The Rapture

Year: 1991

Runtime: 100 mins

Language: English

Director: Michael Tolkin

MysteryDramaFantasyThriller

A lonely telephone operator drifts through an empty, amoral life until a sudden encounter makes her turn to God. Believing forgiveness is within reach, she soon discovers that every choice is tested far beyond her imagination, and that one lingering sin may remain unforgiven.

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The Rapture (1991) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

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Sharon, Mimi Rogers, a young Los Angeles woman, leads a swinging, libidinous lifestyle. She comes into contact with an unnamed Christian sect that believes the Rapture is imminent based on the strange dreams experienced by congregants, interpreted as signs of the end times.

Over time, Sharon accepts this belief and becomes a born-again Christian. She starts living a pious life, eventually marrying and having a daughter named Mary, Kimberly Cullum. When her husband Randy, David Duchovny, is killed in a senseless murder, she begins to question the benevolence of God and wonders why such cruelty exists in a world she once trusted.

She believes God has called her to go to the desert to wait for the Rapture, and instead of leaving her daughter safely with friends, she decides Mary must come with her. Foster, Will Patton, a police officer, is concerned for their well-being after they are reduced to stealing food while they wait, but Sharon remains insistent that the end is near and that every moment brings them closer to judgment and salvation.

Sharon’s resolve deepens into despair, and at her daughter’s urging she decides to hasten their ascent to Heaven. She shoots Mary, a terrible act that shatters any easy sense of benevolence in her beliefs, yet she cannot bring herself to take her own life, fearing condemnation for suicide. She confesses to Foster what she has done and is jailed, a stark consequence for the choices she has made.

The Rapture finally arrives after an apparition of Mary appears at night, accompanied by two angels. The following day, as Sharon sits in her cell, a loud trumpet blasts across the world, signaling the start of the Rapture. Sharon and Foster, now driving out into the desert together, are suddenly pulled into a purgatory-like landscape where the rules of life above seem to fade.

Foster, formerly an atheist, is granted entrance to Heaven, while Sharon remains unable to renounce her anger at God for Mary’s death. Mary pleads with her to accept God back into her heart so she can join her and Randy in Heaven, but Sharon chooses isolation in the purgatorial expanse, rejecting reconciliation and remaining alone for eternity.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 15:01

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Movies about spiritual despair like The Rapture

Movies about profound religious crisis and the terrifying silence of God.If you were gripped by the intense religious turmoil of The Rapture, this collection features similar movies about faith and doubt. Discover other films where characters face a profound crisis of belief, grappling with religious fanaticism, divine silence, and the bleak consequences of unwavering faith.

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Narrative Summary

These narratives typically follow a character's journey into a zealous, all-consuming belief system. The initial fervor is met with a harsh reality—answered prayers that bring tragedy, a demanded sacrifice too great to bear, or the crushing silence of the divine. The arc is one of escalating despair, culminating in a complete spiritual collapse where faith offers no solace.

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Movies about tragic parental choices like The Rapture

Stories where a parent's love leads to devastating, irreversible decisions.If the harrowing parental sacrifice in The Rapture impacted you, explore these similar movies about tragic parental choices. These films feature parents driven by faith, ideology, or circumstance to make devastating decisions for their children, resulting in stories of immense grief and moral collapse.

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Narrative Summary

The plot revolves around a parent whose worldview, whether rooted in religion, ideology, or survival, demands an act that directly harms their child. The story builds with a steady, dreadful pace towards this inevitable, horrific choice. The aftermath is one of shattering grief and the eternal burden of a decision made out of a twisted form of love or duty.

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These films are united by their exploration of the darkest aspects of parental love. They share an intense, heavy atmosphere, a focus on moral extremity, and a narrative structure that leads to an act of violence or sacrifice against a child, leaving the protagonist—and the audience—in a state of shock and despair.

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