Dario Argento presents The Church (1989) aka La Chiesa directed by his protege Michele Soavi (The Sect, Cemetery Man) and co-written by both men. The movie had its origins with another Italian horror legend and Argento collaborator, Lamberto Bava. When Bava had to drop out, Soavi was added, and the movie took a different turn, becoming something more stylish and not merely another Demons (1985) sequel set in a church, though it does share some themes with those Bava films.
Buy The Church (1989) Blu-rayThe Church opens sometime in the 14th century, and we watch as Teutonic Knights massacre and raze a small village accused of being demon possessed. The people are buried in a mass grave and a church is built on the site to “imprison the demon forever.” Fast forward to 1988 and the massive gothic cathedral that was built on the site. We’re introduced to Evan (Tomas Arana), the new librarian; Lisa (Barbara Cupisti) who’s in charge of the church’s restoration; Lotte (Asia Argento) the sacristan’s daughter; Father Gus (Hugh Quarshie); and the ancient Bishop of the cathedral (Feodor Chaliapin Jr.). These five mortals will play key roles throughout as the sanctuary becomes infested with demons that have been awakened by Evan’s nosing around in the catacombs. Evan is overcome first then slowly he begins to convert others. It all tumbles toward the climax after the church doors close automatically, trapping not only our key players inside but a bunch of tourists that include a high-end fashion model, an old couple, a class of school kids on a field trip, and a troubled young couple on their way to a concert. All will try to escape the horror that has been unleashed upon this hallowed ground. Only Lotte will survive and return to the ruins to find a hint that the demon may not have been destroyed along with the cathedral by Father Gus’ heroic efforts.
Though very Argento-esque at times, Soavi manages to bring a brilliant dream-like style all his own to The Church. He sets the tone with an excellent tracking shot that sweeps through the church and introduces the rest of the ensemble cast as they work and explore the temple. Soavi sets up the first half of the story as a mystery that Evan sets out to solve. Unfortunately, he ends up setting free the demons buried there long ago. Soavi also uses the creative gore effects sparingly and places them well across the movie’s 102 minute runtime. He pulls from the pages of classic horror comics as heads roll, get smashed, are used to ring bells, a heart gets ripped out of a chest and a woman tears her face to shreds as the demons wreak havoc on the unsuspecting souls.
The practical effects are very well done for the time. The Baphomet-like goat that Evan becomes is terrifyingly cool, and Soavi brings fantasy paintings to life as Evan turns into a winged gargoyle-type demon that enfolds a woman and slides away. The climax features the emergence from the altar of a huge demon head composed of mud-covered bodies. Soavi and his effects team truly bring the terror of some of those renaissance paintings of the Biblical End Times to life. Soavi also pays homage to another horror icon during the Baphomet consummation scene, which resembles a similar one used by Roman Polanski in Rosemary’s Baby.
The cast does a masterful job in bringing this tale of terror in a church to life. Asia Argento in her first major role shows some promise and shades of her future work alongside her father Dario. Arana’s Evan is great to watch as he transitions from bookish nerd to deranged demon. Feodor as the Bishop is wonderful as he handles the grumpy old priest perfectly. I suppose it helped that he couldn’t remember his lines at all and had to have them fed to him by someone off camera. I think Hugh Quarshie is amazing and knocks it out of the yard as Father Gus, the quiet priest who holds to the light and does his duty to the fullest to save the city and the world from this reemerged evil.
Severin Films has come through yet again and packed this 4K UHD/Blu-ray release with a ton of interviews with cast and crew. Those interviewed include director Soavi, Dario Argento himself, co-screen writers Franco Ferrini and Dardano Sacchetti, actors Asia Argento and Tomas Arana, special FX artist Sergio Stivaletti, and make-up artist Franco Casagni. Most of the interviews are in Italian and range from 10 to 25 minutes. Fun facts abound and we learn that Feodor couldn’t remember his lines to save his life and they all have slightly varying stories on how the movie came together and who was responsible for what.
What I appreciated the most was learning how Italian movies, at least at that time, were shot differently than in the U.S.; they don’t insist upon silence on set so the crew is constantly talking as the camera rolls but that’s okay because the film will be dubbed no matter what language it was shot in. We also learn that while one would think that Soavi and Argento are trying to make some kind of statement against the Catholic Church, these interviews assure us they are not. Argento being a very devout Catholic had the script looked over by a priest before the project began filming. Not only to ensure some level of accuracy but to make sure he wasn’t going to offend the church as a whole. The church used for filming in Budapest was blessed every morning before shooting then again after the film crew left for the night, mostly to cleanse it of all the blasphemies filmed during the day’s shoot.
I don’t particularly like overly gory movies as much as I did in my youth but Michele Soavi has done a masterful job with The Church, using those effects sparingly at the right time much like his mentor did in his masterwork, Suspiria (1977). Though Soavi is indeed inspired by Bava and Argento, he takes a different approach behind the camera by scaling back the gore and employing the Giallo type mystery to his horror outing. Soavi keeps his scenes artsy, dreamlike, and surreal at times by employing great camera angles, tracking shots, and framing as well as his use of prog rock/synth metal band Goblin on the score. Severin Films has once again provided a great home viewing experience. I look forward to their upcoming release of Soavi’s Cemetery Man.
