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Blu Review – Satanis: The Devil’s Mass & Satan’s Children (AGFA)

Blu Release – 3.5/5

Satanis: The Devil’s Mass
Director – Ray Laurent
Starring – Isaac Bonewits, Anton LaVey (Invocation of my Demon Brother), and Diane LaVey (Witchcraft ’70, MSNBC Investigates)
Release Date – 1970
Rating – 3/5

Tagline – “The first film to ever lay bare the bizarre secrets of the pleasure cult!”

With Halloween approaching I wanted to keep my horror binge going but decided to mix it up a little bit. I recently watched The Films of Sarah Jacobson because I wanted to see I Was a Teenage Serial Killer this month. I decided to follow up that viewing with another AGFA release. This time it was their blu release of the 1970 documentary Satanis: The Devil’s Mass.

I know some of you are thinking that this is a documentary and not a horror movie but you need to remember that I grew up during the whole Satanic panic of the late 80s. Hearing suburban moms crying that Halloween was a night for Satan is something I commonly heard and this documentary really put me in a nostalgic Halloween spirit.

**Spoiler alert** The documentary follows Anton LaVey and the Satanic Church. We get a glimpse inside their home, their ceremonies, rituals, and how the neighborhood around them see them. **Spoiler Alert**

Satanis: The Devil’s Mass is not the most informative documentary and doesn’t dive deep into the history but the one thing it really does well is show you the look at the life of LaVey and the others in the Satanic Church.

The interviews we get in this one are on both sides of the coin so to speak. We get people from inside the church and people that are opposed to it. I really liked that we get interviews from locals who are against it. It really gives the documentary ground and shows it’s not biased. The topics discussed are mostly current. It’s great if you are looking for an inside look at the church now but I, for one, would love to hear more about the founding of the church and how it came to be.

Finally, the editing in this one is pretty choppy. The interviews and topics are not that smooth and the transitions doesn’t help with the flow of the film either. The movie, like LaVey himself, almost has an anarchic approach. We jump from person to person and hear their testimonies with no real rhyme or reason as to why that person is talking about what they are talking about.

Overall, Satanis: The Devil’s Mass is an intersting documentary but it’s not without it’s shortcomings. I enjoyed what we get but some polish and an outline would have went a long way with this one. The remaster of this one is not that impressive but AGFA is known for keeping that grainy look while preserving their films. Check it out but don’t expect a life changing experience.

Satan’s Children
Director – Joe Wiezycki (Willy’s Gone)
Starring – Stephen White (Gas!, Final Chapter: Walking Tall), Joyce Molloy, and Eldon Mecham
Release Date – 1975
Rating – 2/5

Tagline – “Devil worshipping has changed them into…Satan’s Children”

When I picked up the Satanis: The Devil’s Mass blu from AGFA it was because I was mostly interested in the bonus film in the set which is the 1975 Satanic cult horror film Satan’s Children. When I was in college I visited a shop that had a ton of horror memorabilia and the poster for the film was hanging on the wall. I’ve always been curious about this flick but never found myself actually able to check it out. When I saw that AGFA was putting this set out I had to pick it up and I did. It was on my shelf for sometime but I decided that this October was the perfect month to finally give it a go.

**Spoiler Alert** The film follows teenage Bobby (White) who leaves his verbally abuse father and promiscuous step-sister. His jounrey lands him in a diner where he meets another young man who takes him back to his place. There he is beat and raped before left for dead on the side of the road. A Satanic cult finds him and takes him back to their compound where they tend to his wounds. The second in charge starts to like him but the leader of the cult suspects that he may be gay and they don’t like homosexuals. **Spoiler Alert**

I was so fucking excited to check this one out. I’ve watched a few of the trailers for this one over the years which only driven my excitement. Sadly, the movie was a bit of a mess and nowhere near as fun as I thought it was going to be. In fact, aside from a few cool moments I found myself struggling to even finish it.

The acting in this one is pretty solid. The cast really gets into their roles. The cast is rather amatuerish but they really do try. I really liked the characters and their performances were solid enough.

The story for this one is rather simple but is stretched very thin. The Satanic cult portion mixing with the closeted gay is a bit of a contrasting view of the actual Satanic Temple but for movie purposes it worked. It paints them as the monsters that society sees them as when in actuality they are more humanitarian that most religions. With that being said, the movie is a bit of a slow burner with heavy dialogue scenes that stretches the film out but doesn’t bring anything to the story.

Finally, the film has some blood but nothing spectacular or memorable. In fact, a movie titled Satan’s Childrens is not as bloody as you would expect. Overall, Satan’s Children was a movie I had waited years to see and was very let down by it. It has potential but the movie as it is was a huge waste of time. Skip it.

Special Features:
2K preservation of SATANIS from a 16mm theatrical print!
2K preservation of SATAN’S CHILDREN from a 35mm theatrical print!
Sizzling shorts from Beelzebub’s vault!
Torrid trailers from Lucifer’s archive!
Reversible cover art

Blacktooth

(Staff Writer) Lover of all things horror and metal. Also likes boobs and booze.

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