Rating: 
Summary: Starts out strong but quickly falls apart
Review: I have to say that I enjoyed a good portion of the movie, namely the first half, but once everyone gets stuck in the church, well, things collapse faster than the old builing itself. What made this movie strong in the begining was that it didn't try to focus on to many characters. But then we are introduced to everyone who is caught in the church. Soon characters just vanish from the plot all together, and then re-appear later, and then vanish again. And what happened to all the children? There where like at least ten kids, and they all happen to magically vanish! Plus, it is very hard to tell how people become transformed into demons in this film. Some are scratched (as it was in Demons1), but some just magically change (like say the old woman). The main fault of this film is that it doesn't commit to anything. It throws all these things together, and only follows through on some of them. So, yes, while the first half is quite good, and well written, the last half is nothing but pointless gore, sex, and an attempt at sounding sophisticated. So rent it first before you commit to buying it.(* and any anime fans listen for the voice of Wendee Lee as one of the main female characters)
Rating: 
Summary: Watch a Fulci movie instead....
Review: I love Italian exploitation, but this movie forgets to throw in the exploitation. The worst Italian horror flick of all time? Maybe, but then what about Evil Clutch..?
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad But Not Good
Review: I`m a huge fan of Dario Argento, he produced many films that I really liked such as Demons, Dawn Of The Dead, and directed such classics as SUSPIRIA and DEEP RED, but this one is probably the most disappointing production from him I`ve seen to date. But I must admit that the direction from Michele Soavi who gave us the fantastic and frightening STAGEFRIGHT is not bad, the performance from the actors is correct, the special effects are good and the score is extraordinary but where is the story!!! Where the movie is going? Those questions are not even resolved at the end. This is probably the most bizarre and weird film I`ve ever seen. It worth a watch but not expect much...
Rating:
Summary: A good effort
Review: Ok, heres the deal. The opening sequence was very well done, the gothic style and mood to the movie was also effectively achieved. But the character development was horrid and the final scenes of the movie seemed to be rushed. The final scenes, the whole summoning of Baphomet/sex scene and the rise of the damned set-piece could have used some more time I think. And who cares about those characters who were introduced later in the film. And why are the two seemingly main characters almost totally forgotten at the end of the film? Anyway, those are just some of my gripes and considering most italian horror films, those kind of gripes would be pretty standard. Overall it was a decent movie, good gore, good opening sequence and i'll leave it at that.
Rating:
Summary: Unsettling & Bizarre. Definately worth a HORROR fan's time.
Review: Originally planned as the third installment in the DEMONS series, this interesting concept became a completely different film altogether which is kind of TOO BAD. The DEMONS series is a lacklustre and tedious affair. It would have benefited greatly with this entry since it would have guaranteed at least ONE GOOD film in the series. THE CHURCH, although lacking on several aspects, is light years ahead of them.
The plot centres around a massacred village. It's cursed victims are accidently resurrected several centuries later. The main action takes place inside a very imposing church that was built over the massacre site. Several unlucky people are accidently locked inside where they become possessed and attacked one by one by the invisible demons. The film is very chatty so patience is definately neccessary but for those of you who stick it out, you will be awarded with several scenes of artistic merit and INTENSE GORE. Soavi, like Argento, Fulci & Bava, doesn't shy away from depicting loss of life in the most unsettling manner. The scene that comes to mind is a very disturbing, very graphic, very BLOODY suicide. There is also a neck impaling, a face ripping, and a very humorous demise involving a speeding subway. Also, the HORNED ONE HIMSELF makes a couple of unexpected cameos flaunting his goat-like appearance and elaborately curved horns - farm animals never looked this viscious. THE CHURCH is your typical Italian/Euro horror movie with the typical BAD dubbing, stiff acting and several million plot holes. However, fans of the genre REALLY don't care about these films shortcomings because they more than make up for it with their visual style and awesome body count. THE CHURCH is a very attractive movie to look at. The main actor's are quite attractive as is the stunning Church location. Argento/Soavi fans should enjoy this surreal but confusing tale of Satanists, Satan and everything else that is UNHOLY. Don't expect DEMONS 3- this film is FAR superior to both of those BAVA attrocities. However, for those of you WANTING a DEMONS affair you might want to skip on this one because YOU WILL be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Church of true horror
Review: Produced by Dario Argento,this is an atmospheric,creepy Italian horror,with beautiful and tense atmosphere,where even silence is important.This all is,of course,beautiful directed by Michelle Soavi.
Rating:
Summary: La Chiesa
Review: The story seems initiated by the fascination of the otherworldly architecture of the european gothic cathedral, which of course is the ultimate setting for a movie about pagan demons coming back to life.
