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Following the phenomenal success of Sound of Freedom (2023), released in August of this year, Angel Studios is now promoting its first-ever original feature film, The Shift, which will be released in American cinemas on 1 December.

Written and directed by Brock Heasley, the science fiction film follows a man, Kevin Garner (Kristoffer Polaha), as he desperately tries to thwart the designs of a mysterious antagonist, The Benefactor (Neal McDonough) — traversing dimensions and worlds in an attempt to be reunited with his wife, Molly (Elizabeth Tabish).

Banished to an alternate universe (yes, the film draws heavily on the notion of a “multiverse”), Kevin is faced with a series of challenges by the so-called Benefactor as he seeks to “shift” realities and overcome obstacles to find Molly.

According to Kristoffer Polaha, who plays Kevin, the idea behind the film is that “every choice we make splits us off into another, a parallel world where, you know, you ask that question like, is there a world where, you know, such and such can happen?” This is the reality that confronts Kevin as he searches for the woman that he loves.

Familiar Faces

Several of the cast members in The Shift will be familiar to fans of The Chosen series. Most notably, Elizabeth Tabish, who stars as Mary Magdalene in The Chosen, plays Molly in The Shift. Other familiar names are Paras Patel, who plays Matthew in The Chosen, and Jordan Walker Ross, who stars as Little James.

The Shift also features Kristoffer Polaha (Wonder Woman 1984, Where Hope Grows, Dater’s Handbook) as protagonist Kevin Garner, Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers, Minority Report, Captain America: The First Avenger), and Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things, Rudy).

A press release published during the final round of crowdfunding in 2022 describes the film as “a modern-day, sci-fi story of faith that takes a lot of its cues from the Book of Job.” Nonetheless, the extent to which the film is allegorically “based” on the book of Job remains unclear.

The feature film is based on an earlier short film, also created by Brock Heasley, on a shoestring budget of just $500. Angel Studios picked up the project and helped to crowdfund the $6.4 million needed to produce the feature-length original picture.

According to producer Ken Carpenter, “The creative ethos at Angel fostered the opportunity to shape this unique blend of sci-fi, romance, and allegory. They gave us the runway to make a film that charts new territory.”

While the film’s Australian release date is to be confirmed, pre-sales have already opened in the United States on the Angel Studios website.