The world of Christian rock functions like a funhouse-mirror reflection of the secular-rock sphere, offering the devout sound-alike variations on popular, yet undoubtedly hellbound, acts. It boasts all the killer riffs, but with none of the sex, drugs, bad attitudes, or other devilish abominations that make life worth living. It's also a huge, diverse, amorphous terrain that covers a range of bands from the hair-metal punchline Stryper to brooding critical darlings like Pedro The Lion, as well as a range of styles from techno to spastic to Talking Heads-inspired new wave.
A fine documentary could no doubt be made solely about acts that straddle the line separating Christian and secular music, but the new Christian-music documentary Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music? aspires to cover the entirety of Christian music and serve as a performance film at the same time. This would pose a challenge for even the most skilled documentarian, but it proves nearly impossible for neophyte directors Heather Whinna and Vickie Hunter, whose inexperience is betrayed by public-access production values and amateurish filmmaking. The film's performances may be its most frustrating element: The acts' sheer diversity conveys the eclecticism of Christian music, but a muddy sound mix often renders the lyrics indecipherable. And since lyrics are what separate Christian and secular music, this mostly defeats the performance sequences' purpose.
The filmmakers have stumbled onto a fascinating subject and some remarkable footage, including a moment when a drummer in front of a big "Rock For Life" banner delivers a rambling, choked-up monologue of almost unbearable intimacy. But Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music? lacks focus, cohesion, and a point of view. It touches on a slew of compelling topics, but doesn't go into enough depth to do justice to any of them, making it feel like the raw material for an engaging 20-minute short padded into an unsatisfying, superficial feature. Perhaps one day there'll be a definitive documentary about Christian rock, but this isn't it.