Apocalypse IV: Judgment

Apocalypse IV: Judgment
Directed by	Andre Van Heerden
Starring	Corbin Bernsen Jessica Steen Leigh Lewis Mr. T Nick Mancuso
Release date(s)	2001
Running time	102 min.
Country	United States Canada
Language	English

Apocalypse IV: Judgment is a 2000 Christian/Thriller film released by Cloud Ten Pictures.

It is the imminent future. The world follows one government and one man. It is a world of peace, yet some doubt the authorities and seek to dethrone them.

Supreme Leader of One Nation Earth Franco Macalousso (Nick Mancuso) rules the world with an iron fist. His long-time nemesis Helen Hannah (Leigh Lewis) has been charged with crimes against humanity by the World Court, and Mitch Kendrick (Corbin Bernsen) is the troubled, reluctant lawyer assigned to defend her. Prosecutor Victoria Thorne (Jessica Steen) is not only Kendrick's ex-lover, but a high-powered attorney with a ruthless ambition to condemn all rebel Christians. She has arranged that the verdict will convict Hannah. But as Mitch digs deeper into the evidence and begins to doubt his own beliefs, he decides there's only one way to uncover the truth.... to put God Himself on trial.

Plot

The film begins with Helen Hannah waking up in a jail cell, praying to God. A flashback reveals that she did not die at the end of the previous film.

At the O.N.E. Headquarters, Macalousso asks Vicky Thorne to be the prosecutor in what he heralds as "the biggest trial in history". Thorne then visits Mitch Kendrick, a lawyer and her ex-lover, informing him that he has been appointed as Hannah's defence attorney.

At the hideout of the Christian Underground, J.T. Quincy and the remaining cell members decide to rescue Hannah.

The trial begins. Kendrick tells the court that Helen Hannah is a pawn of God, and decides, in a publicity stunt, to put God himself on trial. Thorne and Judge Wells hate the idea, but Macalousso - eager to repair the recent blows to his reputation - approves the idea.

J.T. visits Colin McMahon, an underground doctor, to have a fake 666 mark imprinted on his hand. J.T. then visits his old friends Dawn and Dave, fugitives hiding in an old warehouse. He offers them food in return for their assistance.

Later that evening, Kendrick watches a tape at his house. The tape is one of the illegal broadcasts of the Christian Underground, which claims that O.N.E. is responsible for various atrocities blamed on 'The Haters'. Thorne comes upon Kendrick looking at an old abandoned church. She orders him to gain Hannah's trust so as to expose the key Resistance. Kendrick silently stays to witness the church be burnt down by agents of O.N.E. Kendrick then returns home, where he finds Macalousso waiting for him. The Antichrist tells Kendrick not to allow Helen Hannah to testify on God's behalf, and that he wishes to be called to the stand when the trial ends.

Doctor McMahon is shot in his home by a group of agents of O.N.E, who then have his hand cut off and taken to a laboratory.

Kendrick visits Hannah in her cell, haven taken care to scramble the security camera. Kendrick reveals that his mark is a fake, which he procured from the black market. However, he only believes in himself, denying both Macalousso and any 'Father in Heaven'. Hannah futilely attempts to persuade him of the existence of God and the Rapture.

At the trial, Thorne calls various damning witnesses in favour of O.N.E to the stand.

First come General Tyson Kennan, head of O.N.E. Peace Corps. Kennan denounces the world prior to Macalousso as a hotbed of war, prejudice and hatred - but that since Macalousso's takeover, World War III has been averted, and a general euphoria has gripped the globe's population.

Next comes Willie Spino, much to the surprise of Hannah, who believed him dead. Spino claims that accepting the mark has freed him from being bound to a wheelchair, and granted him supernatural powers shared by the human race. Spino explains that Hannah was his stepsister, and denounces her for claiming that he should have forsaken his regained mobility and newfound powers. At this point, Kendrick objects by asking if Spino loves Hannah. Spino denies it - but admits loving her as his sister prior to taking the Mark. Judge Wells abruptly adjourns the trial in the face of this reversal.

