After a few years of making super 8 films Church Of The Damned was the Polonia Brothers' first go at making a SOV film, and at the time they abandoned it due to frustration, going onto put out their classic SOV debut Splatter Farm a year or so later. Church Of The Damned was made in 1985 and was co-directed by John, Mark and Todd Smith- who of course collaborated on Splatter Farm with the brothers. The story is also written by Smith- the three were still at high school when the made the film, which makes it all the more impressive & helps explains some of the rather naive and hammy acting/ directing- though if you’re an SOV fan I’m sure you’ll accept/ enjoy these elements too.

The plot, for what is, revolves around a small snowbound town where folk keep been killed in grisly and extreme ways. So it’s down to Local Investigator Messiah Ward- Mark  Polonia in a checked cap & suit shirt combo, and his partner Barney- Smith in dark glasses, hat, and tight-fitting waist jacket- to solve the case. The first ten or so minutes are just a barrage of splatter with little sense- we get a sack headed & gloved killer pulling someones head off, a body saw in half in a basement by two ghouls, a winter fisherman getting his eye hooked out, and two hunters getting red hot poked by ghouls in the snow.  Slowy-but-surely some sort of sense/ story comes into play as are investigating duo come into play- they go to the library getting out a book about the local Brotherhood Of Darkness cult- who sacrifice aminal and humans to rise the horned one. The go along to visit a creepy house to find out more, and in the end uncover the cults damned church which is all low grade upside-down crosses, dabbed pentagrams- with their flock  made up of zombie-like creatures. But really, and as you’d hope the point here is the Splatter, which is lo-fi but nicely inventive- with memorable kills taking in a pair  balaclava wear men in the snow- one gets his head pulled back to front, while the other gets the top sawn off. With the film ramping up to the big gory showdown which even finds the horned one himself getting in on the action. The snowy setting is neat, and this is topped off with great wavering-yet- sinister lo-fi synth scaping. Sure the editing, acting & flow of the film leads a bit to be desired but if you’re a fan of cheesy yet highly gore bound SOV you’ll have a hell of a time here. The film runs just under the hour mark, though beforehand you get an around six-minute on-camera intro from Mark Polonia- giving context & background to the film.

Moving onto the region free DVD- and as this is SOV there’s no point discussing the print/ transfer- it looks good enough for SOV fare. The only extra here is a commentary with  Mark Polonia- this is great & most worth, as he has such a good memory recalling shooting details, props, locations & more- he also has some great & amusing stories to tell too,  so it’s well worth giving this track play.

Really if you’re a fan of 80’s SOV, splatter gore, or cheesy/ lo-fi satanic schlock you’ll be needing to get hold of a copy Church Of The Damned- once again another great title SRS Cinema, who really is the go-to for anything SOV & lo-fi horror.