La chiesa

On paper, "The Church" appears to have a winning formula. Its pedigree consists of direction by Argento protégé Michael ("Dellamorte Dellamore") Soavi, input from the master, Dario Argento, in both writer and producer roles, a soundtrack by the likes of Goblin and Keith Emerson, and a capable cast.

Despite this, the film is a hesitant recommendation. For me, it doesn't quite gel. It's a little like "Demons" but without the cheesy charm and outrageous pace (it comes as little surprise that this film was almost named "Demons 3"). I didn't expect a brilliant plot but the film is genuinely clunky and makes the unforgivable error of actually losing tension and descending into boredom territory. I found myself clock watching at more than one interval during the proceedings. There are some excellent set-pieces, though, the best of which uses a simple windscreen to glorious effect. Also, fans of rubbery demons (of which I count myself as one) will not be disappointed.

Despite the talent involved, the soundtrack manages to be a little overpowering and repetitive.

Turning to the cast, Asia Argento fans will be able to see her in one of her earliest roles, before she became one of cinemas true "bad girls". The excellent Hugh Quarshie (genre fans will know him as the immortal Kastagir from "Highlander" and Panaka from the dreadful "Phantom Menace" but UK television viewers will know him as Ric Griffin from "Holby City") is a solid lead.

The film's worth watching if you're a fan of Italian supernatural horror. It's not for everybody, though. Aside from "Suspiria", "Demons" is probably a stronger bet for the newcomer than this offering. As a little Jedi would say, "Strong visuals alone do not good films make!"

I am such a huge fan of Michele Soavi. I absolutely adore Stagefright, the best slasher ever. Dellamorte Dellamore is quite simply a Gothic masterpiece, a near perfect zombie film with a philosophical overtone to it. I also thought The Sect was a quite effective nerve-jolter filled with incredible surreal images and solid scares. So I was disappointed after viewing The Church, I had such high hopes.

It starts of well enough. Medieval knights massacre a village they fear is possessed by demonic spirits and the priest orders that a church should be built on their buriel ground. Fastforward to the present, something weird is going on in that church; some evil seems to be lurking about and possessing people. A showdown between good and evil is unavoidable.

The film has style to burn. Michele Soavi is a master at creating surreal imagery and his camera knows no limits. This is the film's high point along with some terrific set pieces, one in particular involving a subway and a teenage girl. Another thing I must mention in the film's favour; the music score. It's always wonderful to hear Goblin and Keith Emerson also provides some good music. But good music is simply something you can always count on in these Italian productions.

The thing that doesn't work here, and it's a big thing, is the plot. It's practically nonexistent. The film doesn't make any sense, jumps from one setpiece to another (though some are brilliantly executed), with only so little to tie them together. It's got wooden characters, none you really care about (Tomas Arana in particular). The final showdown in the Church, although well done in terms of effects, is a real letdown, nothing much happens and in the end, well...I felt cheated in a big way.

As it was originally conceived of as the second sequel in the Demons saga, I expected this to be full of violence. It's not, apart from the rather gory opening. I guess Soavi wanted to do a more serious film, with some philosophical input or something. He should have had a better script to work with.

Although it's disappointing, it's certainly not without interest.

Trust a Dario Argento presentation to bring us a weird movie. I must admit I'm not a big Argento fan, but I did enjoy 'The Church', directed by Michele Soavi.

The film reminded me of 'Demons' and 'Demons 2', especially. On investigation - as it turns out - 'The Church' was meant to be 'Demons 3', but they decided to make it more "sophisticated" and remove the connection to the previous two films. Regardless, it still felt like a 'Demons' movie.

Centuries ago an entire village was massacred because a girl was accused of being a witch. (Well done to the Church; that's so Godly!). The villagers were buried in a large grave, over which a church was erected "to imprison the demon forever".

We then move to recent times and the magnificent church, which now attracts tourists. A Librarian, Evan, starts working at the church where he meets and falls in love with Lotte (Asia Argento). Their romance moves along quickly, and together they start to unravel the secret of the church.

Strange things start happening in true Argento style, and a group of people gets trapped inside the church. (In 'Demons' people were trapped in a movie theatre; in 'Demons 2' people were trapped in an apartment building). The make-up, props and creature designs are fantastic. There are some gory and disturbing scenes. I actually enjoyed the film more towards the end, as complete chaos ensued, with great practical effects. Parts of the movie also reminded me of 'The Beyond' from 1981.

Would I watch it again? Maybe.

As far as writer Dario Argento's films go, "The Church," directed by Michele Soavi, is squarely in the middle.

The plot involves a Gothic cathedral built on the mass graves of medieval villagers massacred after being accused of devil worship. As you might expect, the dead don't stay buried forever, and they come back to wreak vengeance on the living.

The visuals are remarkable. The scenes of modern-day worshipers battling the risen demons are well directed, and the makeup and gore are remarkable — though certainly not for the squeamish.

Unfortunately, bad dialogue and worse acting weigh heavily on the film, and are likely to generate some unintentional laughs.

Still, "The Church" is worthwhile for Soavi's stunning direction, as well as a propulsive synth score by Keith Emerson. Fans of Gothic horror should consider "The Church" a reluctant obligation.

Director Michele Soavi gained worldwide recognition with his 1994 masterpiece "Dellamorte Dellamore"; however, he had been mastering his craft under the guidance of horror master Dario Argento for years before that hit. "La Chiesa" was his second feature length effort as director and he displays his craft with a visually stunning Gothic movie about possessions on the vein of Lamberto Bava's "Demoni" (In fact, it was conceived as the series third chapter), but with Soavi's visual style all over it.

"La Chiesa" or "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. 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 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. Their music works perfectly with the movie and completes the wonderful composition that Soavi creates.

The Gothic Church is a character itself and Soavi gives it life and uses the location with great skill. The lighting and special effects are used with great care in order to increase the Gothic atmosphere of the film. Despite this, the story is a bit weak and the surrealist scenes Soavi intends to use to increase the atmosphere actually decrease the coherence of his plot, making it to drag a bit with scenes that seem to serve no purpose. This sadly becomes a major flaw in an otherwise flawless film.

The acting is very good, although the English dubbing is kind of average. Tom Arana and Hugh Quarshie are very good in the lead roles, and Barbara Cupisti makes a great romantic interest. However, two members of the cast remarkably steal the show. Feodor Chaliapin Jr. gives a great interpretation as the head Bishop of the Church, giving a haunting performance as an old man with many secrets. The true star is young Asia Argento as Lotte, the teenage daughter of the sacristan who prefers to be at discos than working at the church. Her character may be small, but she shows her great talent and certainly shows why is she now the great actress she is today.

As written above, the strangely constructed plot is a major turn off, as the last third of the film becomes very strange and a bit disappointing considering that the previous two thirds are a terrific haunting film. Still, Michele Soavi's technique is always perfect and his visual perfection is never disappointing. It is no wonder why with a better script he crafted a masterpiece with "Dellamorte Dellamore".

"La Chiesa" may not be a perfect film, but it is a very good experience and a good introduction to modern Euro-horror. It is a shame that Soavi has decided to stay on TV films because his stylish art seems to have no limits when correctly developed. Fans of Italian horror will be pleased with "The Church". 7/10