The Church (2018 film)

The Church is an American horror film written and directed by Dom Frank. It stars Bill Moseley, Ashley C. Williams, Lisa Wilcox, Keith Stallwortch, and Clint Howard.^[1][2]

The Church
Directed by	Dom Frank
Written by	Dom Frank
Produced by	Gia Aaron Josh Aaron Dom Frank Robin Franklin Paul Irwin Matthew Nadu
Starring	Bill Moseley Ashley C. Williams Lisa Wilcox Keith Stallworth Clint Howard
Cinematography	Tom Fanelle
Edited by	Ed Marx
Music by	Miles Bergsma
Production company	Hard Floor Entertainment
Release date	October 5, 2018 (2018-10-05)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Synopsis

The church board and the development team come face to face with a supernatural presence when they agree to sell the church.^[3]

Cast

• Bill Moseley as Pastor James
• Ashley C. Williams as Elizabeth Haines
• Lisa Wilcox as Joan Laurels
• Keith Stallworth as Simon Adu
• Clint Howard 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^[4] 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, Noel Murray^[5] 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."^[6]

Release

The film received a limited theatrical release in 30 theaters on October 5, 2018.^[7]