Church [DVD] [1989] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

The 12th Century. Following a massacre of suspected plague sufferers, one of whom has a stigmata on her foot, the church and the establishment decide to bury their secrets by building a church on the site of where the victims are buried, in order to keep the evil trapped for ever, under hallowed ground. The present day. The very same church has a new librarian, who unwittingly frees the toxic evil from its incarceration, awakening a centuries old power that begins to infect the church and its occupants one by one...
Italian director Michele Soavi, who served his apprenticeship under two great horror directors from Italy, Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava, here shows his usual creative flourishes to direct this highly enjoyable horror film. Soavi may well have only directed a handful of films, but what a great handful they are. Whilst not quite attaining the heights of his brilliant arty slasher 'Stagefright' or the endearingly bizarre 'Dellamore Dellamorte', Soavi once again delivers the goods.
Originally devised as the third in the Demoni series, 'The Church' could be accused of style over substance, but frankly who cares, as many Italian horrors favour a beautiful tapestry over total plot cohesion.
The best part of the film is once a disparite group of people, including a school party, a wedding group and a pair of nagging pensioners, are trapped within the church's walls, once a mechanism is operated that seals the church and its putrid secrets from the modern world. This is where Soavi's visual flair really comes into its own, as the infected hallucinate of demonic apparitions and madness spreads. One darkly humourous scene finds a jolly old dear using part of her husbands anatomy as a bell ringing instrument.
The cast reads like a who's who of Italian horror, with Giovanni Radice, Tomas Arana and Dario's daughter Asia all turning up, along with Hugh Quarshie, playing a progressive priest.
The on screen style is nicely complemented by a terrific music score by Keith Emerson and The Goblins/Goblin.
This Blue Underground release presents the film nicely with a nice picture and sound quality, although the extras are a bit barren. 5 out of 5 for the lovely main attraction anyway.
Please note- This Blue Underground is region free and not Region 1 as stated in the product information.

Director Michele Soavi gained worldwide recognition with his 1994 masterpiece "Dellamorte Dellamore" or Cemetery Man; however, he had been mastering his craft under the guidance of horror master Dario Argento for years before that hit. The Church was his second feature length effort as director and he displays his craft with a visually stunning Gothic movie about possessions, I didn't think that the film was bad at all but some scenes were quite boring and the pacing was abit slow but it does pick up the pace later on during the second half. The Church is a tale of an unholy supernatural evil contained under a Gothic Cathedral. Centuries ago, a group of Templar Knights brutally killed a town accused of being devil-worshipers; in order to keep the evil down they built a cathedral and sealed it on top of the dead bodies. Now, in the present a greedy librarian named Evan (Tomas Arana) breaks the seal and frees the forces of evil. The Church starts a self-protection devise that serves to trap the evil, but it also traps a lot of innocent people who become the target of the demons who begin to posses them. The premise was somewhat similar to Demons 1 and 2, that's because it was written by Dario Argento and it seemed to be an unofficial sequel to those films only it wasn't as exciting, gory or as good as the Demon films, aside from some nifty gore scenes it was a step down for the director, who had made an impressive debut with the slasher pic "Stage Fright." The first two thirds are basically an investigation of the church's history and aren't very interesting. Like so many flawed films, the story is lacking because there isn't a clear protagonist to identify with.

However, the last third which has a group of people trapped inside as the evil is unleashed, is definitely pretty cool, although not very original. There aren't demon possessions like the ones that occur in Demons parts 1 and 2. Much of the horror that takes place only happens in the victims' minds. But the effects and sets are pretty cool. Most memorable scene: Probably when someone impales himself on a jack hammer. Also, a very young Asia Argento has an important role. It's fun to see her as a girl, and also interesting to note that her dubbed voice seems to change with every movie. The movie is a visual Tour-De-Force where Soavi experiments with his outstanding camera-work creating haunting atmospheres of supernatural beauty. Complete with a terrific score with music not only by horror veterans Goblin but also by Prog rock virtuoso Keith Emerson and the remarkable composer Philip Glass. But like I said before this was a step down for the director and it only turned out into a decent but forgettable Italian horror film. Soavi would go onto greatness by making the awesome Cemetery Man, so if you haven't seen that film yet then I suggest you watch that first.

Browsing amazon I noticed to my horror that this film only recieved one star. Trust me, this film is actually very good indeed. The film plays more as an atmospheric piece than the usual argentoesque gore fest fans of italian horror are used to and along with a great location, actors and creature effects this manages to be the best italian horror movie of the 80's!!!