A Distant Thunder (1978)

Sequel to the 1973 rapture movie 'A Thief in the Night', 'A Distant Thunder' is the second in what would ultimately become a quadriology of evangelical end times films. The story picks up kind of wear the last film left off, only an odd decision is made to make all the post rapture stuff in the first film a prescient dream of the Patty character, who wakes up from it only to find that the rapture has now really happened. I suspect part of this was done to account for some of the younger actors in the film ageing 4 or 5 years between shoots, and also because the success of the first film made its makers more ambitious, desirous to play out their theological speculations more slowly.

The film making and the acting quality has improved over the interim, not overwhelmingly so but noticeable. This movie is freed some from the heavier amount of exposition the original movie required, and there is also more of a budget so as a result there is more action and movement and it plays more like a conventional movie then its predecessor. It is still of course here primarily for the purpose of scaring you saved, Patty even delivers a line where she flat out says she'd rather have been scared into salvation then have to live through the tribulation horrors. Intriguingly earnest, I think I'm committed now, I'm going to complete this series, and award this edition in it **.