Customer Reviews

La Chiesa [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great atmospheric, gothic horror film with a bit of gore to spice things up. There's not much going on as far as plot is concerned. We have a prologue showing a group of Templars massacreing a supposedly Satannically obsessed pack of villagers, and then building a cathedral over top of the burial ground. Fast forward to the modern day, where a demonic curse is released by an overly curious librarian, leading to havoc and the trapping of a number of individuals within the cathedral. That's about the short and long of it. People are possessed by demons, demons run amuck, the cathedral is shot ominously, it's all rainy, characters do little but release demons/be possessed by demons/be killed by demons etc. The plot doesn't much matter, and Soavi doesn't let it get in the way of the good stuff.

This has got some really good production values, and the acting is generally quite good by the standards of this sort of fare.(I particularly the librarian, during the day after he was possessed, but before things really go crazy.) Virtually all the performances are acceptable, at the very least, with the exception of the whiny old man, who is very annoying. I'm not as impressed by the demon effects as some are. Personally, I think they are simultaneously quite impressive technically, and a bit hokey in design. However, they are given a minimum of screen time, and work pretty well when used in such a manner. The gore is generally very well executed, with the exception of the decapitation in the opening scene, which is a bit weak. The highlight is, obviously, the suicide by Jackhammer. A hideous concept executed beautifully. Other than that we've got a guy impaled on a spier, impalation through the neck with a gate, facial self-mutilation, a chick getting smashed by a subway car, another decapitated head etc. Generally, the gore works well. Too much gore would've been inappropriate, but without any things might've been a bit too slow and uneventful. Soavi finds just the right balance.

This film is all about atmosphere. The entire film has a fairly dark, oppressive air to it, particularly in the opening section and the scenes after they're trapped in the cathedral.(The shots of them just sitting around the cathedra waiting are particularly effective) Soavi's camerwork is obviously influenced by his mentor Argento, using lots of low-angle shots, and lots of slow, prowling shots examining the interior of the cathedral. However, unlike Argento, the cathedral is largely presented as is, without the colored lighting and bizarre set design you frequently find in an Argento film.(This is the way it should be; the cathedral itself is ominous enough.) The soundtrack, partially done by Goblin, is quite effective. It's nothing particularly surprising, but it's nice and ominous without being overbearing or hokey.

Fans of Dario Argento will probably want to check this out. It's quite different from anything I've seen from him, but it's got a bit of the same flavor. Fans of The Beyond may also want to check this out, provided they actually enjoyed the atmospheric portions of the Beyond along with the gore. Personally, I was sufficiently impressed that I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of Soavi's films, should they ever get released on DVD.(or arrive at my house... stupid mailman)

Also, its got hot demon sex.

Being a fan of Argento's works, I will say upfront that my views are slightly skewed in his favor. Still, this work, teaming Argento with Michele Soavi, is something of a favorite of mine. As viewers, we find ourselves introduced to a church that was, in times past, erected to contain the pesky menace of its vengeful, longtime occupants. To illustrate this, we get a lovely sequence showing the seeming slaughter and subsequent burial of all an entire village. It looks like brutality at its finest at first, but then, as hands grasp at those who try to trap the damned here, the crusaders seem to have found more than they can handle. So, how do you handle this? Why, seal it up and build a church on it, of course! Fastforwarding to the future, the church and its guarded secret is threatened and, of course, unleashed upon those unlucky enough to be trapped inside. Of course, this leads to an ending most befitting.
This film brims with an eerie atmosphere that, most deservedly, helped gain Soavi a reputation as an excellent filmmaker, plus it has some nice Darioesque qualities as well. Asia Argento is here, just begging to become victimized by yet another manifestation of evil, and Goblin gives us another work of art. Combining these qualities with the fact that even the subway, a normally defunct "roadblock" at best, finds itself an unlikely killing machine, I'd have to recommend it as something to use to tuck the children in.
Strengthening the family ties with the fear of demonic possession, that's the trait of a loving parent. Buy it today!

