Italian horror movies are justifiably famous now, despite their inconsequential plots, gratuitous violence, and relentless nudity. However, they also have inspired, beautiful visual flourishes that almost make you forget how formulaic they are. Honestly, one of the more interesting (and subtle) ones is The Sect (La setta), Michele Soavi’s 1991 follow-up to The Church (1989).
Buy The Sect 4K Ultra HD + Blu-rayKelly Curtis (sister of Jamie Lee, in her sole genre film) stars as Miriam Kreisl, an American schoolteacher living in Germany, who nearly hits Moebius Kelly (Herbert Lom), a creepy old man whom she invites into her home to help him recover. Bad idea, considering that he is the elder of a satanic cult, one who has some very sinister plans for Miriam.
Just like other Italian horror films, The Sect does have a rather minimalist plot, but it’s so bonkers and WTF! that you can’t help but find it fascinating. The visuals and cinematography are really good. Yes, it has some violence and nudity, but not much. It’s much more concerned with having a story (which is again minimalist). It did come at the end of the Italian horror craze, and I guess the audience was tired of it, so they wanted something different, which the film is.
The special features mostly come in the form of interviews, including those with Soavi, co-screenwriter/producer Dario Argento, actors Tomas Arana and Giovanni Lombardo Radice, composer Pino Donaggio, film historian Fabrizio Spurio, set designer Antonello Geleng, and much more. There are also both the Italian/U.S. trailers, and a featurette with Soavi giving a tour of his basement.
If you happen to be a diehard fan of Italian horror, then I think this release of an interesting but disturbingly weird film, should make a solid purchase.
