Based on a true story, “The Catholic School” takes us back to the 1970s when one of the most monstrous incidents in Rome took place: the Circeo Massacre. With a remarkable cast, this movie is a must-watch for those of us who love exciting thrillers.
Growing up in a middle-class family, Angelo Izzo, Andrea Ghira and Gianni Guido are three “daddy’s boys” whose weekly confessions at mass do not make them exempt from committing the worst sin possible. As students from an all-male Catholic school, their sexuality is an ambiguous and complicated concept that pushes them to satisfy their lust at demented levels.
The three perpetrators also have difficult lives at home and at their school, where their only options are to subdue or be subdued.
As the narrator clearly states, life in their community is never the same after the events of the Circeo Massacre.
The boys are introduced to their future victims Donatella and Rosaria through a mutual friend, later deciding to take them out to dinner and a movie. Feeling attraction towards the two beautiful Italian girls, the boys lure them to Andrea’s villa, where the horrendous events take place.
Following a long night of drinking, Donatella and Rosalia attempt to go home to avoid worrying their parents. Gianni and Angelo then threaten the girls at gunpoint, locking them in the bathroom. Vulnerable and fearing for their lives, Donatella and Rosalia have no option but to obey.
Without further hesitation and even before Andrea arrives at the villa, Gianni and Angelo proceed to rape and torture Donatella and Rosalia. They eventually tell the girls that Andrea was the one who gave out the orders for them to do so. After days of being continuously raped, kicked and starved, only one of the victims ends up surviving.
“The Catholic School” shows how life was before rape was seen as an actual crime against the victim; it was instead considered a crime against public morality. The Circeo Massacre brought about changes to Italian laws in 1996, when rape began to be punished with prison sentences. While Angelo, Andrea and Gianni were subjected to life in prison, due to good conduct, they were released before completing their sentences.
As wicked as it sounds, they did not stop committing crimes against women even after their release, and were responsible for the death of another woman six years later. Evidence from the case proves that the perpetrators suffered from psychiatric disorders that were perhaps at the root of their evil acts.
“The Catholic School” is only 105 minutes long and takes its audience on a rollercoaster of emotions that emerge from witnessing how wickedness operates in the minds of those one would least expect.
All in all, no amount of confession will make the repercussions of the Circeo Massacre vanish from history.
Rating: 4/5
I have now watched this true life crime movie twice. I am an American, and know all about crime! We have similar horrors just like this in the U.S.A. Seeing this play out in another country, just brings it home that males are sick and twisted all over this world! It was horrifying to see the depravity they inflicted upon these two decent young women. The three of these males were all sociopaths, and fed off of one another in the frenzy of raping, and torturing these two young women, and then finally killing one of them! My heart just sank for they had no human conscience and no mercy, not one of them did! Now that is beyond scary! If this particular crime was done in a state like Texas, Florida, Alabama, Missouri, and some of our other death penalty states in the U.S., they would have received death for the rape, torture, and murder of the one girl. And probably death for the other girl as well. I support the death penalty, but my state of Massachusetts does not have it anymore, and it should! I also felt so bad that Donatella had many health issues on top of going through this extreme horror in her life. Talk about life not being fair!
It’s amazing how men in charge of making laws & prosecuting rapists apparently view rape as a type of rough sex & these animals are let out of prison for good behavior to repress the same crimes. Rape is totrure to any victim, infant, child, boy, girl, man, or woman.prisoners die from being raped to death in prisons all over the World.The death penalty should be enacted bc without laws & penalties, we have no civilization. The victims of these crimes are all ages if both sexes.The message seems to be evil is normal & monsters are free to live among us at will. “ All that is necessary for evil to exist, is for good men to do nothing.” Now is the time for good men to act. God sees all. If one is attacked, we are all unprotected.