This movie marked the second directorial effort of Michele Soavi and he had some assistance, as Dario Argento lent a hand in the production and writing duties. Before I continue, here's an idea for a drinking game (inspired by one Don Anderson): if you can spot Soavi in the movie, take a couple of shots. You can also play this game in some other Italian horror movies that he appears in, too. Back to the movie, it begins with a flashback to some time ago, when a group of Teutonic knights slaughter a village that was suspected of being Satan worshippers. They eventually bury the dead and decide to build a church upon that site. Now, fast forward to present day, and we meet quite possibly the creepiest bishop and librarian along with a young assistant. The librarian opens the gate (in reality, a cross that the knights had built to seal the spirits) and gets cut. The cut makes him go wacky, and soon, anyone he cuts gets the same affliction. One day, a group of children with guide, an elderly couple, a young biker couple, and a newly married couple are all trapped in the church when the Sacristan lets out some blood, which triggers an automatic locking system. The problem: there's only one door out. It is up to Father Gus and a teenage Asia Argento to stop the spirits from escaping, which means finding a secret within the building and unlocking it.
The movie borrows from Demons (it was originally going to be called Demons 3) and Inferno. The soundtrack is good and fits with the movie well, and the atmosphere is perfect for what Soavi is wanting to accomplish. There's not a lot of violence, but the violence that does happen is spectacular enough to make up for it. The ending was rather mediocre, which takes the movie down a peg. Other than that, The Church is an above average movie that is worth the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment