70s Christian Exploitation Double Feature Movie Night (Premium E337) Sample

Summary

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QAA Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: 70s Christian Exploitation Double Feature Movie Night (Premium E337) Sample
Release Date: May 24, 2026
Hosts: Jake Rockatansky, Travis View, Jack LaRoche

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Overview

In this episode, the QAA crew dives into the world of 1970s Christian "exploitation" cinema, focusing on two infamous church-circuit cult classics: If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? (1971) and A Thief in the Night (1973). Through an entertaining yet incisive discussion, they explore how these films weaponized eschatological fear and paranoia to mobilize American evangelicals, leaving a lasting mark on religious media and horror culture. With characteristic humor and sharp commentary, the hosts dissect the blend of low-budget horror, proselytizing, and political messaging embedded in these movies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Politics of Evangelical Fear

[00:49]

• The hosts open by contextualizing the Christian Right’s use of cinematic fear-mongering to stoke political anxieties—casting mundane societal conflicts as epic spiritual battles.

  • “Everyday social disagreements are reframed as spiritual battles against demonic supernatural. For through movies and books depicting the end times, they are taught that politics is closely linked to the apocalypse.” – Travis, 00:49

• Both films are examined as products and propagators of a climate in which American Christians are encouraged to view themselves as an imperiled minority, even as they constitute a demographic majority.

The Essence of Christian Exploitation Films

[02:19 - 03:51]

• The double-feature movies are approximately an hour each, likely to keep them on a single film reel for easy church basement screenings.
• The mix of sermonizing and sudden, graphic horror is particularly notable; production values (including helicopter chases) exceeded expectations for 'church movies' of the era.
  • “I mean, one of them has a helicopter chase. Like that’s a church movie, you know, made in the early 70s. Like, that’s pretty crazy.” – Jake, 03:13

Surprising Brutality and Exploitation Elements

[03:35 - 04:44]

• The hosts express their surprise at the films’ graphic brutality and sense of perversion, which contrasts with the expected style of “edifying” religious content.

  • “There’s really a sense that there’s a pervert behind the lens in some of these movies, you know.” – Travis, 03:35

• Jake relates watching the films to the infamous shockumentary Faces of Death—an apt analogy for their cumulative effect.

  • “Kind of like reminded me of like a Christian Faces of Death, basically.” – Jake, 03:51

Impact on American Genre Cinema

[04:44 - 05:10]

• The group draws connections between the psychological impact of Christian exploitation films and the later proliferation of “trauma horror” and slasher genres, noting a cultural pipeline from church-based horror to larger pop culture.
  • “There is a distinct pipeline between people who grew up exposed to this type of propaganda and the later kind of D tier movie, really sicko slasher stuff that comes out of there.” – Jack, 04:44

Film-Specific Analysis: "If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?"

[05:10 - 06:40]

• Travis leads a dive into If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?, noting its structure as a near-plotless sermon intercut with lurid horror vignettes about communist persecution.
  • “It’s like a sermon intercut with horrific like reenactments basically of like what the communists are going to do to you. Communists, bad guys in both movies, by the way.” – Jake, 05:30
• Key figure: Preacher Estes Perkle, whose fire-and-brimstone delivery is central to the film’s effect.
  • “It was built around the preachings of the Mississippi Baptist minister Estes Perkle, which is of course a fantastic name. Sounds like the name of like a child trafficker in like a Victorian novel.” – Travis, 06:06
• The group jokes about the odd, sinister resonance of “Estes” as a name (and gaming references).

The Legacy of the Ormond Family

[07:05 - 08:23]

• Director Ron Ormond’s biography introduces the wider world of Southern “exploitation” cinema, noting his transition from B-movies and titillating genre pictures to religious propaganda work.
  • “He, his wife June Ormond, and later their son Tim Ormond were essentially a family film factory…not Hollywood. This was a southern-based movie production operation.” – Travis, 07:25
• The group highlights Mesa of Lost Women (1952) as an Ormond genre oddity and delight in its sensationalist style.

The Enduring Appeal of Trash Cinema

[08:23 - 08:53]

• The hosts have fun riffing on the legacy and appeal of B-movie weirdness, such as “spider women,” blending personal gaming references and cult fandom.
  • “Sounds freaking awesome. I would watch the hell out of that.” – Jack, 08:23

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If footmen tire you, what will horses do? Sounds kind of like a Drake line, you know.” – Jake, 05:52
• “I fought a spider woman last night in Neverwinter.” – Jake, 08:39

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:49] — Framing the Religious Right’s use of media for political mobilization
• [02:19] — Structure and notorious content of the church horror films
• [03:35] — The “pervert behind the lens” and film shock value
• [04:44] — Cultural trauma pipeline: Evangelical horror to 80s slasher genre
• [05:10] — Breakdown of the two exploitation movies
• [06:06] — Estes Perkle and the bizarre personalities behind the films
• [07:05] — The Ormond family and the Southern B-movie tradition
• [08:23] — Joyful appreciation for trash and cult cinema

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Tone & Language

The hosts blend sharp critical analysis with irreverent, referential banter, swapping horror film knowledge, personal anecdotes, and biting, sometimes dark, humor.

