History Film / TheChurch

A few main characters are developed early on, but by the midpoint they're largely forgotten about when the aforementioned [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters wedding party]] shows up.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The movie becomes this when the wedding party and shows up.

In typical Creator/DarioArgento style, the film is short on story and script but big on set pieces and visuals and gore and naked women having sex with demons and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Goblin]].

* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler: The Architect who designed the Church is is implied to have been tortured by the Teutonic Knights.]]

* TheCameo: ''Film/BlackSabbath'' star John Richardson cameos as the church's architect in a flashback.

''The Church'' or ''La Chiesa'' is a 1989 Italian horror film written and produced by Creator/DarioArgento and directed by Michele Soavi.

Fast forward to TheEighties when Evan, a newly hired librarian uncovers the church's past and unwittingly [[NiceJobBreakingItHero breaks the seal]] and [[SealedEvilInACan releases the vengeful spirits]] of the slain villagers. The Demonic possesssion or 'contagion' as it is referred to spreads like the common cold and soon, a switch is hit that seals the evil inside. Sadly, a wedding party who show up half way through the movie are trapped inside the Church with demonic spirits.

In typical Creator/DarioArgento style, the film is short on story and script but big on set pieces and visuals and gore and naked women having sex with demons and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Goblin]].

Fast forward to TheEighties when Evan, a newly hired librarian becomes uncovers the churches past and unwittingly [[NiceJobBreakingItHero breaks the seal]] and [[SealedEvilInACan releases the vengeful spirits]] of the slain villagers. The Demonic possesssion or 'contagion' as it is referred to spreads like the common cold and soon, a switch is hit that seals the evil inside. Sadly, a wedding party who show up half way through the movie are trapped inside the Church with demonic spirits.

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* RefugeInAudacity: The grumpy Heinrich and his wife go up to the bell tower, and when the wife sees that there's no rope to pull to ring the bell, [[spoiler:she uses his severed head.]]
* ReligiousHorror: Well, for starters, it's set in a (literally and figuratively) CorruptChurch inhabited by demons.

In typical Creator/DarioArgento style, the film is short on story and script but big on set pieces and visuals and gore and naked woman having sex with demons and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Goblin]].

* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler: The Architect who designed the Church is tied to a rack and is implied to have been tortured by the monks.]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: Subverted with [[spoiler:the bishop, who is often seen wearing a black hood and talking about the Devil. He comes off as grumpy at best, but not necessarily a bad guy. That is, until he reveals his plan to allow the plague to be unleashed upon the city. Ironically, he's wearing [[LightIsNotGood Teutonic Knight garb]] in that scene.]]

* KnightTemplar: First off, there's the Teutonic Knights, who were shown to be utterly ruthless, [[AxCrazy killing unarmed villagers who don't do anything to fight back]], and even burying one of their own men amongst the corpses of the villagers. [[spoiler:Second, there's the bishop, who wants the demonic plague to be unleashed upon the city, and [[OmnicidalManiac presumably the world,]] [[MisanthropeSupreme which he deems as profane]].]]

* MalevolentArchitecture: The church was built upon a mass grave of villagers

* ReligiousHorror: Well, for starters, it's set in a (literally and figuratively) CorruptChurch, and involves demons.

* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Different in that they take the form of hallucinations and apparitions.

%%* SealedEvilInACan

* AbusiveParents: Lotte's father, Herman, was implied to be abusive to his daughter, primarily because he shelters her from what he sees as a CrapsackWorld.

* CorruptChurch: A literal example, in that the titular church is corrupted by the evil that resides within it. Although [[spoiler:the Bishop]] is a pretty nasty person, too.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Subverted with [[spoiler:the bishop, who is often seen wearing a black hood and talking about the Devil. He comes off as grumpy at best, but not necessarily a bad guy. That is, until he reveals his plan to allow the plague to be unleashed upon the city. Ironically, he's [[LightIsNotGood wearing white]] in that scene.]]

* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:The bishop wants the plague to be unleashed upon the city, and [[OmnicidalManiac presumably the world,]] [[MisanthropeSupreme which he deems as profane]].]]

* ReligiousHorror: For starters, it takes place in a CorruptChurch, involves demons,

%%* ColdBloodedTorture: What happens to [[spoiler: the Architect who designed the Church.]]

* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:The Bishop wants the plague to be unleashed upon the city, and [[OmnicidalManiac presumably the world,]] [[MisanthropeSupreme which he deems as profane]].]]

%%* AbusiveParents: Lotte's father

%%* CorruptChurch: The actual building itself, not the people who run it.

%%* KnightTemplar

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The movie becomes this when the wedding party shows up.
* MadnessMantra: Evan at his typewriter types '6' over and over.
%%* MalevolentArchitecture

* ReligiousHorror: Baphomet shows up at one point, who is a pagan deity.
* OnlySaneMan: Father Gus is one of the only one not possessed near the end.

* SevenDeadlySins: Some of the ways the characters are enticed to either get into their head or outright kill themselves by the ghosts such as [[spoiler:the Bride clawing her skin off her face because he thinks she's an old woman]] or the biker thinking his girlfriend is making out with a demon.

* TheWormThatWalks: [[spoiler:The ghosts of the slain villagers form an apparition of writing mud covered naked bodies in a mass.]]

%%* KnightsTemplar

* AbusiveParents: Lotte's father
* BadassBookworm: Evan
* ColdBloodedTorture: What happens to [[spoiler: the Architect who designed the Church.]]
* CorruptChurch: The actual building itself, not the people who run it.

* DemonicPossession: And how.

* GoMadFromTheRevelation: The Bishop

* KnightsTemplar
* LightIsNotGood

* MalevolentArchitecture
* NightmareFetishist: Evan
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: [[spoiler:Lotte, at least it is implied]]

* TheRenfield: Lotte's Father
* SealedEvilInACan

'''''The Church''''' or '''''La Chiesa''''' is a 1989 Italian horror film written and produced by Creator/DarioArgento and directed by Michele Soavi.

In TheMiddleAges a village of accused heretics and witches are slaughtered by the [[TheKnightsTemplar Teutonic Knights]]. The bodies are buried in a hole and a church is built on top of the burial site to contain the evil spirits.

'''''The Church''''' or '''''La Chiesa''''' is a 1989 Italian horror film written and produced by DarioArgento and directed by Michele Soavi.

In typical DarioArgento style, the film is short on story and script but big on set pieces and visuals and gore and naked woman having sex with demons and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Goblin]].

Dario Argento's daughter Creator/AsiaArgento also plays a pivotal character.

* DarioArgento

Dario Argento's daughter AsiaArgento also plays a pivotal character.

* CorruptChurch: The actualy building itself not the people who run it.

* TheSevenDeadlySins: Some of the ways the characters are enticed to either get into their head or outright kill themselves by the ghosts such as [[spoiler:the Bride clawing her skin off her face because he thinks she's an old woman]] or the biker thinking his girlfriend is making out with a demon.

* ButYouScrewOneGoat: A literal example when [[spoiler: Evan turns into a Baphomet-like goat demon near the end]]

The Church or La Chiesa is a 1989 Italian horror film written and produced by DarioArgento and directed by Michele Soavi.

In typical DarioArgento style the film is short on story and script but big on set pieces and visuals and gore and naked woman having sex with demons and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Goblin]]

Tropes

* NightmareFuelFetishist: Evan