CRITERION

The devil goes into the desert to try to deceive his successor. He thinks it will be easy. He's wrong.

  • Frank Reynolds
    Director
  • Frank Reynolds
    Writer
  • Joanna Fang
    Producer
  • Joseph Boehm
    Key Cast
    "Jesus"
  • Will Rothhaar
    Key Cast
    "The Devil"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    22 minutes 25 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Blackmagic
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Frank Reynolds

FRANK REYNOLDS has been the editor on over thirty-five feature films, including Todd Field's IN THE BEDROOM (Best Picture nominee at the 2002 Academy Awards), M. Night Shyamalan's first film PRAYING WITH ANGER, the 1990s cult film TROMEO & JULIET, Alex Wolff's THE CAT AND THE MOON, and Spirit Award winner IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS (John Cassavetes Award, 2009 Independent Spirit Awards). CRITERION is his directorial debut.

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Director Statement

I'm a lapsed Catholic who had two big influences when I was a teenager: I was educated by the Jesuits, and I read a lot of comic books. This was the 1980s, when comic books attempted to get up from the kids' table and become actual literature. Writers like Alan Moore, among others, were making comics with powerful and emotional narratives, not only in their superhero stories, but in stories from mythology and the Bible. Comics like Moore's SWAMP THING (I know, who would've thought?) were building on what I was taught during the day by the Jesuits, and creating strong narratives from Bible stories that stuck with me even long after I stopped being a practicing Catholic.

Still, as an adult there were a few Bible stories from my Catholic school upbringing that stuck with me, one of them being the devil tempting Christ in the desert. The two opposites facing off in a remote location. But was the story as simple and straightforward as the Bible tells it (devil tempts Christ three times with one sentence, Christ refutes each one with one sentence, devil leaves), or could there be more to it? Did the two of them know each other from "before?" And did the devil come to tempt Christ just because he's pure evil, or is there more to his backstory? Does he have other motivations?

Basically, how would one of those 1980s comic books I enjoyed so much tell this story? CRITERION is my attempt to do that.