I don't know why so many people chose to ignore this movie. While I love Fulci and Argento, many critics of Church consider mediocre efforts such as New York Ripper, Phenomena, and Demons to be "Italian Horror Classics". This movie makes those films look like boring puddles of puke.
Sure, there are things wrong with this movie, but I've made a list of reasons why this deserves to be a classic:
1. The church itself is amazing! While many "Catholic Metaphysics" horror films come off as un-researched and exaggerated, this movie seems truly authentic.
2. The style of this film, worked by director Michele Soavi, has the same level of atmospheric moodiness that made movies like "The Beyond" and "Suspiria" classics. Any time you can make the day seem creepy you've done something right.
3. ... horror movies ... because if they aren't plain cheesy, they lack anything distinct and memorable that you could recall ten minutes after watching. (example: New York Ripper)
This film is LOADED with all sorts of creative and twisted gags, I can't even remember all the things that stood out to me while I watched it.
4. It has a crazy score by Goblin (for those uninitiated, sorry)
5. The subject matter and subtle historical references are intriguing and mostly accurate. (I never knew anything about alchemy or Fulcanelli, but now i'm scouring the internet for it)
6. Most "we're trapped in the haunted house" movies reduce themselves to frantic pandemonium reminiscent of the end of "Project X". Soavi shows incredible restraint in using body counts, gore, or cheap predictable pops to maintain the action.
(Although there is gore, and creative gore at that, it doesn't become a crutch)
7. This movie has total party value. Classics work in the context of being home alone at night, and having a bunch of people hanging around drinking beers. Church had my friends saying "Oh ..., rewind that!"
8. The special effects are clever and impressive. I didn't see the climax coming simply because I didn't even think that any film made on a horror budget could afford something that dope.
9. You get to see Asia Argento act as a young kid (even back then, writer Dario Argento had his little girl being menaced by demons and abusive fathers)
10. The failure in the plot doesn't wholly distract you from what's going on. For the most part, the little cracks in the plot help the uneasy feel of the movie, especially when you're watching it at 1 o'clock in the morning.
With respect to the horror experts, I think that many of them have a bias against any Italian horror film that wasn't made during the classic era of Italian horror (Church was made in the 80's, and to be fair, horror movies ... big time in the 80's)
Horror critics have a inclination to like something more if it belongs to a genre, or has a cult name director.
Church is only [money], give it a whirl.

Ok, heres the deal. The opening sequence was very well done, the gothic style and mood to the movie was also effectively achieved. But the character development was horrid and the final scenes of the movie seemed to be rushed. The final scenes, the whole summoning of Baphomet/sex scene and the rise of the damned set-piece could have used some more time I think. And who cares about those characters who were introduced later in the film. And why are the two seemingly main characters almost totally forgotten at the end of the film? Anyway, those are just some of my gripes and considering most italian horror films, those kind of gripes would be pretty standard. Overall it was a decent movie, good gore, good opening sequence and i'll leave it at that.

When I heard about this movie, I wanted to watch it for it's name alone, I felt nervous watching it because I thought it was going to be as frightening as other horror films involving religion. Now, the acting is very good, the scenery is amazing and eerie, it's what I expected to look like when I saw the cover of it. There is plenty of gore and in very gruesome ways, the subway scene is historic! There is one scene from this movie that is a really famous painting, let's see if you will know what scene I'm talking about. I liked the ending of the movie, it's a real twist, but I was expecting alot more. I kept saying to myself, this has to be the scene where the dead rise! But there are no zombies in this movie so don't expect any, there's alot of de javu in this, but I really expected more, like a battle between good and evil. The atmosphere couldn't have been any better, if you're a horror fan wanting to watch something different, with a really creepy atmosphere watch this movie. If you're looking for a horror movie with tons of action, look elsewhere, though this was fun to watch it leave me wanting to know more about what happened, that's probably the reason I wasn't too satisfied with it, because it leaves you wanting something. Oh and here's some advice, never go into a church with metal doors.

THE CHURCH begins in medieval times, with a group of knights arriving in a small village believed to be inhabited by "witches." These knights seem to be religious crusaders of some sort (Teutonic Knights I think they're called) and they investigate allegations that a young woman in this village has the "mark of the Devil" on her. Sure enough, a bloody cross like stigmata is indeed on the bottom of her foot, confirming everything the knights need to know. The leader of this crusade kills the girl by crushing her face in with his iron clad hand, and then proceeds to massacre the whole village with his band of knights. After this horrible act is done, they decide to bury all the bodies in one spot and build a church on their massive grave. Meanwhile, all of this is seen by a young girl in the woods (played by Asia Argento) who is eventually caught and killed by one of the knights. The audience never finds out if her body is buried with the rest of the suspected "witches."

