UNDEFILED Cast, Crew on Movie’s Message: Faith Will Help ‘Overcome the Battle With Pornography’
By Movieguide® Contributor
UNDEFILED star Bradford Haynes and executive producer Dr. Kevin Whisman recently shared their thoughts on the movie’s themes, and how faith played a role in their involvement in the project.
“I love to glorify the Lord, so any chance that I get to produce wholesome content that not only I can watch and you can watch, that my daughters can watch, my nieces and my nephews and a family can watch — that’s a win-win for me,” Haynes explained in an interview with Movieguide®. “I try to use my platform and use the ability God has given me to bring awareness to [important issues].”
Haynes stars as Mitch Jennings, a baseball player whose pornography addiction is affecting his personal life.
A synopsis of UNDEFILED reads, “Struggling with an endless cycle of family-destroying addiction and shame, an aging Mitch Jennings finally gets his shot at professional baseball turning his back on a team secret that may cost a sex-trafficked young girl her life.”
Haynes drew on his personal experience to portray Mitch; before becoming an actor, he played professional baseball for seven years. He also shared that he was drawn to UNDEFILED’s message and wanted to shed light on the topic of pornography addiction and sex trafficking.
“I feel like when God gives you a gift, it’s not necessarily yours,” the actor said of his career choices. “I’m entrusted with it, and so if I’m entrusted with it, I feel like it’s my due diligence to use it to glorify him and bring awareness to his kingdom.”
Much of UNDEFILED’s content about pornography addiction comes from Dr. Whisman’s extensive research into the issue.
“One of the struggles you will see within the film portrayed is one of sexual addiction and pornography use, so one of the many reasons why that even became a theme within the film was based upon some of my clinical practice of over 20 years,” he explained. “Over 90% of men are dealing with some sort of sexual addiction that may include pornography.”
Dr. Whisman said that “there’s no easy way to start a conversation” about the topic, so UNDEFILED was made with the intent of being a way to start discussing the issue.
“There’s a lot of anxiety…in individuals that consume pornography,” he said. “There’s an increased amount of depression, there’s more loneliness and less satisfaction in marital relationships.”
Dr. Whisman concluded, “Faith is the thing that will help one overcome the battle with pornography.”
Director Matthew McCaulley has also spoken about what he hopes the impact of unDEFILED will be on audiences, saying, “It was strictly written and produced from years of research to convey the reality of several interwoven topics — topics that affect most but are talked about by few. It is not uncommon for the audience at a screening to sit in contemplation after the lights come up as it churns so many emotions.”
McCaulley continued, “A unique feature of the film is that it leads from an emotionally intense experience straight toward specially designed follow-up resources for those seeking answers, help, or a way to get involved. Is it a thriller, a drama, faith-based, hard to categorize and quantify? Yes. I hope you enjoy the film but more so I hope it stirs something within you.”
Movieguide® previously reported on UNDEFILED:
UNDEFILED was produced by Journey Church in Joplin, Missouri, through their Light of Life Films company. It is their first feature-length movie.
“Church leaders and film producers, Shannon Whitsett and Patty Mark, worked with director Matthew McCaulley and his family, Daniel, and David, to write Dr. [Kevin] Whisman’s research showcasing these pornography triggers throughout the suspenseful baseball backdrop,” WHNT wrote of the movie.
Matthew McCaulley told The Baptist Paper that the “main goal” of UNDEFILED “is to glorify God and pursue the message He’s given us to put forward,” adding, “We want it to be the best it can be and be entertaining, but we also wanted there to be a high ministry value.”
McCaulley would give the movie a PG-13 rating but encourages parents to bring older teens as he hopes it will spark meaningful discussions.
“The movie deals with some addictions and such that are somewhat taboo and not talked about a lot, I think it will open up a lot of discussions, husbands and wives, between parents and teens, and that’s really what we intended, there’s follow up materials ready to go from some of our ministry partners,” he told KSN16.
