The popular faith-based production company, Pure Flix Entertainment, recently released the trailer for their upcoming biblical epic, \u201cSamson,\u201d staring Taylor James as Samson, Caitlin Leahy as Delilah, Emmy-winning actress Lindsay Wagner as Zealphonis and Golden Globe winner Rutger Hauer as Manoah.<\/p>\n
The film premiers on February 16, 2018, and both the production team and actors are looking forward to the official release. Director Bruce Macdonald said, \u201cMost people know that Samson had long hair, Delilah cut it off and that he lost his strength. But there\u2019s so much more. Samson was an unwilling hero and his journey to regain his faith, the whole story, is relevant in 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson Rathbone, who plays Rallah in the film, is excited \u201cto see a story taken from the Bible and to have a production company involved that actually tries to make it true to the nature of the Bible with the idea that we can actually tell a story that, hopefully, is as true to form as possible but still…try to tell a story that can really reach a broad audience.\u201d According to Caitlin Leahy, \u201cSamson\u201d succeeds. \u201cYou can\u2019t have a more epic movie,\u201d Leahy said. \u201cIt\u2019s got a little bit for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the words of Rathbone, the tale of Samson is a story of \u201caction, romance, themes of redemption\u201d which made it a perfect choice for a film according to producer Brittany Yost. \u201cFor us it was a perfect compliment of each other to take all of these elements that make compelling movies, combining it with a strong biblical message and then creating a theatrical feature film with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The official synopsis for \u201cSamson\u201d reads \u201c\u2019Samson\u2019 is based on the powerful, biblical champion chosen by God to deliver Israel. His supernatural strength and impulsive decisions quickly pit him against the oppressive Philistine empire. After being betrayed by a wicked prince and a beautiful temptress, Samson is captured and blinded by his enemies. Samson calls upon his God once more for supernatural strength and turns imprisonment and blindness into victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biblical story summarized in the synopsis is a familiar tale to many Christians, but Taylor James is hoping the film reaches non-Christians as well. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be the people who are religiously aware and there\u2019s going to be the people this is a new discovery to, but I\u2019m a little bit more concerned about the people who are not aware of the story,\u201d James said. \u201cThat\u2019s the more exciting audience that we want to grab and that we want to bring them in. And we want to educate them and show them a world that they may not know about which may cause them to research more into other verses, other chapters, other stories, other biblical texts. So for the people who do know the story, I think it\u2019s fantastic because they get to see discoveries of how scenes were played out that they have in their mind, and they see somebody else\u2019s concept. Whereas people who don\u2019t know the story, it just unravels in front of them, and it\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rathbone agrees with James, and, as a faithful Christian, looks forward to seeing a well-known story portrayed on the big screen. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those Bible stories that I grew up with,\u201d Rathbone said. \u201cAs a kid going to camp you\u2019d hear about Samson and the jawbone and the cutting of the hair, and to kind of see it come to life on the big screen would be something that, when I was a kid, I would have loved to have seen. And as a father, I\u2019m excited to take my son to go see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Greg Kriek, who portrays Caleb in the film, \u201cSamson\u201d is more than just a biblically inspired film. \u201cPurpose, God\u2019s calling on our lives, the fact that I have a choice to be obedient or to walk away from what God calls me to do has really impacted me,\u201d Kriek said. \u201cThe man that I was walking into this film and the man I have become during the process of this film is incredible. I couldn\u2019t have had it any other way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trailer for this powerful film is now available online, and interviews with the cast<\/a> can be found on the film\u2019s IMDb page.<\/p>\n