La Chiesa (The Church) (Cathedral of Demons) (1989)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jeff "

  
  The Church was originally going to be part of the Demons series, but it ended up being a totally different film altogether. Directed by Argento protégé. Michele Soavi, The Church is a horror film that relies effectively well on atmosphere to create terror. The film is very stylish,… More
  The Church was originally going to be part of the Demons series, but it ended up being a totally different film altogether. Directed by Argento protégé. Michele Soavi, The Church is a horror film that relies effectively well on atmosphere to create terror. The film is very stylish, and looks incredible. The story is terrific, and director Michele Soavi keeps the ball rolling by steadily unfolding the terror. This is one of the Dario Argento productions that I have ever seen, and this film is haunting, chilling with hints of the supernatural. The film horrifying atmosphere is elevated by a fantastic score by Keith Emerson & Goblin, credited here as "The Goblins". Dario Argento and director Michele Soavi create a film that is stunning to look at. I've been watching Italian horror for years, and The Church is among the best looking, most atmospheric films that has come along in a long time. This is a true classic, a film that effectively delivers memorable shocks. What really stands out for me, is the way this film looks, the film looks absolutely brilliant. Aided by a good cast, this is one horror flick not to miss out on. The Church is an underrated horror flick that doesn't seem to get the attention it deserves. If you love Dario Argento, then check this one out; even though he doesn't direct it, there's still enough of the maestro's influence to make it live to Argento's own directorial efforts. Director Michele Soavi and producer Dario Argento craft a film that relies on atmosphere and suspense and the harrowing finish is definitely worth it. Ghouls, demons and supernatural elements round out this terrifying memorable tale of chills.

• Steve K

  
  Very much an 80's Italian horror film. A little less gore, perhaps. A little long in the tooth.

• Lee ?

  
  A nice slice of Italian horror from the tail end of its golden years about a Demonic plague which is unleashed from the pit of a Church is modern day Germany. This was meant to be an official sequel to Lamberto Bava's 'Demons 2' but it didn't turn out that way,… More
  A nice slice of Italian horror from the tail end of its golden years about a Demonic plague which is unleashed from the pit of a Church is modern day Germany. This was meant to be an official sequel to Lamberto Bava's 'Demons 2' but it didn't turn out that way, this one is a bit more restrained and less crazy. After the opening medieval massacre the film plods along without much excitement, but things pick up eventually with some decent gore along the way and a demon sex scene! Good musical score and atmospheric locations also give it a bit of class. A very decent film by Soavi but I didn't enjoy it as much as Stagefright.

• Robert C

  
  Everything that I love (and dislike) about Italian horror. I love the premise of the film, which is that "The Church" is an ancient machine designed to (literally) collapse in upon itself at a moments notice destroying all who have sought shelter inside in various… More
  Everything that I love (and dislike) about Italian horror. I love the premise of the film, which is that "The Church" is an ancient machine designed to (literally) collapse in upon itself at a moments notice destroying all who have sought shelter inside in various horrific manners. There are some truly impressive visuals sprinkeled throughout the film. While it suffers from the usual bad dubbing and questionable music choices, it also contains some very random and confussing narative / plot points. But all in all I found it to be creepy, gory, cheesy, fun!

• Conner R

  
  Aside from it's essential viewing for the sake of the Demons franchise, this has very little to offer in terms of being a horror movie. The only thing that is worthwhile is the amazing 10 minute opening with the crusaders completely slaughtering an entire town and building a… More
  Aside from it's essential viewing for the sake of the Demons franchise, this has very little to offer in terms of being a horror movie. The only thing that is worthwhile is the amazing 10 minute opening with the crusaders completely slaughtering an entire town and building a church on their corpses. After that it becomes worthless, except for some cool visuals and an early Asia Argento performance as a slutty teenager. It mainly fails from the poor directing and weak cast, it's nowhere near the brilliance of most Italian horror.

• A.D. V

  
  Originally this was supposed to be Demons 3 but was retitled during production. It falls just short of the first film but fully eclipses the second. It also stars a young Asia Argento.

• Stephen M

  
  A visually stunning horror movie. It's a little slow-moving and doesn't make a great deal of narrative sense but it's put together with great style and contains several remarkable and memorable individual shots. One late scene is almost a shot-for-shot rip-off of one… More
  A visually stunning horror movie. It's a little slow-moving and doesn't make a great deal of narrative sense but it's put together with great style and contains several remarkable and memorable individual shots. One late scene is almost a shot-for-shot rip-off of one from "Rosemary's Baby", which is a shame because otherwise Soavi's style is all his own. The English language dubbing is not great and produces a couple of unintentional laughs.

• Lafe F

  
  The church is a masterpiece! With a great, dramatic buildup, a demonic seal is opened underneath a church, unleashing hellish deathtrap, for all people inside. It's a huge place with many different chambers. As the various interesting characters attempt to escape, gorey death… More
  The church is a masterpiece! With a great, dramatic buildup, a demonic seal is opened underneath a church, unleashing hellish deathtrap, for all people inside. It's a huge place with many different chambers. As the various interesting characters attempt to escape, gorey death awaits most of them. The realization of the goat-man demon was superb, but expect to be shocked by some of the things it does. The ending was superb.

• Steve B

  
  This is meant to be Demons 3, but it appears to be taking off from a different point altogether. Soavi's direction keeps it from getting dull.

• Burger S

  
  Cult Classic. If you like Evil Dead & the Prophecy movies but without the humor.

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