Catacombs, les couloirs de l'enfer

Catacombs is a nice timepasser and pretty decent lesser known horror movie. This takes place in modern times(well, the late 80's)and is about a powerful demon locked away in the catacombs of an ancient monastery that is breaking out and reeking havoc, The acting is pretty good and the pacing and f/x are solid. Catacombs plot and style is nothing new and borrows heavily from The Exorcist, The Omen films and other, better films in the same genre. It does generate a spooky atmosphere and I would say, there is not much that will blow viewers away, but its done well enough that most people can sit through the film and more ardent fans of similar horror films should enjoy it.

Before I watched this horror I watched another one coming from the same year. It's easy to see, again, that horror wasn't very popular around that era. Of course there were some highlights as Hellraiser (1987) but here again, it surely isn't a slasher or a gory piece. But there is a bit of suspense here although that you easily can see who will be possessed by the demon. There is almost no blood in it and the effects used are very cheap. What I mean is, the bodies are doing the tricks and now and then a cross or other things just fall of the wall. The acting is reasonable well and it is strange that this flick never had a proper release. Still up to now it isn't available on VHS or DVD. If you want to see it you will have to find it on rental VHS. It wasn't that bad but it's easy to see that it was a low budget. A perfect example that the latex and slime effects were over, which mostly look gory, and that a new era was on his way, the computer era or better known as CGI. But if you can find it than I would recommend it to watch it.

Originally filmed in 1988 under the title Catacombs but not released until 1993 due to the production company's bankruptcy, Curse IV is a surprisingly entertaining film. Under the direction of frequent Charles Band collaborator David Schmoeller, the film creates a strong feeling of unease early on and keeps the suspense going fairly strong throughout. Feodor Chaliapin is especially memorable as a dying priest. He comes across with just the right amount of sincerity so that one could honestly see him as a man of the cloth. While far from the greatest film to come out of Empire Pictures, Curse IV is still a fun movie that is worth a look sometime.

Taken off the shelf and retitled "Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice", this was actually made before the second and third entries in the unrelated series. This one deals with a possessed albino who was sealed in the walls of an old monastery 400 years ago. Fast-forward to the present and a young teacher's arrival to the monastery somehow frees the demon from it's prison.

I'm a fan of the other three film in the Curse "series", and while I enjoyed this one to an extent, it's easily the weakest of the four. The film boasts an exciting opening sequence, but things get bogged down when we move to the present. Of the cast, Laura Schaefer is certainly attractive, but the only good performance here is that of Jeremy West as the strict Brother Marinus. The atmosphere is solid, Pino Donaggio contributes a typically good score and there's a really effective bit with a possessed statue towards the end. This scene alone is worth seeing the film for.

On the other hand, the film would benefit from a different actor in the hero role. The guy they chose annoyed me, and so did the bedridden priest who goes on and on about utter nonsense. His character should have been omitted entirely. I also can't believe that an obvious continuity error was allowed to remain during the scene where Schaefer walks in on the monks having dinner.

A mixed bag.

Picking this title up for a couple of quid, I had hoped for a standard lame monster flick in which those dam monks get there just deserves. Surprisingly, the characters throughout are well rounded, often humorous and quite believable. The demon that stalks the catacombs has some cool moves that unfortunately are not really exploited in the films conclusion. If you like watching these kind of bargain basement titles then Catacombs will serve you well as it is a little more intelligent and atmospheric than usual. Although not particularly scary or gory this movie offers more than enough laughs and thrills to recommend a rental. 5 outa 10