Introduction

Since public audiences were first introduced to the medium of film in 1895, the Catholic Church has sought to impose its will on the distribution and exhibition of movies. These activities include the fortnightly publication of the Segnalazioni Cinematografiche, which passed Catholic moral judgment on every film released. In this pamphlet and in other settings, no set of filmmakers has invited the ire of the Vatican as much as those working in the genres of horror and exploitation. At times, filmmakers have responded in kind, attacking the Catholic church directly and indirectly, presenting clergy as outright antagonists and shining a light on the Vatican's crimes past and present, including its collusion with fascism.

Translating the judgments of the Segnalazioni Cinematografiche into English for the first time and juxtaposing them with film content and social and historical context, this book presents in full the cultural conflict between the Vatican and horror movies.