Quite good and bizarre Italian horror flick! In the medieval ages, christian knights massacred a possessed village and buried all the folks who worshipped Satan to a large burial ground. They build a church over it so that the taint of evil wouldn't come back again, now in the present day a librarian wants to uncover the secrets of the cathedral as he accidently opens the secret sealed tomb as it unleashes demonic forces onto the church and trapping a group of people inside. But can the priests and some of the trapped people put a stop to this unholy curse or will the world be damned forever?
A feverish and bizarre supernatural horror fantasy shocker from Michele Soavi (Director of the brilliant "Cemetery Man" and "StageFright") and from co-writer and producer Dario Argento delivers a grueling and stylish journey to hell. There is some nudity and graphic violence shown with some good make-up and demon effects, the film itself is a sequel of sorts to both "Demons 1 and 2". Legendary Italian actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice does a nice performance as the Reverend, Asia Argento as the young girl Lotte and the movie has a good score by Goblin, fans of "Demons 1 & 2" should seek out this gem.
This DVD contains good picture and sound with a couple of extras like trailer and bio to director Michele Soavi.
Also recommended: "Prince of Darkness", "Evil Dead 2", "Demons 1 & 2", "End of Days", "The Omen (1976)", "The Exorcist", "Suspiria", "Inferno", "Tenebre", "Phenomena (a.k.a. Creepers)", "City of the Living Dead (a.k.a. Gates of Hell)", "Hellraiser", "Hellbound: Hellraiser II", "The Amityville Horror (1979 and 2005)", "The Wicker Man (1973)", "Evilspeak", "Cemetery Man (a.k.a. Dellamorte Dellamore)", "Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend", "House By The Cemetery", "From Dusk Till Dawn", "The Fog (1980)", "The Blind Dead Series", "StageFright", "Poltergeist", "Exorcism of Emily Rose", "The Shining", "Rosemary's Baby", "Pumpkinhead", "Mark of the Devil" and "The Beyond".
Produced by Dario Argento Many times a movie is criticized for having bad actors. This is not one of those movies. The actors actually are not bad. Where this movie goes wrong is in the actual script for the storyline and the production by Dario Argento. The actors did the best that anyone else could have done with a far fetched script that was actually silly more than scary or at least suspenseful. The main characters did show emotional range and good acting ability. So, what should a potential buyer be forewarned about? Here is a short list of production flaws in this movie: 1-horrible 80's organ music from a cheap casio keyboard. If music is included in a horror movie to build suspense, the music should be gothic and atmospheric, not sesame street level toddler piano. The bad music is distracting from noticing the main actors of the video. 2-poor special effects-one scene has a sesame street looking monstor with glowing red eyes-very poorly done. 3-Some of the scenes did not match with the rest of the movie. Too much time was wasted on camera shots or conversations with non-essential characters who just appeared at various parts of the film who had no real impact on the movie. On the other hand, there is a demon sex scene-it is filmed from a side angle and from a distance. So, don't expect to see any details in that scene either. This is an example of a movie that actually has some talented actors, but, had a well known producer who did a poor job co-writting and producing this movie. My feeling is that Dario Argento rushed to write the script for this movie and really did not apply himself to at least make a believable horror film like he did with some of his other classics. Unless you are an extremme fan of Dario Argento, stay away from this silliness. In fact, I would not recommend that anyone watch this video for free on cable. My rating for this video is 1 star Very poor script writing that limited the actors ability to perform-
Raped by the devil...the devil sucks in bed. I'm not gonna lie...the ONLY reason i ordered this is because i seen a preview on cemetary man showing this naked woman being violated by a full prosthetic application GOAT--MAN--DEVIL....THATS IT. perhaps my anticipation for glorious ritualistic beast nasties killed my having interest in anything else....like storylines and characters...it was all in all from what i remember, a religious thriller with some shock scares hidden in there. its worth $5, which i believe i paid.....but if you're NOT buying it because its an ARGENTO classic(like demons 1 and 2..and you ARE buying it for the same reason i did...which is wrong...then i don't recommend it.
The key to getting a girlfriend What got me interested in this movie was (like so many horror movies) the front cover of the DVD box. It pictured a dimly lit church interior, with a mass of dead bodies piled together in the shape of a devil's head. I suggest you find that online, because it's probably the coolest idea ever thought of in terms of set design for a horror movie. It's also probably the coolest thing in this entire film.
I was always a bit confused about who made this movie when I did research on it. I heard it was done by Dario Argento (who made the horror classics "Deep Red" and "Suspiria") and I'd also heard it was done by a protege of his. It turns out the story and script were worked on by Dario Argento (along with some other people) but that it was directed by Michele Soavi. (the protege, I assume) Knowing Dario Argento had a hand in all this, however, only depressed me more by the end of it.
The film opens in the Middle Ages. The Teutonic Knights uncover a village inhabited by a demonic cult. They wipe out every one in the village and decide to build a church over the mass grave.
