Jeruzalem almost seems like a movie that would upset and offend a lot of people in a world where populations have become so extremely touchy about what is released to the public and how it represents their country. But in truth a lot of people seemed to like the movie and even gave reason for others to believe that it was perfectly okay. The film is something out of a nightmare to be honest, and one that might be caused by food poisoning or a really bad experience with a recreational drug. But that doesn’t change the fact that some people did genuinely like it and were even excited for the sequel.
Here are a few things you might not have known about the film.
10. The movie is kind of a combination zombie/thriller.
It’s different, that’s for sure. Most zombie films are about the dead rising and seeking to feed on the living, not turning into demons that do the exact same thing. But this is a new spin on the whole zombie genre that didn’t seem to take off as much as it possibly could but still reached enough people to be worth the effort of making a second one.
9. It was shown at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2015.
You can just imagine how nervous the filmmaker was when rolling this out, but that didn’t stop them obviously. It wasn’t made into a huge hit at that point but it also wasn’t shot down as some might have expected, instead being lauded as something new and at least somewhat inventive.
8. The movie was filmed on location in Jerusalem.
As you can see in the film there is no sound studio and they didn’t have to use a series of sets or CGI in order to make the surroundings. This is all on location and right where the film states that it is. There’s even explanation of where they go and the history of some of the locations if you listen.
7. The film was, as you can imagine, inspired by the Talmud.
The idea of there being a gateway to hell in one of the cities that’s considered to be among the most influential and important in various religions is kind of bizarre. But the texts are pretty clear about what’s written and so it was only a matter of time before someone locked onto this idea and created something that had a very theological base to it. Now you can just imagine how many people have wanted to experience Jerusalem for themselves after watching this film.
6. There was a sequel made.
That’s how much people liked it. Sequels get made all the time but usually if the first one doesn’t do any good at all it’s not worth the time, effort, and money to make another one. But the second film was made ten years after the first and had a father looking for his daughter.
5. It had a very modest budget.
The budget was only $160,000, pretty much bare bones for something that went on to be liked this much by the people that saw it. Thanks to this it was likely very easy for the filmmaker to go on and make a sequel, believing that lightning might strike twice.
4. It gained at least some respect among critics.
It was more or less inundated with mixed reviews but there were some good criticisms in there that allowed the idea of the movie to build and gain traction among the fans. If nothing else reviews, bad or good, allow fans to get an idea in their head of what the movie is expected to be and what the critics thought. After reading all that people can make up their own minds hopefully.
3. The whole idea of demonic possession to make zombies was interesting.
Really it was. When you watch a zombie movie you expect to see the zombies bite, chew, and eat people and turn them into another zombie if they don’t get ripped apart. This however, the biting or scratching and then turning people into demons, was pretty innovative. The demon infection isn’t something you normally see in horror movies, as possession tends to be more of a mental and spiritual attack that in turn affects the body, rather than the other way around.
2. It features a group of unknown actors.
It wouldn’t be fair to call them nobodies since after this movie they’ve managed to prove that they can act at least for one film. But maybe it’s more accurate to call them untested, or just unknown since there’s not a name on the list that would spark a memory among anyone that’s not a diehard film buff that makes it their business to know every actor from the gutters to the heavens.
1. A Skyrim steel sword can be seen during a scene in which a zombie is impaled.
If you play the game then you’ll probably recognize it right away. But when Sarah stabs a demon/zombie the blade is the same one seen in Skyrim.
I’d recommend watching this at least once just to say you’ve done it.
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