The Church

The Church is an Italian horror film set in a Gothic cathedral that was built centuries earlier on the mass grave of a village wiped out by Teutonic knights who believed its people were heretics and witches. In the present day, a new librarian named Evan arrives at the cathedral, where he meets Lisa, a restorer working on the building. They uncover an old parchment describing a burial beneath the foundations, and Evan's investigation into the cathedral's secret releases the long-contained evil. The dead rise, and a group of people trapped inside the church, led by a priest named Father Gus, must survive.

Michele Soavi directed the film, his second feature after Stage Fright (1987) and the second of five features in his filmography running through Cemetery Man (1994). The screenplay was written by Franco Ferrini, Dario Argento and Soavi, with Argento also producing alongside Mario Cecchi Gori and Vittorio Cecchi Gori. The cast includes Hugh Quarshie as Father Gus, Tomas Arana as Evan, Feodor Chaliapin Jr. as the Bishop and Barbara Cupisti as Lisa.

Made for about four million dollars, the film drew modest attention from audiences and reviewers alike. On IMDb it holds a 6.2 rating from around ten thousand votes, with a similar 6.1 on TMDB from roughly 260 votes. Critics rated it 6.2 from eleven reviews, indicating a reception broadly in line with that of viewers.