A mediaeval pagan sect is massacred by templars and a cathedral is build on the burial ground to seal off the "evil". In present day the curiosity of a librarian working in the church leads to the awakening of what was once buried underneath.
The movie is intellectual and slowpaced, which will scare off the illiterates expecting a slasher-movie in the usual Argento-style, but the pace is essential to the whole idea, the investigation and exposal of the mystery. It's a great jigsaw puzzle, worthy of repeated viewing. Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (who didn't want us to laugh in The Name of the Rose) makes a good appearance as the bishop, having the perfect face for this kind of menacing old clergyman. The rest of the acting is simply adequate, the english dubbing mostly awfull, but the cinamatography and special effects are quite inventive, making it not only a great story but an inciting cinematic experience as well.
Rating:
Summary: From the director of Cemetary Man
Review: This film was originally suppose to be Demons 3 but does not fit in to the original movies and in my opinion is a far much greater film. A very gothic story concerning a church built on the site of a mass execution of a village that was cursed by demons , hundreds of years later the evil is unleased and the church becomes locked up and everyone trapped inside. lots of gore. Produced by Dario Argento and directed by Michele Soavi who directed The more popular cemetary man and the lesser know Stage fright.
Rating: 
Summary: Stylish and Odd
Review: This is a great atmospheric, gothic horror film with a bit of gore to spice things up. There's not much going on as far as plot is concerned. We have a prologue showing a group of Templars massacreing a supposedly Satannically obsessed pack of villagers, and then building a cathedral over top of the burial ground. Fast forward to the modern day, where a demonic curse is released by an overly curious librarian, leading to havoc and the trapping of a number of individuals within the cathedral. That's about the short and long of it. People are possessed by demons, demons run amuck, the cathedral is shot ominously, it's all rainy, characters do little but release demons/be possessed by demons/be killed by demons etc. The plot doesn't much matter, and Soavi doesn't let it get in the way of the good stuff.
This has got some really good production values, and the acting is generally quite good by the standards of this sort of fare.(I particularly the librarian, during the day after he was possessed, but before things really go crazy.) Virtually all the performances are acceptable, at the very least, with the exception of the whiny old man, who is very annoying. I'm not as impressed by the demon effects as some are. Personally, I think they are simultaneously quite impressive technically, and a bit hokey in design. However, they are given a minimum of screen time, and work pretty well when used in such a manner. The gore is generally very well executed, with the exception of the decapitation in the opening scene, which is a bit weak. The highlight is, obviously, the suicide by Jackhammer. A hideous concept executed beautifully. Other than that we've got a guy impaled on a spier, impalation through the neck with a gate, facial self-mutilation, a chick getting smashed by a subway car, another decapitated head etc. Generally, the gore works well. Too much gore would've been inappropriate, but without any things might've been a bit too slow and uneventful. Soavi finds just the right balance.
This film is all about atmosphere. The entire film has a fairly dark, oppressive air to it, particularly in the opening section and the scenes after they're trapped in the cathedral.(The shots of them just sitting around the cathedra waiting are particularly effective) Soavi's camerwork is obviously influenced by his mentor Argento, using lots of low-angle shots, and lots of slow, prowling shots examining the interior of the cathedral. However, unlike Argento, the cathedral is largely presented as is, without the colored lighting and bizarre set design you frequently find in an Argento film.(This is the way it should be; the cathedral itself is ominous enough.) The soundtrack, partially done by Goblin, is quite effective. It's nothing particularly surprising, but it's nice and ominous without being overbearing or hokey.
Fans of Dario Argento will probably want to check this out. It's quite different from anything I've seen from him, but it's got a bit of the same flavor. Fans of The Beyond may also want to check this out, provided they actually enjoyed the atmospheric portions of the Beyond along with the gore. Personally, I was sufficiently impressed that I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of Soavi's films, should they ever get released on DVD.(or arrive at my house... stupid mailman)
Also, its got hot demon sex.
Rating:
Summary: Bemusing stuff, but is it any good?
Review: This is one of the most bemusing movies I've seen in a long, long time. On the one hand it is a very attractive movie on an artistic level (the church itself is perhaps the star here). Yet on the other hand, plot-lines are so generously distributed in a seemingly hap-hazard fashion (often simply dissapearing never to return), that you're left wondering if a script was in use or simply some kind of Dice Man approach to story telling. And God only knows why little Asia wore a whicker basket over her head in the opening prologue.
I love Argento movies with a passion, but this is far from an Argento movie. Its Soavi's attempt at an over-ambitious theme that gets seriously lost well before the translation. This movie fails where Argento's Inferno succeeded.
I'd love to say its great, but, seriously, its just plain ok.
Anchor Bay's budget release has pretty good picture quality in general, exposing the very 'eighties' feel of the movie.
Overall? Worth seeing for the price, but not outstanding by any means.
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