Blinded By the Light (1980) was originally a made for television drama directed by John A. Alonzo. The film concerns a close-knit family and their attempts to cope with the loss of one of their own to a religious cult. How can they know whether the person they love has been brain washed or is living the lifestyle he wishes?

Janet Bowers (Kristy McNichol) loves her big brother David (James Vincent McNichol). Growing up they were very close, closer than most siblings and were also best friends. But David is gone; months before he had joined a secretive religious group lead by the mysterious Father Adam (Keith Andes). David left his family to live in the church's closed compound, cut off from the world and denied contact with anyone from his past including friends or even the family that loves him. Concerned for their son, David's parents (Anne Jackson and Michael McGuire) have enlisted the help of Max (Sandy McPeak), an expert on religious cults who has had past experience with this particular group. At his suggestion the Bowers prepare to help him kidnap their own son so that Max can then deprogram him from the church's teachings. Janet is not sure; she trusts her brother and doesn't believe that he could be brain washed. She believes that until it can be proven otherwise that her brother should be given the benefit of the doubt and is living this new lifestyle of his own free will. She decides she wants to talk to him before her parents take any action. On her own Janet goes to the compound to see her brother, not only is she not allowed to talk to him but she barely escapes herself from the cult members grasp. Afterwards David makes contact with his family, the church is having a big rally in the city and he would like to see his sister there as well as to pick up some money that he asked his parents to give him. David's parents and Max believe that this is the perfect chance to get him away from cult. Max has a member of the church, Scott (Benjamin Bottoms), secretly working for him and he could help them steal David away, this could be their last chance to get him out. Janet reluctantly agrees to help, but only after she has talked to her big brother, as she still feels he might be acting of his own accord. At the meeting Janet finally gets the chance to talk to her brother and can no longer deny the disturbing influence that the church has had on him. While there she herself is almost lost to the hypnotic teachings of Father Adam, but fortunately she is saved before the cult can get her too. Janet now knows that she must get her brother away from this group and the next day she helps to carry out Max's plan. Everything goes as expected and the rescue is a success, but now that he has been physically separated from the cult can David's mind also be set free?

This is an interesting little tv melodrama, no not Emmy® material but certainly enough to keep you involved for the duration of the hour and a half running time, which is more than can be said for many made for television movies. Once again this is Kristy's film, she is the lynchpin here and everything else revolves around her solid, memorable performance. The supporting players also contribute to the film, especially brother James McNichol who gives a good performance as well and is surprisingly believable in his role. Unfortunately the production can't help but be clichéd from the very beginning, as it bears an (un)remarkable resemblance to a certain religious group that was in the news a lot at the time. But despite the tabloid sensationalism of the film's subject matter this production manages to keep itself grounded, mainly by trying to emphasize the love of a sister for her brother over the more sensational aspects of the story. Not Kristy's best movie, nor her worst, this is a film that covers the middle ground in her career and perfectly illustrates the concept that sometimes lackluster material can be overcome by an actor's talent. This film is interesting enough to recommend and well worth seeing if only for Kristy's touching and heartfelt performance.

Buying note: This film was available on full screen VHS tape many years ago but has been out of print for some time now and can be very difficult to find. Occasionally though copies can still be found for sale on the internet. This film can also be found through other sources as well, but be advised the picture quality on many of these tapes and DVD-R's are marginal at best.

11-15-2007