to make a big deal of it. There are some representations of God in cinema, however, that don't match up with this typical vision. When going against the grain, gods of the movies can be antagonistic, kill-happy and downright rude. These aren't the gods that anyone was praying to when it was time for Sunday service. Bad guys who also happen to be of the divine and holy persuasion are rare in film, but they are out there. Here, in no particular order, are ten movies where God (or gods) was the principal villain.
10. Only God Forgives (2013)
Don't believe the title - the amount of people God is prepared to forgive in this one is scant. Instead, he cuts up evil mothers, misunderstood almost-mute gangsters and wronged fathers alike in Nicolas Winding Refn's divisive primary colour-nightmare. Stalking the labyrinthine locales of a dark chiaroscuro Bangkok, Vithaya Pansringarm's ex-police lieutenant Chang (or is that...The Angel of Vengeance??) uses apparently supernatural powers (where's he pulling that sword from?) and surprising physical strength to dole out justice to the total badmen of his city. In a corrupt town full of horrendous people, it's almost arguable that Chang is actually Only God Forgives' sole figure of honour. Almost - normal 'honourable' movie good guys, you see, don't de-limb people or gouge out their eyes as part of their daily routine. To the film's true 'hero', Ryan Gosling's Julian, Chang is the ultimate nemesis, beating the hey girl out of him in a Thai boxing arena, before just straight-up cutting his arms off. Like your usual image of God, Chang appears old and benign, but behind that facade he's hiding a machete covered in the blood of hundreds who were simply stupid enough to get too close.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
