''The Church'' is an American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

written and directed by Dom Frank. It stars Bill Moseley,

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, Keith Stallwortch, and

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Synopsis

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

Cast

* Bill Moseley as Pastor James *

as Elizabeth Haines *

as Joan Laurels * Keith Stallworth as Simon Adu *

as Alexander James / The Spirit *

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as Adrian Seltzer *

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as Jennifer Lawson * Deitra Leak as Melanie Banks * Holly Zuelle as Veronica Leeks

Reception

Sherilyn Connelly of ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards ...

'' 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'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', 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 Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', 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 religious buildings and structures 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{2010s-horror-film-stub