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Released by: Something Weird Video
Released on: 6/17/2003
Director: Ray Laurent, Zoltan G. Spencer/ Ray Dennis Steckler
Cast: Anton LaVey, Diane LaVey, Shula Roan, Boris Balachoff, Bret Zeller, Gary Kent, Maria Lease
Year: 1970/1968
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The Movies:
SATANIS - THE DEVIL'S MASS:
Satanis is an interesting and oft times hilarious (Intentionally? Probably not.) look at Anton LaVey, the late infamous founder of the Church Of Satan. Filmed back in 1969, the documentary focuses on the events and happenings surrounding his notorious "Black House" that he ran in San Francisco.
No shortage of evil-doings occur in the film as we witness some of LaVey's minions (mostly a group of rather unattractive women with a penchant for strange, naked rituals and assorted hippy types) doing their thing under his leadership.
LeVay himself is interviewed quite a bit on and off during the more exploitative footage of the rituals (highlighted by a truly bizarre scene where the women in the COS whip one of their male members, all in the name of Satan!) and actually comes across as an intelligent and interesting man (which he may very well have been, I never met him!) despite the fact that he spends a good part of the film decked out in a really, really, really silly looking cape and cowl with some fancy devil horns set atop it.
Rounding out the cast of interviewees are some of LaVey's neighbors (who speak decently enough of the man and most of whom don't have a problem with his congregation despite not necessarily agreeing with their world view, some of whom feel he truly has sold his soul to Satan), some other assorted members of the Church Of Satan, and a few other locals who had run ins or discourse with the esteemed Rev. LaVey.
How much of the film is a legitimate documentary and how much of it is staged for the cameras is quite debatable, but honestly, as I watched the film, I didn't really care. Entertainment value is truthfully what counts and in that respect, as a total curiosity piece, this film really delivers. And you've got to love the scene where the aforementioned whipped man climbs into a coffin with some of the 'lovely' ladies of the church!
SINTHIA, THE DEVIL'S DOLL:
This second feature, directed by the infamous Ray Dennis Steckler, doesn't fare quite as well as the first one. In fact, it doesn't really make much sense at all.
As best I can figure, Cynthia Kyle kills her parents one night after walking in on them bumping uglies. With the setup out of the way, she in turn becomes Sinthia, the Devil's Doll and hence the film has it's title and explains the odd misspelling of the titular characters name. when Lucifer forces her to wander through a psychedelic world of dreams in this ultra-bizarre mix of skin, daddy-lust and art-film exploitation from cult fave Ray Dennis Steckler.
Much bizarre nudity occurs as Sinthia, fully entwined in the clutches of the dark lord, is put through various set pieces that involve all manner of cliché sexual exploitation tactics.
I wish the movie were as good as the description makes it sound, but it's not. Its horribly directed, even more horribly acted, and the only thing that I can really say in its favor is that it has some really good 'bad movie dialogue' in it that you can use to impress your friends with.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Satanis was taken from a 16mm source and the result is a dim and grainy looking print that has seen better days. Colors are faded, there's print damage all over the place, and there are plenty of scratches and other noticeable defects as well. Sinthia looks just as bad if not worse than Satanis and exhibits many of the same problems. The authoring on the disc is handled well though, as there aren't any compression or artifacting problems in either feature. Both films are fullframe and I honestly have no idea if that is the correct aspect ratio for either feature though they both appear fine, compositionally speaking, and don't suffer from any really obvious cropping.
Both films are presented with their original Dolby Digital Mono soundtracks and both films sound pretty poor. I've no idea what kind of elements existed for these films, I'd guess that what was available wasn't in very good shape, and that's likely why the audio is muddy sounding with plenty of noticeable background hiss and a few pops and clicks throughout on each feature.
Something Weird Video has garnered somewhat of a deserved reputation for stacking their discs with all manner of interesting and unusual extra features and thankfully this release is excellent in that regard, as we're privy to some very cool bonus features here.
First up is a nice collection of trailers for some other 'evil' movies. Included in this assortment are promotional reels for such gems as The Devil's Hand, Mark Of The Devil II, Meatclever Massacre, Witchcraft 70, and the travesty that is House of Exorcism (the reworked version of my own personal favorite Mario Bava film, Lisa And The Devil).
After the trailers, SWV has included two 'Satanic Short Films' for our enjoyment. Short #1 is entitled British Black Mass and it features narration from George Sanders and is actually an excerpt from a Mondo film entitled This Shocking World (also released as Ecco). This clip features normal, everyday women heading off to a gothic setting to worship the devil in what could only be a Satanic ritual of the most sinister kind! The second short on the disc is My Tale Is Hot! This is another excerpt, this one from the feature film of the same name, a bizarre sex comedy from director Peter Perry (the same director who gave us Mondo Mod and Kiss Me Quick). In this clip we see the lovely and talented Candy Barr giving a little strip show to an audience consisting of Satan and a chubby friend.
Next on the list? Another one of SWV's kick ass galleries of exploitation art with some fun audio clips playing overtop.
The last main bonus feature is a twenty-nine minute short feature entitled Rituals Of The Occult that features all manner of devilish behavior such as some rather graphic gay sex, some bizarre voodoo rituals, an orgy in a coffin and much, much more. Vincent Stevens (a.k.a. Steve Vincent) explains it all as we lay witness to such evil sights that have never before been filmed! Or something to that effect. It's all very fake. It also appears to be a chopped down version of the full-length feature known as Sex Rituals Of The Occult. It would have been nice to see the feature version included instead (or in place of Sinthia) but the condensed version here is still pretty cool and well worth checking out for fans of debauchery and deviant social behavior.
An Easter Egg revealing the trailer for Soul Lover rounds out the supplements on this disc.
The Final Word:
Satanis - The Devil's Mass is a great documentary and anyone with even a passing interest in LaVey or his Church of Satan should take a look. Plenty of bizarre camp value abides in this one as well, making it unintentionally hilarious more often than not. Sinthia, The Devil's Doll, on the other hand, is strictly bottom of the barrel Steckler (and that's saying something!). SWV has provided some great extras and the disc is easy to recommend based on the supplements as well as the legitimate weirdness of the LaVey documentary.