Kendrick again meets Hannah in her cell. Hannah confides in him that belief in Christ does not remove fear. Kendrick reveals he has been through a precedent - Thorne blackmailed him into defending his own father, accused of being a Hater, so as to force him to choose a side. He lost the trial and had to witness his father's execution. Hannah begins to trust Kendrick, and gives him the location of the Haters.

The trial resumes. Helen is called to the stand by Thorne. The cross-examination is severely rigged - Thorne discredits Hannah's every answer by claiming they do not fit with the world which stands behind Macalousso.

Kendrick visits the Christians and claims to believe their innocence, but the trial can only be won if O.N.E is finally exposed for all of its crimes. Soon after he leaves, agents of O.N.E. invade the hideout, killing many haters including Mrs Quincy. Some Christians barely escape - J.T, Jake Goss and Selma Davis among them. Conferring with Hannah, Kendrick realises that the O.N.E had a surveillance chip implanted into his arm.

The outcome of the trial seems bad for Hannah, but Selma Davis shows up unexpectedly as a witness. Selma tells Thorne about Simon Greenleaf, a pre-Rapture expert on the Second Coming. Thorne and Judge Wells are displeased about Kendrick calling her to testify, as she was an undisclosed witness.

In Hannah's cell, Kendrick argues with her one last time about his father and God. Kendrick is angered, as he believes his father chose God over his son. During the argument, Kendrick drops his scrambling device, which Thorne notices from the security camera. The prosecutor orders the guards to search Kendrick, but fortunately they find nothing - possibly an act of God.

J.T, Dave and Jake Goss arrive at the court plaza in their broadcast van. J.T sends Dave to infiltrate the court building, but Dave fails when the alarm is raised and he is killed by guards. In another deus ex machina, J.T. receives a call from Kendrick, who tells him how to disguise himself to enter the court.

Kendrick calls Macalousso to the stand, as requested by the Antichrist. Macalousso explains that the trial is a question of faith - Helen Hannah refused to accept his Mark, choosing to believe the lie of Christ. Hannah barely has time to denounce him as the liar when Judge Wells orders her to be taken for execution.

Kendrick reveals his ace in the hole. Refusing to conclude the trial, he interrogates Macalousso - before pulling out a gun with one bullet. The guards cannot intervene. Kendrick tells the crowd he will call to the stand anyone willing to die for Macalousso. Nobody steps forward.

Kendrick then lays his gun in front of Thorne, telling her he forgives her. To die for someone is the greatest sacrifice of all, and the paradise that Macalousso has created will someday pass away, but simple belief will open the doors to an eternal paradise. Undefeated, Macalousso tells Kendrick that so long as there are still people who bear the Mark, he is master of the Earth.

J.T. tries to release Hannah from her cell, where she awaits execution with Selma. J.T. is noticed by a real guard and prepares to pull his gun out, but Selma whispers to him there is a better way. In the third deus ex machina, the guard is called away to the courtroom, and J.T. breaks the lock.

Macalousso watches as Thorne comes up to Kendrick. Knowing he has finally chosen his side, she tells him he will take a bullet for his new god - whereupon she shoots him. As Kendrick lays dying, Thorne tells him he is a fool, just like his father.

As J.T, Hannah and Selma leave the building, J.T. tells Helen that Kendrick knew that O.N.E. were not the only ones listening to her prayers. The last shot of the film is a newspaper headline saying that Hannah has escaped.

Characters

Actor	Character
Corbin Bernsen	Mitch Kendrick
Jessica Steen	Victoria Thorne
Mr. T	J.T. Quincy
Leigh Lewis	Helen Hannah
Nick Mancuso	Franco Macalousso
Michael Copeman	Judge Wells
Mirium Carvell	Selma Davis
Patrick Gallagher	Jake Goss
Tony Nappo	Willie Spino
Yank Azman	Colin McMahon

References