Review: Christian Film, "PARALLEL - THE TRIAD," Keeps it Real

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 of 2025 (No. 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Parallel – The Triad (2024)

Running time:  86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)

MPA – no rated

WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Jason Aleman

PRODUCER:  Jason Aleman

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mike Wilson

EDITOR:  Jason Aleman

COMPOSER:  Robin Hannibal

FAITH/SCI-FI/DRAMA

Starring:  Chad Garrett, Lizzie Camp, Terry Weaver, Marley Aleman, Troy Garza, Sharen Andrea White, Liam Robert Noack, Josh Thigpen, Marcus Luttrell, V.R. Norbert Maduzia, Michael T. Adams, Kieth Noack, and Jason Aleman

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Parallel – The Triad is a faith-based film with some intriguing science fiction ideas about the war between good and evil

The film is far from perfect and is clunky at times, but its message and motivations seem genuine.

Parallel – The Triad is 2024 Christian science fiction film and faith-based drama from director Jason Aleman.  The film follows a mechanic who joins three souls sent to Earth by God to fulfill His plan.

Parallel – The Triad introduces Cyrus Dooley (Chad Garrett), a hot-rod mechanic and automobile restoration expert.  Cyrus has been grieving the loss of his father nearly a year earlier in an accident for which he blames himself.  So lost in his grief is Cyrus that he does not notice that one of his employees, T.J. (Lizzie Camp), has fallen under the spell of Abimelech (Terry Weaver), a scheming businessman who becomes a servant of “the evil spirits that sway humans.”

God sends three souls:  Briella (Marley Aleman), Urie (Troy Garza), and Sarie (Sharen Andrea White) to Earth from “the Parallel” on a mission to fulfill His plans.  That means that they have to help Cyrus after more tragedy befalls him and he continues to lose his way in life.  Can “The Triad” help Cyrus understand that he must “trust God's plan?”

I certainly do not belong to any of the target audiences for Parallel – The Triad, but I discovered the film's existence via social media.  Although I have reviewed a few films that depict Jesus Christ, the only faith-based, Christian drama, or evangelical film that I have reviewed to date is 2014's Son of God, a really good movie which hails from Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's empire of Christian schmaltz, Lightworkers Media.

Something about Parallel – The Triad piqued my interest.  Structurally, in terms of narrative and character, Parallel – The Triad has some major problems.  I don't know if the dialogue is really as bad as it seems or if it is good and cast is simply not professional.  The special effects are at least three decades behind current standards.  The film's robotic villains, the “demon droids,” look like they were created for the original Mortal Kombat (1995) film.

However, Parallel – The Triad, for all its faults, seems genuine in what it has to say.  This movie does not seem like corporate movie product meant to sell merchandise and ancillary products, as much as it sells tickets.  Parallel – The Triad wants to spread the good news about God's plan and about trusting God's plan.  The film does not shy away from portraying the high costs of the wages of sin and about how hard it is to get away from the “evil one” the more a person has invested in evil.  I do find that the film's emphasis on technology, media, and “pharmacology” as spreaders of negative energy to be cringe-inducing, although there may be some truth to that notion.

I like “Cyrus Dooley” as the lead character; actor Chad Garrett really sells Cyrus' grief and guilt.  Also, Lizzie Camp gives a tight performance as T.J., allowing her to have a nice character arc.  These two characters steady the occasional rickety nature of the film's structure.

My criticisms aside, I found myself fascinated by Parallel – The Triad, and I think fans of faith-based films will find this movie's character drama to be every bit as intriguing as its sci-fi “Holy War” side.  I'd like to see a sequel to Parallel – The Triad, hopefully one with a bigger VFX budget.  If this concept had the CGI budget of even a small scale Hollywood film, it would rock the heavens... or the Parallel.

B-

5 of 10

★★½ out of 4 stars

Monday, February 3, 2025

"Parallel - The Triad" is available for rent or purchase at Amazon Prime Video.  And yes, this blog does participate in Amazon's "affiliate advertising program," so I will get paid a small fee if you click on this link and actually rent it or purchase something from Amazon.

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The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "Son of God" Has Power

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux on Patreon

Son of God (2014)
Running time:  138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense and bloody depiction of The Crucifixion, and for some sequences of violence
DIRECTOR:  Christopher Spencer
WRITERS:  Richard Bedser, Christopher Spencer, Colin Swash, and Nic Young
PRODUCERS:  Richard Bedser, Mark Burnett, and Roma Downey
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Rob Goldie
EDITOR:  Robert Hall
COMPOSERS:  Lorne Balfe and Hans Zimmer

RELIGIOUS/DRAMA

Starring:  Diogo Morgado, Darwin Shaw, Amber Rose Revah, Mathew Gravelle, Sebastian Knapp, Joe Wredden, Greg Hicks, Adrian Schiller, Paul Brightwell, Simon Kunz, Fraser Ayres, Joe Coen, Leila Mimmack, Idrissa Sisco, and Roma Downey

Son of God is a 2014 religious film and Biblical drama from director Christopher Spencer.  The film is a follow-up to the hit 2013 cable television miniseries, “The Bible” (History Channel), from husband and wife producing team, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, who also produced this movie.  Son of God follows the life of Jesus Christ, from His birth to His resurrection, especially focusing on the time from when Jesus began his public ministry to his Crucifixion.

Son of God opens with John (Sebastian Knapp), the last surviving disciple of Christ, as an old man living in exile as he tells his story.  John narrates the story of Jesus' birth, before moving 30 years forward in the story.  The adult Jesus (Diogo Morgado) begins gathering followers, including Peter (Darwin Shaw), John, and Judas (Joe Wredden), who would eventually betray him.

Jesus' popular ministry upsets the status quo in Judea, earning him the ire of the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders.  Caiaphas (Adrian Schiller), head of the Pharisees, believes that Jesus is a grave threat, so he begins to plot against him.  When Jesus and his disciples enter Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover holiday, Caiaphas seeks the help of Pontius Pilate (Greg Hicks), the prelate who has command over Judea for the Roman Empire.  But are the Pharisee and the Roman part of a plot or are they part of a larger plan that that neither they nor Jesus's disciples can truly understand?

I found Son of God to be both an uplifting and a truly entertaining film.  That surprised me because I found much of the film's first hour to be awkward and overly mannered.  The film initially seems like a stiff and clunky stage production mounted by sincere and well-meaning Christians who have little or no idea about how powerful the cinematic narrative can be.

However, after the halfway point, the film rapidly grows more powerful and the narrative more insistent.  It become emotional and heartrending, but also invigorating and celebratory.  I felt the Holy Spirit move me as Jesus suffered the Passion and the Crucifixion.  [I was once Roman Catholic.]

Son of God features some scenes that were part of “The Bible” miniseries.  I only recognized a few scenes, as I did not watch much of the TV miniseries.  The acting in Son of God is a little better than the acting featured in movies shown on religious cable networks like TBN.  However, this film is not about the acting; it is about the story.

Yes, this film did receive many bad reviews from movie reviewers and film critics, but the film isn't as dull, as heavy-handed, or as preachy as some said.  Also, Son of God isn't quite a “Sunday School lesson,” as some would have you believe.  When Son of God hits its narrative stride, it is powerful and moving, and even inspiring.  Hey, the best part of this movie moved me into giving it a high rating.  This film does quite well by the story and message of the Son of God.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, May 30, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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