A Blood Throne (2020)

Screams of raging flames and its billowing smoke into the heavens introduce a small home in ancient Bethlehem, the year 4 B.C. The crackling of fire is joined by the wailing's of a distraught mother, whose baby boy has been ripped from her arms and is being carried to his blazing, red-hot grave. The orders to massacre all the innocent in the vicinity is carried out by King Herod's most loyal mercenary soldiers. The leader, Cerberus, is a vengeful centurion who has since been discharged from Roman military service for reasons unknown. Today, he is work-for-hire in the armpit of the Roman Empire - Israel. The story shifts and takes us back three years earlier where we are given a visceral glimpse into the dysfunctional relationship between King Herod and his pre-teen son, Antipas. The dynamics between father and son are evidently full of hate, distrust, and abuse. And to make matters worse Herod's beloved sister, the beautifully enrapturing Salome, lusts for power and she uses her own sensual wisdom to manipulate the hotly contested throne. King Herod suspects his two eldest sons of high treason. And because the boys' mother was a Hasmonean of priestly royalty, their two popular and handsome sons pose a direct threat to Herod's position. So a delusional Herod has the oldest imprisoned and awaiting execution. Herod's descent into a violent deranged craze, as he gropes desperately for power, sends him into a murderous spree that.