Themes: Ghosts, Haunted By the Past, Demonic Possession
Main Cast: Asia Argento
Release Year: 1989
Country: IT
Run Time: 110 minutes
Plot
Originally intended as the third chapter in producer Dario Argento's Demons trilogy, La Chiesa stands alone as an effective horror film centering on a haunted cathedral with a violent past. The church's history begins in Medieval Italy, when the Knights Templar massacred an entire village of suspected Satanists and built the structure upon the site of the slain peasants' mass grave. Designed by an architect/alchemist (who was buried alive within his creation), the church is filled with elaborate machinery designed to seal off all entrances if ever the spirits of the entombed villagers were to rise again... which, of course, takes place in the present when the crypt's seal is removed. As demonic forces have their way with the church's occupants, it becomes the task of the parish priest (Hugh Quarshie) and a young girl (Asia Argento, daughter of Dario) to discover the builder's last line of defense before the evil is unleashed upon the outside world. Directed by Michele Soavi (who later gained critical acclaim with the inventive Dellamorte Dellamore), this is an imaginative Gothic horror film with startling imagery straight out of a Hieronymous Bosch painting and its own well-conceived mythology. Shots of the church's elaborate Medieval machines grinding to life are particularly memorable. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Review
After receiving overwhelming praise by genre fans following his debut feature Stage Fright (1987), Italian director and Dario Argento protégé Michele Soavi follows up with this gothic-drenched apocalyptic nightmare which was originally slated as the third Demons film. Departing substantially from the pulsing, rock music-driven excess of Demons and Demons 2, The Church instead relies on building a suffocating sense of quiet dread, complimented by the beautifully surreal visuals that would define such later Soavi efforts as The Sect (1990) and Dellamorte, Dellamore (1994). Though many lamented the film's comparatively languid pacing as opposed to its predecessors, viewing The Church out of context and completely removed from the alluring expectation of gore-drenched demons charging through a gothic cathedral offers a satisfyingly horrific effort with some truly breathtaking photography. With The Church, Soavi comes into his own as a visual stylist, even if his storytelling skills may not have been totally realized at this point. Though Argento's influence can be felt in nearly every frame of The Church, Soavi has obviously taken another step toward becoming a director capable of functioning outside of his former mentor's restraints. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Cast
Tomas Arana - Evan; Asia Argento - Lotte; Feodor Chaliapin, Jr. - Bishop; Roberto Corbiletto; Barbara Cupisti - Lisa; Olivia Cupisti; Gianfranco de Grassi; Alina de Simone; Claire Hardwick; Lars Butin Jorgensen; John Karlsen; Katherine Bell Marjorie; Riccardo Minervini; Enrico Osteman; Micaela Pignatelli; Patrizia Punzo; Hugh Quarshie - Father Gus; Giovanni Lombardo Radice; Matteo Rochietta; Antonella Vitale - Model; John Richardson