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Summary

This QAA episode offers an entertaining and eye-opening tour through the bizarre intersection of evangelical zeal, shock cinema, and low-budget film craft. By dissecting the content, origins, and legacies of 70s Christian exploitation movies, the hosts illuminate how religious paranoia was—and still is—packaged for mass consumption, feeding into broader trends in American media and pop culture. Fans of cult cinema, horror, and social history will find much to appreciate in this blend of insightful commentary and mischievous riffing.

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Transcript

[A]

Sam, if you're hearing this, well done. You've found a way to connect to the Internet. Welcome to the QAA podcast Premium episode 337 70s Christian exploitation double feature Movie Night. As always, we are your hosts, Jake Rockatansky, Jack LaRoche and Travis View.

[B]

The rank and file of the religious rite are kept in a constant state of high anxiety. I think we're all made worse off for it. Everyday social disagreements are reframed as spiritual battles against demonic supernatural. For through movies and books depicting the end times, they are taught that politics is closely linked to the apocalypse. They are vigilant about the threats of bureaucrats corrupting their children and dismantling their churches. They act like a persecuted minority Even when about 2/3 of Americans identify as Christian despite recent increases in the non religious population. Using religious fears to activate Americans politically is of course standard practice. And on this movie night episode we are going to illustrate this fact by reaching back more than 50 years into the past to examine two Christian exploitation films. The first is if the footmen tire you, what Will horses do? From 1971. And the second is A Thief of the Night from 1973. These films presented viewers with a choice. They could either turn their life to Christ and attend church every week, or they could accept being murdered by one World government thugs while their loved ones are brainwashed and sexually violated. Now these are far from Hollywood movies that people saw in the multiplex, but they were no less influential. Millions saw these films via projectors and church basements during the Nixon administration. And their combination of horror and eschatological fear mongering set the tone for paranoid evangelical media in the decades since. So start off. What do you, what do you think? Yeah, fun time. A couple of short movies I appreciated.

[A]

Yeah. Hour long each.

[B]

I wonder if that was. That was so they could keep them on a single reel or something.

[A]

Most likely, you know, that's a good guess.

[C]

Get too complicated. They were really fun. They were just early horror films. There was some truly disgusting stuff in there that I didn't expect to be seeing at, you know, 8:00am in the morning.

[B]

No, you think you're seeing a Christian film. It's like you have the idea of like they're trying to. Maybe they allude to horrors in a sort of a roundabout way, but I don't know. It was especially. Yeah. Gruesome.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Both of these movies, to me at least as somebody who grew up, you know, Jewish, they kind of started out like sermons and I was like, are they just kind of saving production by bringing the camera into church here. Like, are these even actors or. You know, but then as. As the stories kind of like spiral out of control, you actually realize how much money went into some of these.

[C]

Yeah, there were some effects for at

[A]

the time, you know, I mean, one of them has a helicopter chase. Like that's a church movie, you know, made in the early 70s. Like, that's pretty crazy.

[C]

There was a definite, like, budget there. They were definitely thinking along the special effects lines. You know, I mean, the quote unquote blood budget had to be fairly high considering how much there was. Like, Ed couldn't have made this.

[B]

No, no, no. You know what? There was a. There's really a sense that there's a pervert behind the lens in some of these movies, you know.

[C]

Yeah. And probably the pervert behind the lens is the same person staring into the camera, giving a sermon throughout. 70% of it.

[A]

Yeah, These felt very like start as a church movie and then they kind of like, you know, sort of get out of the church a little bit, but very terrifying. I mean, some truly brutal scenes, especially in your movie, Travis. Some truly violent. You know, as I was saying before, before we started recording, kind of like reminded me of like a Christian Faces of Death, basically.

[B]

Yeah, I thought it was a. That was a very good description of it.

[A]

And I. Yeah, I loved watching these because I have no baggage here. I couldn't. You know, there's nothing that. That triggers anything for me. I have, you know, only good memories of my Christian cousins and, you know, going to their communion and like getting to do kind of like a double Hanukkah Christmas sort of family celebration, which was great. It was good food, you got double gift. Only good experiences. My wife, on the other hand, has lots of, you know, Christian trauma. So I'm learning, you know, as I go, as I grow up, it reminded

[C]

me a lot of the trauma horror films. And I think that there is a distinct pipeline between people who grew up exposed to this type of propaganda and the later kind of D tier movie, really sicko slasher stuff that comes out of there. Because if you look into some of the hell houses and the like that, you know, Christians did a lot of those special effects effects come into being there.

