jadavix "La Setta", or "The Sect", is that most unfortunate type of film, the kind with a collection of good moments but no discernable thread to string them all together. The result is a movie so boring that when a memorable scene happens, you probably won't be paying attention.The plot has something, loosely, to do with the titular sect of devil worshippers, who appear to be based on the Manson family, at least in the movie's prologue. They kill a bunch of hippies in 1970, while a song from 1972 plays on the soundtrack. They also look shaggy and unkempt.Then the movie switches to present day, and a kindergarten teacher almost runs over an old man, played by legendary German actor Herbert Lom. Of course, the meeting is really no accident, he's involved in the sect, and as with so many horror movies about evil cults, our protagonist is involved with the sect too, she just doesn't realise it. She's the essential ingredient the cultists need to make the devil come back or whatever.If you think that last bit was a spoiler, the English-language distributors apparently disagree with you: they give it away in the film's title on those shores: "The Devil's Daughter".You've seen it all before anyway, and done better: "The Wicker Man" also featured a religious cult in which the unsuspecting hero was the vital ingredient the cult needed for their evil plan. So did a little-seen, (but much better than "The Sect") Dutch movie called "The Family". "Rosemary's Baby", anyone? Maybe even "The Omen" films, in which the protagonist was indeed evil, but didn't know it at first.It's been done before, and done better, and you've seen it at least a few times.I said the movie has memorable moments but no interesting plot to tie them together. I think what it really has is moments that could be memorable in a better movie, but here, are not. I'm at a loss to explain how this movie was directed by Michele Soavi, who made the superb "Cemetery Man" next. Perhaps it was the influence of Argento co-writing the screenplay that made this one so confusing and dull.Not to mention overlong. Who the hell thought a trite devil-worshipper movie needed to be almost two hours?

Michael Ledo Nothing like a bad Italian combination of "Rosemary's Baby" plus "The Wrath of Khan" to make for a low intensity boring film. The beginning of the film opens with evil satanic bikers killing i.e sacrificing some desert hippies. It then jumps to 1991 Frankfort where a Van Helsing looking guy (Herbert Lom) sticks a bug up a school teacher's (Kelly Curtis) nose. Very long. Very boring. Not well acted. There are better ways to spend your time and money.Released under the title "La setta."PARENTAL GUIDE: F-bomb, sex, nudity.

matheusmarchetti By chance, this was on TV tonight and I had been looking everywhere to find this one, so I was glad to finally see it. That being said, I feel as though my expectations were a bit too high on this one. It's not as if the film is bad, which it ain't, but I feel I was expecting another "Suspiria" or "Inferno" which, a few similarities aside, are quite different from this one. Still, there are some truly powerful images that sticked in my head after watching it and the first dream sequence was just brilliant. The acting was pretty good also, with Kelly Curtis coming off as a likable protagonist alongside the great Hebert Lom giving an eerie performance as one of the villains. There's also a fine script that, though owes a lot to "Rosemary's Baby", came out as fresh and quite unique really, and not the carbon copy one might expect. The cinematography is also spellbinding, and as in his previous (and in my opinion slightly superior) "The Church", Michele Soavi proves to be a visual artist on the same level as Dario Argento. The film's flaws come mostly from the strong made-for-TV feel and a rather cheesy score from Pinno Donagio, as well as some rather unintentionally funny moments here and there (easily overcomed by the claustrophobic, nightmarish atmosphere). Overall, a quite decent obscure chiller that deserves more attention than it gets. I only wish I could like it more myself, as it's one of the last great Italian horror movies of the past twenty years or so. Hopefully, repeated viewings will make me appreciate it more, because it surely got potential. 7/10

Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) I was quite impressed by this film! Surprised actually, by how involving it was on a problem solving level. Just by reading the box you more or less know going into the film that a young woman (Kelly Curtis, who is a dead-ringer for sister Jamie Lee at times) is going to be inducted into some kind of satanic cult, and that she will be used for some kind of blasphemous purpose to bring forth a new son of Lucifer. The fun is in watching her otherwise staid life spiral out of control after she comes in contact with a weird old man (Euro Horror legend & Captain Nemo actor Herbert Lom) who "isn't ready to die yet".Sure, it's ROSEMARY'S BABY all over again with production by Dario Argento, but the film is completely unpredictable the first time through in ways that were quite engaging: One endeavored to puzzle out the meanings of otherwise unrelated mundane things like blue strands in glasses of water, demonic bunnies, plumbing design, trees decorated with ornaments glittering in the sun, pelicans, fuzz falling from the sky, truck stops, rows of numbers, nasty old napkins, suicidal doctors, basements that are bigger than the houses upstairs, beds crawling with worms, giant fishhooks with finger handles, and the use of America's "A Horse With No Name" two years before the song was released.I mention the latter because it was the first instance of the movie stumbling, and took place about forty seconds into the proceedings. The only other time when the film stumbled was about two minutes before the end when a seemingly random event interrupted what was otherwise supposed to be someones pre-destined fate. If her fate was pre-destined, how could that have changed? The answer is that it was a plot device perhaps demanded by a producer who thought that the script was getting a bit long in the tooth. But up until then it's a riveting example of Euro Horror from the end of it's cycle: Post-Argento Italian horror. The film might be a bit too methodical in it's unraveling than fans of DEMONS or THE BEYOND might prefer, but stick with it! The movie pays off a bunch of times and once more to be clear, right up until the last few minutes is as good of a film about this subject matter as you can ask for. It also has an interesting agenda about the power of evil being beyond what any mere one of us can resist, though we can play a role in carrying out it's wishes if we so choose. The rest of the world will turn a blind eye preferring not to believe and finding other answers, starting with "you're just imagining things". Here is a movie that knows this is what we expect and plays with it, unveiling a mythical subversive alternate culture within our own bent upon bringing Satan back to Earth once again, and untouchable due to social considerations we ourselves take for granted. That their plans could be averted by a plot device is somewhat annoying, but if that's the trade off for 110 minutes of otherwise crackerjack horror I'm happy to pay the price.8/10; Seek it out, you can find old videos for the price of the change between the cushions of your sofa.