Here’s the honest truth; a lot of self-proclaimed Christians watch horror films. A lot of these same Christians watch films rated “R.” Still more, a lot of them watch horror films rated “R.”

I am one of those Christians.

The slasher films of the '80s are a cultural goldmine. I think they are particularly thought provoking if you ask, “what is this movie telling me about the nature of evil?”

I’m not going to pretend like the producers, directors, writers and actors had my exact ideas in mind when making these films nor am I going to attribute my ideas, statement, or conclusions to the pieces I reference to the original works themselves. I respect the artists’ individual beliefs.

I am going to take the liberty of comparing broad observations with a Christian perspective.

The question of the nature of evil is asked poignantly in the documentary "Nightmares in Red, White and Blue" when one of the interviewers asks, “Where does evil come from?” He goes on to answer the question with two possibilities, either it is within humanity or it is outside humanity.

Horror films answer this question with a variety of illustrations. It is easy to see illustrations of the evil outside of humanity. Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers are iconic symbols of external evil. These demonic, insane men hunt down and kill teenagers for their own personal reasons. The teenagers are acted upon, they don’t act themselves.

One could argue that the teenagers are putting themselves in dangerous positions, so their actions put them at fault at least indirectly. That may be true, but the presence of a killer is what makes the positions dangerous. If the killer wasn’t there, the teenagers would have nothing to fear.

The illustrations of evil inside humanity is somewhat less obvious, but still readily available. The "Hellraiser" series comes to mind immediately for me, particularly the first movie, "Hellraiser." In "Hellraiser," the audience watches as an ordinary married woman kills unsuspecting victims to resurrect a man with whom she has had an affair with. Seems rather evil, doesn’t it?

The Cenobites themselves are an illustration to internal evil. They are former humans who were given the opportunity to experience their ultimate desires of pain, which transforms them into monsters who torture those who solve their puzzle in order to teach their victims the pleasure of pain.

But, couldn’t any individual killer from any B horror film be a testament to internal evil?

Of course, but the difference of illustration between the cenobites and Jason Voorhees is the motivation of the people around them. The characters in "Hellraiser" seek out the cenobites in order to achieve some selfish goal, even if it means hurting or killing others. The teenagers who go to the lake aren’t trying to hurt anyone, but bad things happen to them anyway.

The answer to the location of evil seems rather one-sided, either it is external or internal.

What about both?

From a Christian perspective, evil is both external to us and internal to us. The Apostle Paul makes a direct reference to external evil in his epistle to the Ephesian church when he admonishes the congregation to clothe themselves in the “Armor of God.”

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12 ESV)

In this excerpt, he makes direct reference to entities that are external to humanity that want to do humanity harm.

With this in mind, the prophet Jeremiah, as he foretells destruction on Israel for their idolatry, makes a very direct statement about humanity as a whole;

“The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?”

(Jeremiah 17:9 ESV)

From the Christian perspective, the reality of evil, or sin, external to humanity and internal to humanity, is what necessitates a savior, since we can’t save ourselves. We are, in the words of Jeremiah, “desperately sick.” Meanwhile, the devil schemes against us. Evil then, is both internal and external. It’s looking rather bleak. Christianity would be a pretty depressing religion if we didn’t have a savior.

So next time you watch a horror movie, enjoy the fake blood, the blood-curdling screams and the bloody kitchen knives. I encourage you to ask yourself this; “how has this movie illustrated the nature of evil?”