a_chinn I'm usually a big fan of cheesy Charles Band horror productions, but this was was pretty bad. The story is about a demon trapped in a monastery 400 years ago who gets inadvertently released. This film is lacking any kind of knowing campiness, which makes most Band productions unpretentiously entertaining, with camp ranging from subtle, such as "From Beyond," to the ridiculous (and ridiculously fun) "Killjoy" films. This production simply did not have the budget or behind the scenes talent to pull off something like "The Exorcist" or "The Church," which this film clearly wanted to be. The film does boast a classy score by Pino Donaggio, but that's about it.

Aaron1375 I got this film in a pack with three other horror films. The other three are "Dungeon Master", "Cellar Dweller" and the horrendous "Contamination .7". The only other one I have seen was the awful "Contamination .7" so while this one was not particularly good, compared to that it was spectacular! Seriously though, this is another in a long line of horror films that had something good going for it and an interesting premise, but ends up being done the wrong way. It starts out fast enough as something happens in the past and then it is not all that long in the present that something is released making me think this one was going to be one heck of a ride; however, it slows down significantly and ends in basically with an exorcism that is very anticlimactic. This one was watchable though and it held my interest, I just feel it could have done better considering how it started out.The story has an exorcism being done in the past and it fails to produce results so the accursed is sealed within a tomb under a monastery. It switches to present time and a young lady is visiting the monastery and wishes to see the wondrous catacombs underneath it. Unfortunately, the evil that has been sealed is now about to be released for reasons only the makers of the film know and chaos will ensue! Well, it does ensue, but it does so rather slowly. It is up to Timothy Van Patten to get to the bottom of the evil and destroy it once and for all! So yeah, the film does have a nice scene at the beginning. It just kind of fades out quickly after that. You have the monk who warns everyone that the evil is coming and he is ignored and thought a fool by the head of the place and even though he is absolutely correct, he is still presented as someone to root against. Though if they had listened to him, lives would have been spared. The girl is attractive and near the end of the film she would be possessed, but all that would play out is your basic exorcism scene, well not too basic. I do believe it is the first time I have seen evil defeated with a flashback.So another in a long line of horror films that was almost good, but they pretty much blew it. There just was not enough going on after the initial scenes and the end was rather weak. They gave us a monastery full of people and had a very low death toll. Still, it was short and while not great, it held my interest enough that the movie did not feel overlong either. So, with a bit of work and some more death, this one could have been something special. As it is, it is just another horror movie on a package of four.

cllangkjaer I have a correction to what was written in an earlier comment. Well this Movie WAS shot under the Catacombs title, not Curse 4. Due to the fall of Empire Pictures around 1989, this film was "lost" for a few years. Charlie Band sold the rights to Tristar/Epic along with the Rights for Robot Jox to Transworld, an earlier film from veteran director Stuart Gordon. Tristar released Catacombs under the Curse 4 title.( Video Box Office) Also The Film score was done by Italian Composer Pino Donaggio. It is a fantastic score, truly haunting. The Stereo sound from Tristar's full screen Laserdisc edition is done nicely. Though there is a little video grain in the picture. The Entertainment in video UK VHS edition is in 1:85:1 and the picture and sound quality is fairly good. This is one of my favorite Empire movies and it is a well put together film from Director David Schmoeller.

chaosnbeer Catacombs (Curse IV on video) is a boring religious drama that is trying to pass itself off as a horror movie , it pretty much isn't. It involves an albino demon who is the only interesting thing this film offers , oh and Jesus murders a priest for eating a candy bar..that was dandy. This movie pretty much has the look and feel of those cheesy cheap movies that church's and evangelist produce warning people they are sinners. Only 84 minutes it feels like it's 3 hrs , and it also feels like hours are going by without any action at all. I'd avoid this one2/10