Catacombs (aka Curse IV) (1988)
Catacombs (aka Curse IV) (1988)
I am starting to really love Empire Pictures, a company that was sadly only in existence for a short time, their last film being Catacombs in 1988, though wasn't released until 1994 as Curse IV because the company was seized by a French bank called Credit Lyonnais for failure to repay their loans. Catacombs was ultimately released as Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice, the great thing is that Curse IV has absolutely nothing to do with the previous two Curse movies. This film comes across a lot less campy than some of their other films, and it plays out more like a religious-drama-horror film, and has quite serious plot. The film is about a young woman who is a school teacher from American goes to a monastery to study, and while there an ancient evil is released from the catacombs.
Catacombs was written and directed by David Schmoeller. The film was originally distributed by Empire Pictures, before the bank seized the company, and appeared at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, however it wouldn't see an actual release for another five years in 1993 when it was picked up by TriStar Home Video and released as Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice. Catacombs found it's DVD release by Scream Factory, that released it under its original title "Catacombs" and it was released as part of their All Night Horror Marathon series.
Catacombs stars Laura Schaefer as Elizabeth Magrino, Tim Van Patten as Father John Durham, Ian Abercrombie as Brother Orsini, Jeremy West as Brother Marinus, Vernon Dobtcheff as Brother Timothy, Feodor Chaliapin Jr as Brother Terrel, Brett Porter as possessed albino, Michael Pasby as Jesus Christ, and director David Schmoeller makes a cameo as a monk. The film has a rather decent cast. I must say there is something very sexy about Laura Schaefer as Elizabeth when she is possessed by the demon! Really the cast seems to rise above a simple b-horror film, and they play their parts, with an actual seriousness.
It is really too bad that this film was hindered by the seizure of the company, and then being released with an alternative title, because it is honestly a pretty decent, The film doesn't come off as a compy b-horror film, and even with it's minimal budget it has some great dramatic elements, and some really well done special effects. Catacombs looks really good, and it has a very capable cast, and lacks some of the cliches of low budget horror films. If you haven't seen this film, I would honestly highly recommend it, it is definitely worth checking out. The film has an interesting and intriguing story, and the effects are done tasteful without a cheesy quality to it. It can be found on DVD through Scream Factory, and is definitely worth checking out. This is definitely a film that I hope grows as a cult classic.
Catacombs was written and directed by David Schmoeller. The film was originally distributed by Empire Pictures, before the bank seized the company, and appeared at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, however it wouldn't see an actual release for another five years in 1993 when it was picked up by TriStar Home Video and released as Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice. Catacombs found it's DVD release by Scream Factory, that released it under its original title "Catacombs" and it was released as part of their All Night Horror Marathon series.
Catacombs stars Laura Schaefer as Elizabeth Magrino, Tim Van Patten as Father John Durham, Ian Abercrombie as Brother Orsini, Jeremy West as Brother Marinus, Vernon Dobtcheff as Brother Timothy, Feodor Chaliapin Jr as Brother Terrel, Brett Porter as possessed albino, Michael Pasby as Jesus Christ, and director David Schmoeller makes a cameo as a monk. The film has a rather decent cast. I must say there is something very sexy about Laura Schaefer as Elizabeth when she is possessed by the demon! Really the cast seems to rise above a simple b-horror film, and they play their parts, with an actual seriousness.
It is really too bad that this film was hindered by the seizure of the company, and then being released with an alternative title, because it is honestly a pretty decent, The film doesn't come off as a compy b-horror film, and even with it's minimal budget it has some great dramatic elements, and some really well done special effects. Catacombs looks really good, and it has a very capable cast, and lacks some of the cliches of low budget horror films. If you haven't seen this film, I would honestly highly recommend it, it is definitely worth checking out. The film has an interesting and intriguing story, and the effects are done tasteful without a cheesy quality to it. It can be found on DVD through Scream Factory, and is definitely worth checking out. This is definitely a film that I hope grows as a cult classic.
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