Fast forward to modern times (well, 1989 anyways) and we now see that the church is in the middle of a huge city. The church itself seems to be the location of much activity, including renovation and tourism. In a twist of strange coincidences, a young girl who lives in the church with her Mother and Father looks strikingly similar to the girl killed at the beginning. Also played by Asia Argento. Meanwhile, a new librarian is hired at the church to organize all the books. Eventually he stumbles across an old piece of parchment (found in one of the walls of the church) that leads him into the basement, and the site of a strange cross on the ground. Thinking he's found a valuable relic or treasure, he starts digging at what looks like a sewer grate with a six eyed Devil carving on the top. Unknowingly he unleashes a terrible curse and becomes possessed by an evil demon.

All of this leads to a group of tourists and a class of school children becoming trapped inside the church (once the evil is unleashed, the church was built to lock everyone inside, preventing the demons from escaping) and how they survive the night. Meanwhile, the young girl (Asia Argento) seems to be the only one who knows a secret way outside of the church through the basement. It would also seem that she's the only one who can lead everyone to salvation, with a vague connection to the young girl at the start of the movie.

*Whew!* If the plot seems like it's all over the place, thats because it is. I'm sure I missed a detail or two in my summary, but I just wanted to give a basic outline for the plot without exposing too much of the actual story. If I have one major gripe about this film, it's that THE CHURCH seems to be all over the place with no real goal. You might even be able to call this a "messy" film if it weren't for the sense of maturity and intelligent craft behind the over all production. This is the type of Horror movie that uses style and well done acting over a coherent story line. It's hard to say where this film starts to unravel in terms of plot, but it's an easy thing to over look since everything else is so well done.

Outside of my small problems regarding the story, I really enjoyed this movie. Personally, THE CHURCH speaks to me in terms of what I like to see in a 1980's Horror film. I'm a child of the late 80's and I tend to gravitate towards the movies of that time period. It's kind of hard to describe why I like that era the best in terms of Horror, but anyone who's a fan of Robert Englund's interpretation of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA or John Carpenter's PRINCE OF DARKNESS knows what I'm talking about. Movies from the late 80's just had a certain dark and brooding vibe about them. I'm not really sure why, but maybe it had something to do with Horror directors trying to get back to their more serious roots. Horror movies like A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 : THE DREAM MASTER and SLEEPAWAY CAMP 2 : UNHAPPY CAMPERS embodied a humorous vibe that became popular in the mid 1980's. Those are good Horror films mind you (I love Freddy after all) but by the late 80's, even Freddy was going back to a darker edge with A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5 : THE DREAM CHILD.

It wasn't a total throw back to the glory days of Horror (the late 1970's and early 1980's) but it was a welcome return to more sinister Horror. Also, the over all camera aesthetic during that time period was changing from film to video, which changed film making into an easier method. Gone are the days of technicolor and messy reel to reel film. Sometimes filming a movie with "video" worked, other times not so much.

Regardless of the time period or camera methods, THE CHURCH is a good Horror movie if you ask me. I would even be willing to say that it makes for a nice companion piece to PRINCE OF DARKNESS, being the fact that they're so much alike. Both films have similar elements (both are set in a church) and they both have their own fair share of problems. If you're willing to look past the story issues and pacing problems, THE CHURCH is a nice little Gothic Horror movie. The cinematography is simply amazing and the over all film even has a "Fantasy" vibe to it. If you watch the movie, just observe the camera work alone. It sweeps and crawls with a dream like quality that evokes memories of Ridley Scott's LEGEND and Jim Henson's LABYRINTH. We can thank Dario Argento for the amazing production value.

Another thing I liked about this movie was the haunting soundtrack. It was done by Keith Emerson and ex members of the Italian band Goblin. The music has very dark and brooding vibe to it that sets the stage for the movie. I liked the score so much that I bought a few tracks of it online for my personal music collection.

Gore Hounds, never fear! THE CHURCH is full of gruesome deaths and shocking latex make up effects! Some of the prosthetics used in this movie are so horrifying, that you wonder why the director didn't use some of them sooner! Whatever the reason, they're worth the wait. Some people think the special effects are a little corny but I couldn't disagree more. The prosthetics and puppets are on the level of GHOSTBUSTERS but much more evil and adult oriented. Personally, I really enjoyed the "old school" special effects used here. I understand they're not for everybody (I know someone who dislikes the prosthetics used in THE NEVER ENDING STORY because they're "fake looking", which I think is a bad reason to dislike any film) but this movie has a lot more going for it besides the special effects. The Gothic atmosphere alone is good enough to keep any avid Horror movie fan's attention until the very end.

