Prepare for a match-up of epic proportions. In the left corner: the prince of darkness, the king of hell, Beelzebub or Baphomet… the evil known as Satan. In the right corner: the all powerful, all knowing, Absolute Being… the heavenly good known as God. They square off in a mammoth mash-up of movie scenes.

Depictions of deities are a contentious matter. But that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from imagining and re-imagining both God and Satan in a variety of guises. The lords of good and evil have been portrayed on screen as men and women, adults and children, burning bushes and smoking fish. (Although even Hollywood has shown some restraint at times, perhaps most famously in Ben-Hur‘s depiction of Jesus Christ back in 1959).

This video fashions scenes from two dozen movies into one long divine confrontation. Words, abuse and the odd thunderbolt fly back and forth. This edit is not only a testament to celestial powers, but also to the power of the 180° rule. By keeping Satan left of frame and looking to the right, with God always returning that gaze from the opposite direction, this mash-up adheres to the classic rules of continuity to make sure the showdown is easy to follow.

God vs. Satan is the epic finale of a series of similar mash-ups, Pretty Messed Up, the brainchild of Dutch director Peet Gelderblom. Catch up on the other episodes in this series via these links:

Pretty Messed Up #1 | Waking The Frog
Pretty Messed Up #2 | Horror Has A Face
Pretty Messed Up #3 | Heading Towards Certain Death
Pretty Messed Up #4 | Steve’s New Car
Pretty Messed Up #5 | Kidman-Kuleshov Theater

You may also know Gelderblom from his side-by-side montage that pitted Hitchcock against De Palma in a Split Screen Bloodbath. His Director’s Cut of Raising Cain was approved by De Palma himself.