''The Church'' is an American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

written and directed by Dom Frank. It stars

Bill Moseley William Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American actor, primarily known for his performances in horror films. His best-known roles include Chop Top in '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (1986), Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's ''Firefly ...

, Ashley C. Williams, Lisa Wilcox, Keith Stallwortch, and

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His more than 200 acting credits include feature films ...

Synopsis

The church board and the development team come face to face with a supernatural presence when they agree to sell the church.

Cast

as Pastor James * Ashley C. Williams as Elizabeth Haines * Lisa Wilcox as Joan Laurels * Keith Stallworth as Simon Adu *

as Alexander James / The Spirit * Vito LoGrasso as Adrian Seltzer * Victoria Gates as Jennifer Lawson * Deitra Leak as Melanie Banks * Holly Zuelle as Veronica Leeks

Reception

Sherilyn Connelly of '' SF Weekly'' wrote that film is "far from great, but it’s never boring, and that’s good enough for the faithful." In a mixed review for ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', Noel Murray wrote "There’s an appealing, old-school crumminess to the supernatural thriller “The Church,” the kind of micro-budgeted bad movie that may exist only because the filmmaker had access to a location and wrote a story to accommodate it." Murray then criticized the acting, writing "Frank doesn’t really have the budget — or the cast — to make the horror elements in “The Church” effective. Most of the actors are inexperienced and stiff; whenever they're supposed to be tormented by the paranormal, the special effects meant to illustrate the hauntings are either nonexistent or cheesy." In a negative review for '' Variety'', Dennis Harvey criticized the writing, direction, and special effects, stating that "Those limitations could conceivably lend a certain charm if the movie had energy, audacity, and a few good ideas — things present in such even-lower-budgeted Christian screen parables of damnation as Ron Ormond’s 1974 “The Burning Hell.” But Frank's script is half-baked and his direction lethargic. Much of the highly clunky dialogue is beyond certain cast members’ abilities to smooth over."

Release

The film received a limited theatrical release in 30 theaters on October 5, 2018.

References

External links

* * * American independent films 2018 films American supernatural horror films Films set in churches 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language independent films English-language horror films {{2010s-horror-film-stub