The Church

source: The Church

"The Church" is a film that could have been much better. However, too often it took the cheap gore route instead of genuine terror. Additionally, some of the dialog is pretty stupid. When the film begins, the Knights Templar are beating up poor folks in the name of God when they discover one of their victims is a Devil worshiper. So, they do what anyone would do...kill everyone in the town and bury them all...including a few who might just still be alive. Then, they built a church over it. Centuries pass and now the demons are apparently ready to party. So, they come out and begin destroying and taking possession of folks in the church. Some of the deaths are interesting and fitting (such as the lady who is vain and needs to see herself in the mirror) but most are just cheap gore or nudity meant to titillate. And unlike earlier Dario Argento-produced films, the mood seems far less important than cheap thrills. Some of these problems might stem from the film having 8 writers...a sure sign that a production is in trouble. Regardless, it wasn't my cup of tea and lacked the subtlety of better horror films, such as "Suspiria".

This work o Michele Soavi looks like stilistic exercise - plot is pretty weak but camera work is simply AMAZING! Movie contains one of the best steadycam and crane shots I've ever seen! But poor story definitely does not improve entire impression... Anyway, mood, atmosphere and stunning camera work are really remarkable and worth seeing and that keeps movie from falling down. Still, Dellamorte Dellamore is the best Soavi's movie I've seen although camera work here is much better. 7/10

Yes, this movie has plot and logic problems! But so what? Most good horror movies do. That's what makes them so great. I enjoyed this thoroughly. If you are an Italian horror movie fan, then you will like this. I enjoyed the heavy atmosphere of the church, the gore, and the acting. Give this one a chance. Just don't sit there with a pen and paper trying to pick apart the plot.

The Teutonic knights massacre a village of people plagued with the sign of stigmata for they represent demonic possession and witchcraft. The village bodies are piled within a massive hole as their grave with a church, constructed by an alchemist, to hold any demonic uprising that might take place due to outside human disturbance. That outside human disturbance occurs centuries later as the Catholic Cathedral is under heavy renovation with Evan, a man whose knowledge of history and folklore is vast, finds the housing of the villagers' crypt accidentally unleashing a demonic force that overwhelms him. He later closes the interrupted hole, but Evan has been invaded by such a strong demonic force, it overtakes him with little of who he once was left. His recent lover, and painting re-constructionist Lisa(Barbara Cupisti), receives a visit from a goat demon which later vanishes when cops arrive on the scene. Hermann, the Sacristan(Roberto Corbiletto)is looking for his trouble-making daughter, Lotte(Asia Argento..even as a young teen she was photographed as a sex symbol)when he runs up on possessed Evan who attacks him. It seems that if anyone is attacked by someone possessed, they in turn are possessed. Hermann, trying desperately to fight the evil inside him, decides to use a jackhammer as a suicidal weapon and through the reverberation of the massive tool, the church's locking mechanism(designed by the alchemist at the church's demand)closes the Cathedral with various characters who were within it trapped unwillingly. With seemingly no exit, many of the worried characters try to search for one while a still-alive Hermann comes up to attack anyone in his way. Father Gus(Hugh Quarshie), the level-headed priest who must figure out how to escape the church, tries to understand the mysteries and horrors taking place by searching for clues through the various encryptions inside statues and parchments discovered hidden. The Bishop(Feodor Chaliapin Jr)knows more than he's saying and Gus will have to find out the truths by him. Meanwhile, Lotte might discover the truth about what occurred centuries ago regarding the knights and their role in what is occurring, since we saw early on her ancestor on the verge of being killed since she was a member of the village..this might open the doors regarding reincarnation with Lotte looking through the eyes of another who saw the horrors first hand. To be honest, I was conflicted with Soavi's film. It's rife with powerful, unforgettable images, mainly through the hallucinations of those possessed. Such images include Evan, imagined as a serpent with wings closing a naked woman in his grasp, a goat demon having sex with a possessed, entranced Lisa, a woman whose beauty defines her seeing an image of a haggard old lady which results in her tearing away at he facial skin, and a woman being smashed by an on coming subway below the church. But, the narrative is messy and often characters, such as the children, are either forgotten or abandoned. Take Radice's Reverend who seems on the verge of being attacked by something for which we never see him again or where the children are seen goofing off in boredom then later vanish without a trace. The score by Goblin(with participation from the great Philip Glass)is absolutely stunning and hypnotic..a major asset to a flawed, but ambitious horror flick. The church itself is captured amazingly by Soavi's talented camera eye and the building is constructed with such creepy, ominous statues and demonic paintings(not to mention, the way the church locks once the alchemist's mechanism is triggered..this must've been quite difficult to construct). That's both a joy and problem, however, because it seems the filmmakers pay more attention to how the film looks and feels instead of a stronger more cohesive narrative. The screenplay doesn't seem as well constructed as the Cathedral.

The first time I saw Michele Soavi's The Church—over 20 years ago, now—I didn't understand what the hell was going on: the film was in it's original language, with no subs, and my command of Italian was virtually non-existent. Finally, I have gotten around to watching the film again, this time with the benefit of an English soundtrack (my Italian hasn't improved any), and the funny thing is, it still doesn't make much sense! The film opens in the 12th Century, with the slaughter of a demonic cult by Teutonic knights, who bury the dead in a mass grave over which a church is constructed 'to seal in the evil'. Hundred of years later, a librarian employed by the church unwittingly releases the malevolent forces trapped below the building; before the evil can spread to the outside world, however, a mechanism within the church's infrastructure is activated, which seals off all exits. Whilst those trapped inside the church search in vain for a way out before they are either possessed or killed, a priest tries to locate the hidden switch that will cause the destruction of the building, once again burying the evil. Since The Church was originally intended to be the third instalment in the entertaining but seriously deranged Demons series, it should come as no surprise to find that, like its predecessors, this film displays a complete lack of logic and continuity; but whereas Demons 1 & 2 made up for their dearth of narrative cohesion with a relentlessly fun attitude to the horror, Soavi's predominantly sober approach to his material ensures that much of The Church is very tedious. Admittedly, the movie is technically impressive, with superb camera-work, beautiful production design, an impressive Gothic synth-rock score (courtesy of Goblin), and the occasional spot of outrageous gore, but the sumptuous sights and sounds are nowhere near enough to compensate for the plodding narrative.