[B]

So let's start with the movie I'm covering, which, you know, I originally thought I was going to do your movie, A Thief in the Night, but I was like, oh, this one is like too coherent. I'd feel bad taking this one. I feel like you enjoy this more. It's the other One's like. It's like, God. It's just. There's like. There's really no plot. It's just a string of like, of horrors.

[A]

Yes, it's. It's a sermon. It's like a sermon intercut with like horrific like reenactments basically of like what the communists are going to do to you. Communists, Bad guys in both movies, by the way.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

If you do try to string together a plot, you're realizing that. Well, I, I'll mention it when we get to that part of the film because I realize the plot is just really up.

[A]

Well, and I. I mean, look, if footmen tire you, what will horses do? Sounds kind of like a Drake line, you know. If footman tire you, what will horses do? Ha ha. Got him. 40.

[B]

All right, like I said, this film was released back in 71 and it was directed by Ron Ormond. It was built around the preachings of the Mississippi Baptist minister Estes Perkle, which is of course a fantastic name. Sounds like the name of like a child trafficker in like a Victorian novel.

[A]

You know, I was gonna say this is. It's giving like evil entity in like a ladder. A ladder. Poltergeist sequel.

[B]

I mean, like just the name estus sounds like a really horrifying honorific like, like Darth or something.

[A]

Well, and All Souls players will know Estes flask, which is, you know, how you replenish your health, your limited amount of potions to replenish your health.

[C]

Given the topic of these movies and everything, I want to make the. Like, I've been melting the past couple of days in the heat here. I was a little bit delirious. So instead of reading Ron Ormond, I was reading Ron Osmond and kept wondering how the Osmonds were involved with this.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah. So yes, I hadn't, I. I was not familiar with this guy's work until I started researching for this episode. But yeah, so the, the involvement of director Ron Ormond is notable because before he directed Christian horror films, he had already made a living for decades producing movies that shocked and titillated audiences. From the 40s through the 60s. He produced and directed several B movie westerns, low budget musicals and exploitation films. He, his wife June Ormond, and later their son Tim Ormond were essentially a family film factory. They made and distributed SHO Pictures independently, often handling production themselves and casting people from their own circles. This was not Hollywood. This was a southern based movie production operation.

[C]

But they are like the Osmonds then. It's a family matter.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, Sort of like, interesting. Got me really interested about. Oh, no. The extent of, I guess, the. The southern film industry over the decades. Now, the most famous Orman picture, at least among fans of bad movies, is probably 1952's sci fi horror mesa of Lost Women, starring Jackie Coogan, who's probably the most famous lead of any of the Ormond pictures. You know, it features a mad scientist named Dr. Aranya who uses arachnid venom to create giant spiders and mind control spider women who tempt men and kill them with a kiss.

[C]

Sounds freaking awesome. I would watch the hell out of that.

[A]

Like, I'm so in for this. All right, I see you have a YouTube clip for us.

[B]

Yeah, at the last second, I realized I wanted to show a small clip of a trailer here.

[A]

Oh, we got to see. We got to see the spider women.

[C]

Yeah, I'm here for this, man. Spider women are going to get you.

[A]

Yeah. I fought a spider woman last night in Neverwinter.

[C]

Did you win?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

It's like a dad mmo. It's like, very easy. Very easy. I don't think I've died yet.

[C]

Well, then it might be too easy if you haven't died at all.

[A]

That's the perfect. The perfect difficulty level. You've been listening to a sample of a premium episode of the QAA podcast. For access to the full episode, as well as all past premium episodes and all of our podcast miniseries, go to patreon.com qaa Travis, why is that such a good deal?

[B]

Well, Jake, you get hundreds of additional episodes of the QAA podcast for just $5 per month. For that very low price, you get access to over 200 premium episodes, plus all of our miniseries. That includes 10 episodes of Man Clan with Julia and the Nanny, 10 episodes of Perverts with Julian Liv, 10 episodes of the Spectral Voyager with Jake and Brad, plus 20 episodes of trickle down with me, Travis Fuke. It's a bounty of content and the best deal in podcasting.

[A]

Travis, for once, I agree with you.

[B]

And I also agree that people could

[A]

subscribe by going to patreon.comqaa well, that's not an opinion. It's a fact.

[B]

You're so right, Jake.

[A]

We love and appreciate all of our listeners.

[B]

Yes, we do. And Travis is actually crying right now, I think out of gratitude. Maybe that's not true. The part about me crying, not. Not me being grateful.

[A]

I'm very grateful, Sam.