NEFARIOUS: MERCHANT OF SOULS

NEFARIOUS is a powerful, compelling documentary about human trafficking and sex slavery. It examines a worldwide evil through interviews with psychologists, social workers, ex-customers, pimps, and women who endured the sex trade.

The film is heartbreaking and infuriating, but it handles its subject with honesty and integrity. It avoids nudity, salaciousness, and temptation while still confronting the horror of sexual slavery. Its Christian conclusion presents Jesus Christ as the only answer to this bondage.

The subject matter is too difficult for children, but adults who can bear these accounts should make time for it. WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.

NEFARIOUS begins by showing that slavery still exists and is increasing, with much of it taking the form of sexual slavery. The documentary follows young women from Moldova and other formerly Communist countries who are kidnapped or deceived by promises of legitimate work, then sold into slavery.

Through interviews and carefully recreated scenes, the film traces the forces that sustain human trafficking across several countries and examines the physical and psychological abuse inflicted on its victims.

Four stars means this documentary is exceptionally powerful and effective. It is well filmed, carefully edited, and powerfully produced, with honest interviews and powerful footage that communicate the horror of trafficking without resorting to nudity or salaciousness.

The film’s ending is especially powerful and insightful. Because it is a documentary, some repetition appears, and some portions are less compelling than others. Overall, however, the filmmakers deserve commendation for addressing these topics without “stooping to conquer.”

NEFARIOUS presents an extremely Christian worldview in its examination of sex trafficking and slavery. It argues that the sexual exploitation of women and children is an evil bondage, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers freedom from it.

The film condemns the corruption of society by Playboy culture and by the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh. It contrasts this moral collapse with the Gospel-driven abolitionist work of figures such as William Wilberforce and John Newton, which helped liberate people from slavery. The documentary’s answer to human trafficking is not merely social reform but Jesus Christ, who has freed many interviewees from the evils of sex slavery.

The film’s central longing is freedom for people trapped in bondage. Scripture gives that hope plainly: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

NEFARIOUS is a rare documentary that confronts a horrifying subject with honesty, restraint, and Christian hope. Its material is heartbreaking, but its call to freedom is powerful. For adults prepared to engage these realities, WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a gentler family choice, see.