In the same way Lamberto Bava was a substandard facsimilie of his father, Mario (who was an extremely overrated director anyway), Michele Soavi is a substandard director in the Dario Argento mold. "The Church" has at least one thing to recommend it--the incredibly detailed art direction--but absolutely nothing else. The film is long-winded, filled with one-dimensional characters, and almost put me to sleep several times. There's a fine line between 'art' and 'pretentious crap,' and while "The Church" isn't completely worthless, you'd be better off watching something else. 3/10

I am such a huge fan of Michele Soavi. I absolutely adore Stagefright, the best slasher ever. Dellamorte Dellamore is quite simply a Gothic masterpiece, a near perfect zombie film with a philosophical overtone to it. I also thought The Sect was a quite effective nerve-jolter filled with incredible surreal images and solid scares. So I was disappointed after viewing The Church, I had such high hopes. It starts of well enough. Medieval knights massacre a village they fear is possessed by demonic spirits and the priest orders that a church should be built on their buriel ground. Fastforward to the present, something weird is going on in that church; some evil seems to be lurking about and possessing people. A showdown between good and evil is unavoidable. The film has style to burn. Michele Soavi is a master at creating surreal imagery and his camera knows no limits. This is the film's high point along with some terrific set pieces, one in particular involving a subway and a teenage girl. Another thing I must mention in the film's favour; the music score. It's always wonderful to hear Goblin and Keith Emerson also provides some good music. But good music is simply something you can always count on in these Italian productions. The thing that doesn't work here, and it's a big thing, is the plot. It's practically nonexistent. The film doesn't make any sense, jumps from one setpiece to another (though some are brilliantly executed), with only so little to tie them together. It's got wooden characters, none you really care about (Tomas Arana in particular). The final showdown in the Church, although well done in terms of effects, is a real letdown, nothing much happens and in the end, well...I felt cheated in a big way. As it was originally conceived of as the second sequel in the Demons saga, I expected this to be full of violence. It's not, apart from the rather gory opening. I guess Soavi wanted to do a more serious film, with some philosophical input or something. He should have had a better script to work with. Although it's disappointing, it's certainly not without interest.

Visually stunning, haunting soundtrack, awesome kills, there's so much to love about this movie. Once I popped this DVD into the player and heard the awesome music on the menu I was hooked. The film has Michele Soavi's style all over, actually I'd say this is his most impressive looking film he's made. As I saw one users comments on Mullholland Drive "What am I seeing before my eyes", is exactly how I felt when watching this movie. I have now watched it at least 30 times and still can't get sick of it. The plot mainly consists of crusading nights killing a village of people they believe to be devil worshipers. A couple hundred years later a huge church is built over the dead bodies and after some nosy, greedy dude opens up the tomb...well that's where I'll stop. The visuals in this film are beyond astounding, examples would be The scene of a car driving through the streets at night in fast motion, I couldn't get over it, I'd compare it to the cab scene with NAomi Watts and Lara Herring before they get to Club Silencio. Impressive and gorgeous. The goat-demon-gargoyle was also very freaky and the scene with it and Baraba Cuputsi was terrifying. Actually I'd compare this movie to Mullholland drive, as I quote Roger Ebert on his review of Mullholland Drive "the less it makes sense, the more we can't stop watching" After watching this movie at least thirty times (as Mullholland drive) You begin to see that EVERYTHING in this movie actually does make sense, regardless of many people saying the plot MAKES no sense at anytime. Michele Soavi even says in an ARGENTO book that everything in the Church had a purpose. I even think The horrible "Stock" characters were great, they brought lots of comic relief with their bad dialog and acting.Buy this movie on DVD and fall in love with it as I have. ***1/2 out of ****

On paper, "The Church" appears to have a winning formula. Its pedigree consists of direction by Argento protégé Michael ("Dellamorte Dellamore") Soavi, input from the master, Dario Argento, in both writer and producer roles, a soundtrack by the likes of Goblin and Keith Emerson, and a capable cast. Despite this, the film is a hesitant recommendation. For me, it doesn't quite gel. It's a little like "Demons" but without the cheesy charm and outrageous pace (it comes as little surprise that this film was almost named "Demons 3"). I didn't expect a brilliant plot but the film is genuinely clunky and makes the unforgivable error of actually losing tension and descending into boredom territory. I found myself clock watching at more than one interval during the proceedings. There are some excellent set-pieces, though, the best of which uses a simple windscreen to glorious effect. Also, fans of rubbery demons (of which I count myself as one) will not be disappointed. Despite the talent involved, the soundtrack manages to be a little overpowering and repetitive. Turning to the cast, Asia Argento fans will be able to see her in one of her earliest roles, before she became one of cinemas true "bad girls". The excellent Hugh Quarshie (genre fans will know him as the immortal Kastagir from "Highlander" and Panaka from the dreadful "Phantom Menace" but UK television viewers will know him as Ric Griffin from "Holby City") is a solid lead. The film's worth watching if you're a fan of Italian supernatural horror. It's not for everybody, though. Aside from "Suspiria", "Demons" is probably a stronger bet for the newcomer than this offering. As a little Jedi would say, "Strong visuals alone do not good films make!"