The Sect

Toronto International Film Festival Program Guide
1991

The Sect
Michele Soavi
Italy, 1990, 112 minutes
Colour/35mm
Production Company: Penta Film/ADC
Executive Producer: Andrea Tinnirello
Producer: Dario Argento
Screenplay: Dario Argento, Giovanni Romoli, Michele Soavi
Cinematography: Raffaele Mertes
Editor: Franco Fraticelli
Art Director: M. Antonello Geleng
Music: Pino Donaggio
Principal Cast: Kelly Curtis, Herbert Lom, Michel Adatte, Maria Angela Giordano, Carla Cassola, Tomas Arana

Cults, evil shrouds, deep wells, and insects that feed on human brains. Marry these images with profound philosophical implications, stunning cinematography, and eerie special effects. What else could it be but a new film from Dario Argento? Working once more in collaboration with Michele Soavi, Italy’s horror auteur delivers a breath-taking advance on his unique aesthetic. Midnight acolytes will remember their first joint effort, The Church, which received its world premiere at last year’s Festival. Although a provocative work, the film betrayed a stylistic conflict mainly between the controlled approach of Soavi and the explosive, chaotic vision of Argento. But in The Sect, their disparate talents have fused, shattering the screen with a surreal and disturbing version of the modern Satanic fairy tale.

A blood-thirsty group of cult members converges on a house in small-town Germany. The present occupant of this little cottage, the basement of which conveniently doubles as a gate to hell, is a young school teacher named Miriam (Kelly Curtis). Her life is tranquil until the arrival of Moebius Kelly (Herbert Lom), master of a worldwide cult which has the nasty habit of cutting out people’s hearts. When Moebius perishes on her couch, all hell breaks loose. Literally. Before you can say “Beelzebub,” Miriam is the concubine of Lucifer himself, with the reborn Kelly serving as pimp. All builds to a climax which simply exhausts superlatives. For those unfamiliar with the gothic splendour of Italian horror, The Sect should certainly prove a mesmerizing introduction.
—Noah Cowan