CATHEDRAL |
| Title: "Cathedral" Based On: Original Screenplay By: Anne Mahla Genre: Suspense/Horror |
| Log Line |
| This house of God has a visitor. |
| Synopsis |
| St. Anne's Cathedral has been closed since 1922-the year of the murders. The once magnificent structure is now dilapidated and overgrown. Father John Spencer is an idealist. He wants to restore the cathedral and bring the old Chicago neighborhood back to life. To accomplish this goal, Spencer enlists the help of his college roommate Russell Everett. Russell is an architect, a non-believer, and the husband of Spencer's only love. Celia Everett is a beautiful, talented artist. She is thrilled by the prospect of designing windows and statuary for the new cathedral. She is grateful for a project with a religious angle. For Celia, the new St. Anne's is more than an artistic challenge-it is a chance to Ever since the death of his daughter, Russell has been plagued by graphic nightmares. Therefore, Russell is initially unconcerned by the horrific visions that accompany his acceptance to work on the cathedral. It is not long, however, before he realizes the ghosts are not only in his head. The house of God appears to have a supernatural visitor. An inspection of the cathedral reveals a mysterious basement chamber filled with odd cages, books on exorcism, and numerous old journals. The bizarre collection belonged to Father Calvin O'Shea. In 1922, it was O'Shea who became crazed and ruthlessly butchered six parishioners. The cathedral has been boarded up ever since. After several unexplainable events, and the gruesome death of a construction worker, Father Spencer is summoned by Cardinal Kane. Kane is a morbidly obese, retired man of God. He explains to Spencer that there is an evil force at work within the walls of the cathedral, and that the property is best left untouched. Spencer is skeptical. To buttress his argument, Kane tells the story of Father O'Shea, who performed exorcisms in the basement of the cathedral. Unfortunately, O'Shea had failed to ponder where an evil spirit goes when it is released. After performing six hundred and sixty-six exorcisms, the liberated demons formed an entity. It is this entity that is haunting the cathedral, and will certainly cause more mayhem. Father Spencer returns to Celia and Russ, and tells what he has learned. Russ doesn't believe a word. Celia sides with Spencer, and the two spend the evening reading over the journals of Father O'Shea's exorcisms. Included are some graphic and horrific scenes of the religious ceremonies. The evil force within the cathedral continues to work. Several more deaths occur. Father Spencer pleads with the police not to send any officers into the cathedral. The police laugh off the warning, and officers are killed inside. A high-powered religious council is formed to assess the situation. In the meantime, Russ is continually haunted by the ghost of his dead daughter. She urges him to forgive himself and save the cathedral. She is able to convince him that God does exist. At the climax of the movie, Russ, Celia, and Spencer are trapped within the cathedral as a massive battle of good versus evil takes place. The three friends barely escape the clash. The cathedral is unceremoniously blown up by authorities, dividing the baneful entity into smaller forces that disperse into the night. A new St. Anne's is built. Russ and Celia's faith and marriage are restored. Still, the evil lurks. Here's the church, here's the steeple, open the doors and... |
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