Over all, I really liked this film. THE CHURCH is everything I love about late 80's Horror, with some minor pacing issues. In retrospect, I can see how some people might dislike this movie. Yet, if you're a fan of films like PRINCE OF DARKNESS, then I think you'll have much to enjoy here.

Highly recommended!

I've said my bit.

Over and out.

Yep, the splatter scenes are here! Especially memorable are the "Sledgehammer Suicide", "Subway-train Facial", and "Bell-ringing Granny" sequences! However, this movie isn't just for gorehündts, as it also has a cool story and the world's creepiest church building for atmosphere! A group of people, including a bride and groom, their wedding party, an elementary school tour-group, 2 bikers, and 3 priests end up trapped inside the church. Little do they know that demonic forces have been unleashed in order to fulfill a centuries old curse! THE CHURCH is a strong entry in the demon holocaust movie sub-genre. Services begin at midnight. Don't be late...

I don't know how italians do it, but atmosphere in their movies is totally different from all others. Only an italian could do such a masterpiece as "The Church". If you remember the last minutes if Soavi's "Stage fright" when the murderer is sitting on stage and feathers are flying all around, if you liked those dreamy-like sequences in "The Sect", you'll get the understanding what "The Church" is like. It's beautifully shot, it's mysterious and gory, it's majestic. Definately pertain to the top 10 of the best italian horror films.

If you liked previous works of Soavi, you'll love "The Church" 'cos it's much better and mature. I think it's the first movie of Michele Soavi where he truly demonstrated all his talent. Later he'd create "Dellamorte Dellamore" - a real jewel among all the world's greatest films. Dario Argento, Franco Ferrini, Lamberto Bava, Mario and Vittorio Cecchi Gori had their hands in "The Church". I guess their opinion is rather convincing. "The Church" is a true milestone on the not-so-long road of horror.

What's going on in the church? Well, back in the middle ages a community of alleged devil worshippers get slaughtered by some templar-like knights. After throwing the bodies in a pit, they get an alchemist to build a church on the pit. Flash forward to nowdays and the church is up and running. Some Curious George librarian decides to unravel the mystery, letting all the revenge-hungry demons out. This is about one hour through the film. For the remaining 40 minutes the people inside the Church are trapped and have to deal with all kinds of demon hocus pocus. This project started out as a third Demons film, but went through some ch-ch-ch-changes. There are similarities to the Demons films however. The demonic possession in this film seems to spread from person to person in the form of a physical infection/sickness. They even call it a "plague" at one point. WILL THEY GET OUT ALIVE???? Dario Argento's protege, Michele Soavi(who went on to do the awesome Cemetery Man) obviously learned a thing or two from his teacher. The Church isn't a fantastic film, but it's quite good and shows Soavi's potential. It's not a total gorefest, it's only really gory when it has to be. There is a very gruesome suicide by jackhammer that'll get your attention. As others have pointed out, the devil monster in this film looks excellent. And boy it does! Too bad he's got about 5 seconds of screen time(and that's not really an exaggeration either). For the price of this dvd it's quite a painless gamble. If you like the Fulci approach to Italian horror, The Church can go either way with you. But if you dig Argento's style, most likely you'll dig this as well.

The story seems initiated by the fascination of the otherworldly architecture of the european gothic cathedral, which of course is the ultimate setting for a movie about pagan demons coming back to life.
A mediaeval pagan sect is massacred by templars and a cathedral is build on the burial ground to seal off the "evil". In present day the curiosity of a librarian working in the church leads to the awakening of what was once buried underneath.
The movie is intellectual and slowpaced, which will scare off the illiterates expecting a slasher-movie in the usual Argento-style, but the pace is essential to the whole idea, the investigation and exposal of the mystery. It's a great jigsaw puzzle, worthy of repeated viewing. Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (who didn't want us to laugh in The Name of the Rose) makes a good appearance as the bishop, having the perfect face for this kind of menacing old clergyman. The rest of the acting is simply adequate, the english dubbing mostly awfull, but the cinamatography and special effects are quite inventive, making it not only a great story but an inciting cinematic experience as well.