Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
The Sect
Michele Soavi's delirious and surreal satanic horror follows a teacher drawn into the schemes of an evil cult.
Director: Michele Soavi
Overview
A teacher brings an elderly gentleman into her home following a near-miss in her car, unaware that he's an elder of a satanic cult with plans to draw her into his evil, deranged schemes. Following stylish slasher StageFright and extravagant gothic fantasy The Church, director Michele Soavi switches gear with this freewheeling and surreal horror, brimming with outlandish and hallucinatory imagery.
Co-written and produced by Dario Argento, this was Soavi's final film under Argento's tutelage before striking out on his own with further horror classics like Dellamorte Dellamore. The Sect was selected for the 35th BFI London Film Festival back in 1991.
Related
The Descent The Descent
Horror 2005 99 mins Director: Neil Marshall
Six friends on a caving expedition get trapped deep underground and discover they are not alone in this visceral, claustrophobic horror.
Laurin Laurin
Horror 1989 83 mins Director: Robert Sigl
Richly atmospheric, gloriously morbid and menacing Gothic chiller about a child killer in 19th century Germany.
The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue
Horror 1974 93 mins Director: Jorge Grau
A chemical leak causes a zombie outbreak amid the picturesque landscapes of the Lake District, in this superbly chilling undead classic.
Swallowed Swallowed
Horror 2022 95 mins Director: Carter Smith
It’s drugs, bugs and unrequited hugs in this deliciously grotesque queer body horror from Carter Smith.
It Follows It Follows
Horror 2014 100 mins Director: David Robert Mitchell
David Robert Mitchell’s remarkable, terrifying shocker is a fresh and stimulating meditation on sexual paranoia, steeped in horror cinema history.
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin A Lizard in a Woman's Skin
Horror 1971 103 mins Director: Lucio Fulci
A woman accused of murder begins to lose grip on reality, in this psychedelic, Swinging London thriller from cult director Lucio Fulci (The Beyond).
Suspiria Suspiria
Horror 1977 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.
Four Flies on Grey Velvet Four Flies on Grey Velvet
Horror 1971 98 mins Director: Dario Argento
Unavailable for many years, the once lost finale of Argento’s so-called Animal Trilogy is a thrilling hint of things to come.
StageFright StageFright
Horror 1987 90 mins Director: Michele Soavi
Dario Argento's protégé, Michele Soavi, made his directorial debut with this deliriously stylish slasher opus.
The Church The Church
Horror 1989 102 mins Director: Michele Soavi
A librarian discovers an ancient evil lurking underneath a cathedral, in this spectacular gothic horror co-written and produced by Dario Argento.
Opera Opera
Horror 1987 107 mins Director: Dario Argento
Boasting quite possibly his most iconic single image, almost certainly his most spectacular death scene, and indisputably his most insane ending, this is essential Argento.
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa
Gangster 1986 100 mins Director: Neil Jordan
An ungainly cockney chauffeur navigates the seedy streets of London, gradually falling for the elegant and mysterious prostitute who is his passenger.
Showgirls Showgirls
Melodrama 1995 126 mins Director: Paul Verhoeven
Reviled upon its release, now reclaimed as a cult classic - one can only submit to the trash-tastic delights of Paul Verhoeven's erotic disasterpiece.
The Outrun The Outrun
Drama 2024 118 mins Director: Nora Fingscheidt
Saoirse Ronan gives a bracing performance as a young recovering alcoholic returning home to Orkney in this moving adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir.
Birdy Birdy
Drama 1984 120 mins Director: Alan Parker
Alan Parker’s elliptical, ethereal adaptation of the acclaimed, ‘unfilmable’ novel by William Wharton, about a boy who dreams of flying.
The Florida Project The Florida Project
Drama 2017 112 mins Director: Sean Baker
Anora director Sean Baker's visionary portrait of life in America’s underbelly, featuring an Oscar-nominated turn from Willem Dafoe.
The Streetwalker The Streetwalker
Drama 1976 86 mins Director: Walerian Borowczyk
A salesman becomes obsessed by an icy prostitute against the backdrop of a hellish Paris, in this arthouse erotica from Walerian Borowczyk (The Beast)