Sometimes I get to see all manner of unbelievable sights in this job, but I’d never guess I’d lay my eerie eyes on a Goth club in Texas…
But, that’s exactly the subject in the documentary coming from Cleopatra titled Dark Sanctuary: The Story of The Church.
As director Timothy Stevens explores the history of The Church we learn of club owner Don Nedler, who started a place called The Lizard Lounge… a techno venue located in a building that was the former home of a dinner theater of all things… but a fateful trip to Miami (in which a second venue from Nedler didn’t pan out), our enterprising protagonist just so happened to attend a Goth/fetish dance night called The Church.
Returning to Dallas with visions of whips and black fishnets dancin’ in his noggin, Nedler started hosting his own version of The Church at his club, and all unholy hell broke loose in the cultural zeitgeist of the area!
Via a heady blend of archival video footage and interviews with those that were there, it’s easy to take a journey back to the time of The Church’s heyday, as we experience all the ghoulish goodness the club had to offer (including it’s infamous Fetish Ball) in a warts n’ all (the tragic fate of some of the regulars is explored) presentation that never fails to captivate in a wicked whirling dervish of black eyeliner, vinyl, whips, and Walker Texas Ranger!
Adding to the experience are a series of additional uncut interview footage, a duo of music videos (featuring even more images of The Church), and the documentary’s trailer.
A midnight journey into a delightfully devilish sanctum where one would least anticipate finding one, Dark Sanctuary: The Story of The Church is a time capsule of Goth culture as it once, not so long ago, was and shouldn’t be missed by all current and former Goth devotees!
