Reverend Jimmy Current

J.C.

Reverend Jimmy "J.C." Current is a supporting antagonist in the 1996 horror/comedy film Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood.

He is portrayed by Chris Sarandon, who also played Jerry Dandridge in Fright Night, Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride, Adam Clarke in Cold Case and Dracula in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Biography

A popular and successful televangelist, Current is the founder and leader of Current World Ministries. He is first seen delivering a sermon to a large congregation (during which the teleprompter lags behind on the script, hilariously forcing him to improvise for a few moments) before playing his electric guitar and declaring that God will lead His people to victory.

Once the sermon is finished, Current tells Vincent to tell the teleprompter to not lose him again or he'll "fire his butt." He then meets with Catherine Verdoux, an employee of his, and then meets Rafe Guttman, a private detective hired by Catherine to find her rebellious brother Caleb. Current and Rafe exchange a few civil words before Current leaves. Later, when Rafe persists in his investigation (after Catherine told him that his services were no longer needed) and asks to speak with Catherine at CWM, Current tells him to cease his investigation.

It later turns out that Current is the one who had Vincent resurrect Lilith so he could have her kill all sinners on Earth. Current takes the Key, a mystical talisman that allows anyone holding it to control Lilith, and locks it in his office safe while telling Vincent, who asks for monetary reward, that what they're doing is for the Lord. Later, Current sees Vincent leaving in a hurry and rushes to his office, where he finds the Key gone.

Disguising himself with a coat, a hat, and sunglasses, Current then tracks Vincent to a strip joint, where he's appalled by the lascivious activity going on, and finds him meeting with Lilith. He walks up to their booth and admonishes them, then demands the Key from Vincent, who hesitates at Lilith's urging. Current grabs for the Key, but Lilith stops him and threatens him. Just then, Catherine comes in with a camera crew as part of a project she's doing about the dangers of sexual lust; Current and Vincent panic and hurry out of the strip joint.

Current and Vincent enter a back alley, and Lilith appears, grabs the reverend, and slams him atop a car hood. Current demands that Vincent hand the Key over to him so he can send Lilith back to Hell, but Lilith insists that Vincent not touch the Key. After a moment, Vincent decides to destroy the Key, much to Current's shock; this frees Lilith from their control. Vincent tells Lilith to kill Current, but Lilith refuses.

Near the film's end, Current comes by the McCutcheon Mortuary, falsely telling McCutcheon that he's realized that Lilith has won and that he wants to join her. Vincent enters and tells Current he'll inform Lilith of his change of heart, but Current says he wants to tell Lilith in person. However, Vincent sees through the reverend's lies and holds him at gunpoint. Both Vincent and McCutcheon force Current into the parlor.

While Current is being held at gunpoint by Vincent, McCutcheon hears a car revving up and rushes to the door to see what's going on. Rafe then drives his car through the door, running the mortician down and startling Current and Vincent. Current then kicks Vincent, who is then shot dead by Rafe. When confronted by Rafe, Current admits his role in Lilith's plans and insists he's come to make amends for his actions. Rafe then gives him a water gun filled with holy water, which Current informs the private eye that, while it'll work on Lilith's vampires, it won't work on Lilith herself. The reverend then goes on to explain that, to kill Lilith, Rafe has to cut her heart out and then cut into four separate pieces.

The two men then head into the hidden brothel, where they squirt holy water on the vampire prostitutes, killing them. Once all the vampires are dead, Current ventures onward to find Catherine, while Rafe stays behind due to hearing a noise. He finds Catherine in a dungeon, bound to an S&M contraption, and starts to free her, only to discover that "Catherine" is actually Lilith in disguise. Current attempts to stab the vampire queen with a knife, only for her to grab his wrist, gruesomely break it, and plunge the knife into his heart.

After Lilith is repelled by Rafe, who then finds and frees the real Catherine, the two of them then go to Current's side. In his dying moments, Current tells Rafe and Catherine to go to his church and broadcast a message, only to succumb to his injury before revealing more information.