With gentrification underway in a Philadelphia neighborhood, a local pastor (Bill Moseley) is hesitant to sell his church that has been in his family for generations. After being pressured into selling by varies parties, the restless spirits of the church make their presence known and decide which amongst them are righteous souls or horrible sinners.

As great as a concept like this is, as spiritualism within the horror genre is usually a fun ride, THE CHURCH unfortunately falls by the wayside in regards to production and storytelling. This feels like a first try for director Dom Frank, showing a lack in experience towards specific filmmaking techniques that come across as being very noticeable to the audience. Nothing feels properly lit, depicting no tension or depth in any scene, along with some pretty poor performances by a good majority of the cast. But the foundation of the story was enjoyable and has promise, focusing on corruption that can lie within religion as presented through a supernatural setting.

Thankfully, Mr. Moseley carries the film and brings some light through his character’s personality. It’s always great to see him change it up and play a pleasant protagonist and get exposed to the diversity of his acting ability. He has great range and always comes through, no matter what the chosen role. That, alongside the appearance of Clint Howard holds the film together through their professionalism and enjoyable performances.

With all things in life, I’m sure all of the lackluster aspects came down to budget, which is fully understandable, and although it didn’t fully come together for me in the end, that should never discourage anyone from seeing this film, or any film due to a review. Taste is all subjective, and I implore any moviegoer to experience all things at their own discretion. For lovers of low-budget horror films, THE CHURCH will make for a great addition to your watch list.

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Abigail Braman

Abigail is a macabre and horror artist, primarily working in oil paints and found objects, and does freelance writing for both Nightmarish Conjurings and Pophorror. She loves all-things horror, animation, and art history, and is currently working on her first dark stop-motion animated horror short film, Cadillac Dust. Abigail is also very passionate about music, having used to play the banjo, guitar, and sing in a band called The Killer Pines. When she's not either painting, writing, working, or watching movies while doing all of these things, she's probably sleeping, or cuddling with Claude the cat (or both).

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Latest posts by Abigail Braman (see all)

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