Sanctuaire

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.

Being a big fan of Michele Soavi's brilliantly grotesque "Dellamorte Dellamore" (1994), I was looking forward to seeing this Gothic entry to his oeuvre quite a bit. I must say that, while "La Chiesa" aka. "The Church" of 1989 is definitely not a bad film, I was overall slightly disappointed in regard that this is a Soavi film produced by none other than Italian Horror deity Dario Argento. I did not expect anything like "Dellamorte Dellamore", and generally think of the celebrated "Deliria" (aka. "Stagefright", 1987) as slightly overrated by most of my fellow fans of Italian Horror.

Visually, "La Chiesa" is absolutely striking, and while the premise is very promising, continuity is not the film's strongest point. In the 12th century, an entire village of accused heretics are brutally massacred by an order of Teutonic knights, and buried in the woods. In order to ban evil spirits from coming back for eternity, a cathedral is built at the burial site. Centuries later, an employee at the church finds a mysterious document, and subsequently releases sanguinary demons... The idea of a haunted church is one that most of my fellow Horror fans would applaud. The film's strong points are the phenomenal visual style, wonderful setting and creepy Gothic atmosphere, as well as another great score by Progressive Rock Band / Film Composers Goblin. The cast includes a very young Asia Argento and Giovanni Lombardo Radice as an arrogant priest. Russian actor Feodor Chaliapin Jr. is very good and creepy-looking as the elderly Bishop responsible for the church, and Ghanese actor Hugh Quarshie makes a refreshingly unusual hero (an African Roman Catholic priest). The negative aspects are the lack of continuity and logic, and the fact that the characters are not well-drawn. Actually, one does not terribly care about the characters (except maybe for the girl played by Asia Argento), which makes it hard to be scared for them. Overall, this is an enjoyable film for my fellow Italo-Horror buffs, but it certainly isn't spectacular. Definitely recommended to Soavi-fans, but those unfamiliar with his work should watch "Dellamorte Dellamore" first.

"La Chiesa"/"The Church" is a great Gothic horror film made by Michele Soavi with wild usage of camera,very hypnotic Goblin soundtrack and overall creepy atmosphere.The film was written and produced by Dario Argento,so fans of Italian horror won't be disappointed.It starts out with incredible scene of massacre,where a crusading army kills all inhabitants of a small village.There is plenty of violence and the photography is absolutely stunning.Soavi uses the camera tricks only hinted at in his wonderful "Deliria"(1987).There are several amazing camera shots and the lighting is excellent.The film is visually striking and the gore effects are quite good.The sequences involving secret machinery built into the structure of the cathedral are especially well executed.A must-see for fans of Italian horror!

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.

At the beginning it is set at the Middle Age when Templar Knigths carry out an extreme and macabre massacre against villagers . Nowadays , a librarían , Tomas Arana , arrives in a gargoyle-glutted Gothic cathedral, there he meets an archaelogist , Barbara Cupisti , and the adolescent Lotte , Asia Argento . And the senior priest , Feodor Chaliapin Jr who has dark knowledges about the sinister past of the church . Then , horrible happenings take place at the crypt with fateful consequences. It happens to stand on the site of the gruesome mass murder is renovated, and the kirk-cleaning turns into special effects loaded demonic epiphany, including stabbing , possession, crushing to death, behading and others , until a surprising ending .You have not for a player. It will make you squirm . In this unholy sanctuary you have not got a prayer...

Creepy and scary film with a lot of amazing and horrifying scenes including lots of blood and gore . The film is acceptable but regularly paced with several images with no much sense. The picture mingles Teutonic knights , Ghotic Cathedral , self-sacrifices, supernatural events, Witchcraft, necromancy, ghastly transformations , and terrible monsters .The film displays dozens of gory scenes including slashing , heart ripped out , slitting, punched in the face , stabbing in the chest, decapitation and many others . The picture is also known as Demons 3 , similar to The Sect titled Demons 4 , though its script have nothing to do with Demons saga by Lamberto Bava who is son of the Italian thrill-meister Mario Bava.

It displays a colorful an evocative cinematography by Renato Tafuri. As well as sinister and punching musical score from Philip Glass , Keith Emerson and Goblin . This ecclesiastical gore-feast picture was professionally directed by Michael Soavi , though it has a great number of flaws and gaps. Soavi is a good craftsman who began as a director assistant to important filmmakers as Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento . As he collaborated as first director assistant in A Blade in the Dark , Demons , Tenebre , Phenomena , among others . With new skills Soavi returned to Argento as a supervisor for special effects in Opera , where Argento offered him to direct another film , the horror film La Chiesa , or The Church. With his first big film project, a budget 3 or 4 times the budget of Statefright or Aquarius , with Argento as the producer and shot in Hungary . In the Eighties he made various decent terror movies as Aquarius , The Sect , and the classical Dellamore Dellamore or Zombie Graveyard with Rupert Everett and Anna Falchi.