Cut to modern day...uh...I think it's supposed to be America but the police wear Italian uniforms and most of the characters are undoubtedly dubbed. The church is currently being rennovated, and it has a new librarian named Evan. Evan finds out about a secret tomb buried under the church, and figures (as per horror movie tradition) that there must be gold or artifacts underneath and it requires him to open it without any one else knowing. This, of course, unleashes the evil spirits from the tomb, and boy are they PO'd! They possess one of the church workers and force him to sacrifice himself (via jackhammer seppukku) which sets off a mechanism that locks the door and traps the people inside the church. (the group consisting of a photography shoot, a school on a field trip, some bikers, and the church staff) It turns out the architect of the church designed it intentionally to trap the spirits should they ever be released - people trapped inside be damned. (no pun intended)
Now granted, there are some major plotholes regarding this. First, it's later revealed there are holes and tunnels that go under the church - so why aren't the demons escaping from the church that way? Second, the only one who knows this is the daughter of one of the church workers - you're telling me the other people who work there and whose sole job is to maintain, monitor, and in general work in the church did NOT know about it? Oh yeah...and if they find it important to leave the church, why not break some of the first story windows and go get help? I mean c'mon, the church is being rennovated any way.
As a horror film - let alone a movie in general - this movie fails on a lot of levels. There are some well done monster effects (especially a goat demon that gets lucky in one scene - and no that's not a cheap hentai joke) but they really do nothing for a film that isn't all that scary in the least. To top it off, the part with the people trapped in the church was absolutely stupid. The only reason the demons manage to kill them all is because of how stupid they are - people wander off alone and characters will either die, act weird, or get mutilated and no one will seem to care, let alone notice. I think I can see why the demons were conquered so easily in the first place: they rely on their victims being absolutely stupid. If their enemy is actually competant (like the Teutonic knights) then they're easily defeated.
Actually, the way they're contained is stupid enough. If the church is so worried about the demons being unleashed to possess humanity, why don't they put a better lock on the door to hell? (at least something better than an overdecorated manhole cover) Why don't they put a guard on there 24/7? (hey, the Teutonic Knights could've guarded it - and they're still around too!) Why don't they make sure to tell people to stay clear of the entrance? There has to be a better way to keep the devil in than using a lid that any fool passing by could just lift up.
By the way, this movie has some of the worst dialogue applied to film. For example, when Evan goes into the church for the first time and meets Lisa, the rennovator, their dialogue goes like this:
Evan: "What a divine fresco. Which way is the library?" Lisa: *points* Evan: "Hey, how about a cup of coffee later?" Lisa: "OK!"
Ten minutes later they almost have sex. Give me a break! If the world worked like this, I would have had sex with ten women before I'd finished this review. Also, as a historical buff I was offended by this following dialogue describing the Teutonic knights:
Evan: "A military religious order that defended the pilgrams in the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades. They later took over half of Europe - their cruelty became legendary...they appealed a lot to the Nazis. Hitler drew his inspiration from them when he founded the SS. The Iron Cross, his favorite decoration, was modeled on the black cross of the Teutonic Knights."
WHAT?! First off, they NEVER owned half of Europe - let alone any size close to that! Second off, I'm not aware of anything that inspired Hitler to make the SS after them, in fact the use of the Teutonic Knights by the Nazis was propaganda, just as it was to use Wagner's music. Finally, the Iron Cross was a German decoration a hundred years before Hitler came to power, and had been a symbol in Prussia and many other Germanic nations for some time. By the way, Evan is telling this to Lisa - the rennovator! You're telling me a rennovator of Medieval castles doesn't even have an inkling on who the Teutonic Knights were?
The only real saving grace of this film are the few clever moments, and the soundtrack. The music was done by the Italian band the Goblins, which did the music for Dario Argento's "Deep Red" and "Suspiria," and it's a nice theme for this film. It uses electronic instruments but retains a kind of eerie church-like atmosphere. And, admittedly, Michele Soavi can set up scenes nicely, as the shots of the church interior and exterior give a great sense of space and size. Unfortunately, all this isn't enough to save the film. So just refer back to my first paragraph, follow what I tell you, and go one with your daily routine - you'll thank me for it. Others may say I'm being harsh and picking on some small points - I call it using logic.
By the way, if you do see the movie, catch the part where Lisa jumps through her house window. It's so hilarious. She leaps through the window like a professional high-diver taking a plunge, and goes through it wearing only a nightgown without getting a scratch.
No Sleeping In THESE Pews!... Yep, the splatter scenes are here! Especially memorable are the "Sledgehammer Suicide", "Subway-train Facial", and "Bell-ringing Granny" sequences! However, this movie isn't just for gorehündts, as it also has a cool story and the world's creepiest church building for atmosphere! A group of people, including a bride and groom, their wedding party, an elementary school tour-group, 2 bikers, and 3 priests end up trapped inside the church. Little do they know that demonic forces have been unleashed in order to fulfill a centuries old curse! THE CHURCH is a strong entry in the demon holocaust movie sub-genre. Services begin at midnight. Don't be late...
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