The Brotherhood of Satan
1971 Directed by Bernard McEveety
Synopsis
A family is trapped in a desert town by a cult of senior-citizens who recruit the town's children to worship Satan.
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Good decor, some nice old crappy special effects, creepy soundtrack.
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amazing ending
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Five years before directing A BOY AND HIS DOG, character actor L.Q. Jones co-produced this post-ROSEMARY'S BABY, Satanically themed horror film, also acting opposite his perennial screen partner Strother Martin. And despite the cheesy title and poster art, it's a surprisingly compelling little movie, with enigmatic visuals and storytelling which kept me interested throughout its story of a desert town under siege from a supernatural force akin to a combination of the Pied Piper and the premise of Bunuel's EXTERMINATING ANGEL. Really, it's fairly staggering that what amounted to drive-in fare in the '70s, and is still relatively unheralded, would boast such solid filmmaking craft, of the kind that would win praise today. Also, it's a treat to see Strother and Jones playing roles apposite their usual feral outlaws.
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Well-crafted but mostly uninvolving horror film is a premise in search of a story. A family is drawn into a strange town, where there daughter is kidnapped by aged Satanists looking to transmute their souls into young kids. While taping into similar territory as Devil’s Rain and Rosemary’s Baby, the film’s pretentious, tedious pace make it tough going for the most part. The occult scenes of Satanists holding candles and babbling nonsense go nowhere, and the most shocking images are taken from old woodcarvings a la Haxan. It’s a mood piece, just not a very good one.