The Church (1990)

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Originally this was supposed to be the third part in the Demons series, but director Michele Soavi wanted this film to stand alone and be its own film. In doing so Soavi did create a vivid, very well-made Italian horror film from the late 80s. In the 12th century a church is built on top of a burial ground. The people within this burial ground were thought to be possessed and worship Satan. Cut to modern times and a librarian at this church is investigating the mystery surrounding the church. Unknowingly evil is brought forth and must be dealt with. Co-written by Dario Argento (who also produced), Franco Ferrini, Soavi and an uncredited Lamberto Bava (who directed Demons 1 & 2). Has some pretty good music by Goblin, Keith Emerson and Philip Glass. Also starring a young Asia Argento. It was good and do recommend it, and I admit I have only seen this film once, but at times it wasn't what I was expecting. But some times that can be a good thing. When in other horror movies the gore was to be brought on, in this film Soavi instead at times brings some really great images. Not saying this isn't a gory horror film, because there is one scene in particular where the character removes their own heart, but it isn't in the conversation of gore like say the film Demons is. Now as well when you have those talents all working together I still was wanting and expecting something better. Perhaps after watching this film a few more times it may shape into that, but after an initial viewing I give it a 6 out of 10.

I remember watching "The Church" a good many times back in the early 1990's on VHS. It was a great movie back then, and it was that memory of the movie that made me return to it in 2017 and have a trip down memory lane.Now, the movie was great back in the day, but it was actually only moderately mediocre by my standards today. So something has happened to my taste and preference in movies over the years. Now, with that said, I am not saying that "The Church" (aka "La Chiesa") is a bad movie, not at all. It is an adequate movie in itself, but it just isn't outstanding in comparison to many other horror movies.The effects were adequate. Of course, you need to take into consideration that the movie is from 1989, so some of the practical effects might be a bit cheesy by today's standards. And that is of course a natural evolution.However, I remember the movie as being kind of disturbing back in the day. But now it just turned out to be yet another horror movie that follows a standardized formula of how to make a horror movie.Certain aspects of the movie were working out nicely, such as the threat of possession and the impeding dread that lurked inside the isolated church. However, there were also some aspects that were campy and working less in favor of the movie, such as the nudity and the absurdity of some of the situations.The characters in the movie were essentially shallow characters that lacked proper depth and character traits. So on that account it was a bland experience to witness the actors on the screen.It was nice to see a young Asia Argento in this movie, although she wasn't the lead. But she was always the one who stood out as the most memorable in this movie, back then and even now."The Chuch" is definitely colored by its time of creation and its location of filming, as it permeates that late 1980's Italian horror feel all over.There is definitely something to be had in "The Church" for long-time fans of the horror genre, and especially if you have grown up with horror movies. However, for newcomers to the genre, then I believe that "The Church" will pass as being laughable and outdated at best.

In the Middle Ages, the Knights Templar invade a supposed coven of witches and they slaughter the community. The dig an unholy collective grave, bury the bodies and build a church on the top of the corpses. On the present days, the ambitious librarian Evan (Tomas Arana) is hired to organize the books of the church. He meets the archaeologist Lisa (Barbara Cupisti) that is researching the catacombs of the church and he accidentally unleashes and is possessed by an ancient demon. Sooner several visitors are trapped inside the church and possessed by demons. Father Gus (Hugh Quarshie) and the teenager Lotte (Asia Argento) are the only persons that are not possessed, and Father Gus discovers a secret in the construction of the church that might be the last chance to save mankind."La Chiesa" is a great Gothic horror film with story of Dario Argento and his daughter Asia Argento in an important role. The plot is a prequel to Demons 1 and 2, and I saw this film for the first time on 17 February 2012 and today I have decided to watch it again. Unfortunately this film has not been released on DVD or Blu-Ray in Brazil and the image of the VHS awfully dubbed in English is poor and does not highlight the magnificent cinematography or the creepy special effects. The soundtrack has the music of Keith Emerson, Goblin and Philip Glass and completes this great film of demons. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Catedral" ("The Cathedral")Note: On 22 Jn 2017, I saw this film again on DVD, unfortunately dubbed in English.

Church, The (1989) ** (out of 4) This Michele Soavi film was originally intended to be the third entry in the DEMONS series, which producer Dario Argento has started up with director Lamberto Bava. For whatever reason the title was changed but it's easy to see how this could be considered the third film. In this movie, we start off hundreds of years in the past when a group of Knights attack a village of Satan worshipers and bury them. Years later a church is built over them and it doesn't take long until their spirits come out of the ground and possess people who then go on a killing spree. THE CHURCH has been built up pretty highly in some crowds as I've read reviews calling it one of the best Italian horror films out there and I've even read a few reviews stating that this is far beyond anything Argento has ever done. I can't say I agree with any of those opinions and when the end credits started to role I couldn't help but feel disappointed because while there's some nice eye candy I can't get over the fact that this movie goes on way too long and not much ever really happens. I think the opening sequence showing the attack on the Satan worshipers was beautifully filmed and there was some nice atmosphere to go along with it. Sadly, everything that follows is pretty weak and a lot of the blame has to go towards the screenplay, which never comes together. I guess we can overlook the fact that the story makes absolutely no sense because to be fair very few of these type of Italian films ever made sense. The problem is that there's nothing to the screenplay and you just sit there for over an hour without anything happening. Director Soavi is able to build up some atmosphere and there's some nice cinematography but this doesn't cover up all the warts. The story goes absolutely nowhere and when it finally starts up you'll be too bored to care about anything going on. The final thirty-minutes has a group of people getting trapped inside the church as the demons begin to attack. Those expecting to see the gore of the DEMONS series are going to be really disappointed as there's not too much of the red stuff. The majority of the cast members are strictly by-the-numbers with the exception of Asia Argento who is quite impressive in her scenes. At over 100-minute it's fair to say that at least twenty-minutes should have been cut out. THE CHURCH might be respected in some circles but I found it to be an incredibly over hyped and boring affair.