Pro-life haunt

Supernatural thriller movies often take place in houses haunted by spirits of people murdered not long before (The Amityville Horror) or generations earlier (The Shining). But if the spectral presence emanates from a living person who may be about to die, then, by definition, you’re dealing with a wraith. In Wraith, an unprecedented pro-life thriller written and directed by Michael Sajbel and now available for streaming, the victim-to-be is an unborn baby.

Dennis and Katie Lukens (Jackson Hurst and Ali Hillis) live with their 14-year-old daughter, Lucy (Catherine Frances), in a very large, old house. While the nonreligious Lukens family is experiencing financial hardship, Katie learns she’s pregnant. She makes an appointment at an abortion center for the following week, and tries to justify her decision to her confused daughter.

“You get pregnant, which means you’re going to have a baby,” Lucy says.

“Well, not necessarily. I mean … women can make up their mind about that kind of thing,” Katie explains.

Lucy pauses. “Did you have to make the same decision before you had me?”

Strange noises and movements then begin to occur throughout the house—in the attic, in Lucy’s bedroom, and behind the walls, where a previously undiscovered servants’ stairwell lies. The beautifully shot film’s first hour is legitimately creepy, right up there with big-time Hollywood thrillers. But it’s hard not to notice Lucy’s inexplicable lack of fear: Either Frances nailed the clueless-teen stereotype or her first-role inexperience showed. And the film loses steam when it takes on the feel of a hardcore pro-life apologetics seminar.

“The blood of an innocent [aborted] child is a de facto sacrifice to Molech,” Catholic priest Robert Ehrlich (veteran actor Lance Henriksen) tells the Lukens. The film shows an illustration of an ancient Hebrew priest offering a baby to an idol of the Ammonite god. Sajbel has a point, but a point some pro-lifers feel spooks potential converts. Still, he brings a bold indictment against abortion, identifying it as a frightening evil. He told me Scripture had shaped his views.

“I have read the Bible many times cover to cover,” said Sajbel (who also directed the Esther drama One Night with the King). “I was shocked to discover how much the shedding of innocent blood really offends God.”

Also appalled by the objectionable material in standard Hollywood thrillers, Sajbel decided to make a “scary movie my teen daughter could watch.” Wraith is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some violence. There are no displays of sexuality or explicit language. Taken together, its pro-life message, an unforgettable scene where a potential child molester is stopped in his tracks, and plenty of jump-out-of-your-seat moments make for a one-of-a-kind film.