Satanic Panic --a review

Satanic Panic fills me with nostalgia for two reasons: first, it’s a movie that’s been produced by Fangoria, the horror movie magazine that’s made a triumphant return recently (and welcome back); and second, it’s a horror comedy, which I haven’t seen since the heyday of Fango back in the 1980s. To be sure, there were plenty of horror films with humorous moments, and more than a few really bad horror films that were unintentionally funny, but it’s rare to get a full-bore horror film--complete with blood and guts--that also serves a healthy dose of satire, as well.

Satanic Panic takes aim at the greedy top one percent in our beloved capitalist society, stating outright that the reason they’re so rich and powerful (as well as being cold, soulless bastards) is because they worship Satan, and Old Scratch apparently takes very good care of his followers. The major catch is a human sacrifice must be made every now and then, and Danica (Rebecca Romijn), the leader of the cult, already had her daughter Judi (Ruby Modine) set up to be sacrificed--until Judi ruined things by sleeping with her boyfriend (the ritual only works if the person being sacrificed is a virgin).

Along comes pizza delivery girl Samantha (endearingly played by Hayley Griffith), who’s been ripped off of her tip from a large order and is wandering around the mansion, seeking compensation when she stumbles onto the Satanic meeting. And once the cult discovers that Samantha is a virgin, the sacrificial ritual is back on! Huzzah! What follows is a fun cat and mouse chase that’s ably helmed by Chelsea Stardust in her feature film debut as a director. Satanic Panic manages to be a funny rift on Satanic movies while still taking its main threat seriously. The comedy doesn’t fall too far into slapstick, nor does it take over the whole tone of the film.

Danica is a quite capable (and scary) menace, thanks to Romijn’s strong performance. Yet the script still has Danica fending off know-it-all underling Gypsy Neumieir (an equally good Arden Myrin) in a funny subplot that deals with who would make a better leader for the cult. This not only makes for some great comedy, but it also humanizes the characters. People with a delicate constitution should be warned that, despite being funny, Satanic Panic doesn’t hold back on the horror elements of its story, including the gore. Satanic Panic is an enjoyably funny horror film whose heart is in the right place, even when it’s being held up as an offering. --SF

Comments

Explorer From Another World

It’s Friday night during the summer in Beutter county, an idyllic farming community in Indiana, and the good folks are settling in for what should be another humdinger of an evening. Until their plans are shattered by the arrival of an Explorer From Another World! This turns out to be an alien (Gemma Sterling) who starts savagely killing people from the moment it disembarks from its flying saucer. Local kids Eddie (Colin McCorquodale), Marybeth (Sage Marchand) and Culpepper (Nolan Gay) are planning on seeing a movie, but it looks like they’ll be battling for the very survival of the human race instead! Explorer From Another World is a wonderfully done throwback to the B-movies of the 1950s and 1960s. Ably directed by Woody Edwards (who gives himself a small cameo as Hank in the sheriff’s jail cell), the film is forty five minutes long, but manages to tell its torrid but funny story very effectively in the time allotted. And the short running time tracks when you...

Batman: The Return of the Caped Crusaders -- a review

Holy animation,, Batman! Batman: The Return of the Caped Crusaders is a loving tribute to the 1960s TV series that manages to feel like the second 1960s-era Batman movie, thanks to the voice-casting of original Batman and Robin stars Adam West and Burt Ward, along with Julie Newmar, who reprises her role as Catwoman. Taking place in the same time period as the series, the film is filled with the social mores of the time, such as having Catwoman demurely step to the side whenever Batman and Robin battle the villainous henchmen (complete with the customary BIFF! BAM! and POW! word balloons the original series always flashed during the fight scenes). Catwoman is a part of a fearsome foursome of rogues that includes the Joker, Penguin and the Riddler as they set out to work together to wreak havoc on Gotham City. The fact that these villains team up, along with their use of a penguin-themed zeppelin later in the film, is a nice nod to the original 1966 Batman movie that was relea...

Jurassic World: Rebirth -- a review

Released 32 years after the original Jurassic Park , and ten years after the first reboot, Jurassic World , the latest film, Jurassic World: Rebirth , is the seventh entry in the long-running cinematic series and, judging from its strong box office take, it won’t be the last. Scarlett Johansson, who was nine years old when the first JP film was released, is now the lead of Rebirth , starring as Zora Bennett, a mercenary who gets hired for a special mission in the jungles on the equator. And she convincingly plays the part with casual ease. The dinosaurs that had been returned to the modern day through science have not been doing too well in the intervening years, with their numbers dwindling to the point to where they now only thrive in areas along the equator, which is designated off limits to humans. Zora is hired to take a team of her fellow mercenaries to one of these forbidden locations that plays host to the dinosaurs because a pharmaceutical company wants them to e...

The View From The Mountain

Search This Blog