Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Church

Original title: La chiesa
  • 19891989
  • RR
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
8.1K
YOUR RATING
The Church (1989)
Horror
An old Gothic cathedral built over a mass grave develops strange powers that trap a number of people inside with ghosts from a 12th Century massacre seeking to resurrect an ancient demon fro... Read allAn old Gothic cathedral built over a mass grave develops strange powers that trap a number of people inside with ghosts from a 12th Century massacre seeking to resurrect an ancient demon from the bowels of the Earth.An old Gothic cathedral built over a mass grave develops strange powers that trap a number of people inside with ghosts from a 12th Century massacre seeking to resurrect an ancient demon from the bowels of the Earth.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
8.1K
YOUR RATING
    • Michele Soavi
  • Writers
    • Dario Argento(story)
    • Franco Ferrini(story)
    • Michele Soavi(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Hugh Quarshie
    • Tomas Arana
    • Feodor Chaliapin Jr.
    • Michele Soavi
  • Writers
    • Dario Argento(story)
    • Franco Ferrini(story)
    • Michele Soavi(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Hugh Quarshie
    • Tomas Arana
    • Feodor Chaliapin Jr.
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 106User reviews
    • 91Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Church aka La Chiesa
    Trailer 1:09
    Watch The Church aka La Chiesa

    Photos83

    The Church (1989)
    The Church (1989)
    The Church (1989)
    The Church (1989)
    Antonella Vitale in The Church (1989)
    Patrizia Punzo in The Church (1989)
    Lars Jorgenson in The Church (1989)
    Roberto Caruso in The Church (1989)
    Claire Hardwick in The Church (1989)
    John Karlsen and Katherine Bell Marjorie in The Church (1989)
    The Church (1989)
    Riccardo Minervini and Patrizia Punzo in The Church (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Hugh Quarshie
    Hugh Quarshie
    • Father Gus
    Tomas Arana
    Tomas Arana
    • Evan
    Feodor Chaliapin Jr.
    Feodor Chaliapin Jr.
    • The Bishop
    • (as Feodor Chaliapin)
    Barbara Cupisti
    • Lisa
    Antonella Vitale
    • Bridal Model
    Giovanni Lombardo Radice
    Giovanni Lombardo Radice
    • Reverend
    Asia Argento
    Asia Argento
    • Lotte
    Roberto Caruso
    • Freddie
    Roberto Corbiletto
    • Hermann, the Sacristan
    Alina De Simone
    • Lottie's Mother
    Olivia Cupisti
    • Mira
    Gianfranco De Grassi
    • The Accuser
    Claire Hardwick
    • Joanna
    Lars Jorgenson
    • Bruno
    John Karlsen
    John Karlsen
    • Heinrich
    Katherine Bell Marjorie
    • Heinrich's Wife
    Riccardo Minervini
    • Schoolboy
    Enrico Osterman
    • The Torturer
      • Michele Soavi
    • Writers
      • Dario Argento(story) (screenplay)
      • Franco Ferrini(story) (screenplay)
      • Michele Soavi(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Sect
    6.1
    The Sect
    StageFright
    6.6
    StageFright
    Cemetery Man
    7.1
    Cemetery Man
    Demons 2
    5.9
    Demons 2
    Demons
    6.6
    Demons
    City of the Living Dead
    6.2
    City of the Living Dead
    Opera
    6.9
    Opera
    Two Evil Eyes
    6.1
    Two Evil Eyes
    The Black Cat
    5.8
    The Black Cat
    The Beyond
    6.6
    The Beyond
    Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes
    6.8
    Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes
    Inferno
    6.5
    Inferno

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Originally, Soavi and Argento wanted to shoot the movie in the Lorenzkirche of Nuremberg (Germany), and even did some test shots there. However, it was abandoned because the town of Nuremberg didn't want a horror movie to be shot there.
    • Goofs
      When Father Gus, as a recreational archer, is using a bow to shoot at a target, he is not wearing a wrist guard. This is a painful mistake even a beginner would only make once.
    • Quotes

      Hermann, the Sacristan: [to Lottie] Filthy liar! Here we'll wash your mouth out with soap, here!

      Lottie's Mother: Don't make me wait for those onions Hermann

    • Alternate versions
      All videos for The Church in the USA come in two formats: R Rated or Unrated/Uncut. There are mistakes on all boxes and tapes about the running times: All videotapes and boxes say 110 minute running time on the back cover and 102 minute running time on the cassette no matter if its the rated R version or the 110 minute unrated version. It will correctly state on the box & tape that it is rated or uncut/unrated.
    • Connections
      Featured in Dario Argento: Master of Horror (1991)
    • Soundtracks
      Floe
      Written by Philip Glass

      Performed by Martin Goldray

    User reviews106

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Impressive Gothic horror
    Taking many aspects from other films the church builds a solid film with a decent plot and cinematography and it didn't disappoint overall. However, whilst the plot is good on paper halfway through it loses tension and steam and I found the ending to be a bit of a let-down, although not awful.

    Acting wise I'm sure it was good but I watched the dubbed version in English, and the dubbing was quite frankly terrible. I think the girl (Lottie) was dubbed by an older woman which was a bit weird I found.

    Scares wise I found it impressive, it included great practical effects and lots of hammy gore. Surprisingly it was meant to be a completely serious film but I still feel like a lot of it is played off as tongue in cheek.

    6/10: Good overall and definitely worth a watch for horror fans but there are a lot of issues that I feel drag it down such as the loss of tension in the second half and poor dub work
    helpful•4
    0
    • Hayden-86055
    • Dec 23, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 10, 1989 (Italy)
      • Italy
      • Italian
      • Hungarian
      • Latin
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Hamburg, Germany
    • Production companies
      • ADC Films
      • Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica
      • Reteitalia
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 42 minutes
      • Mono

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Church (1989)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Church (1989) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.