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This is an interesting film which was made after the McMartin scandal, the many headlines of Satanic rituals, and the Fooster child abuse/daycare scandal in South Florida.

John Shea's performance is annoying (I will address that later) William Devane is excellent as the voice of reason, the psychologist who has an alternative view, that the memories Shea is retrieving may have been promoted by his pastor.

The fact that children may be induced to retrieve false memories is controversial, but if one researches the statistics, more common than the general public would like to believe. Also, religion is certainly a factor, as many people may confide in their pastor or priest. False memory syndrome has also been manifested in several MPD (multiple, or dissociative identity disorder cases). While certainly the diagnosis is valid in some cases, it is rare, and many people have used it to their advantage (see Kenneth Bianchi "Hillside Stranglers").

If you are interested in this subject you may also want to watch the "McMartin Trial" with James S. Woods, as well as the movie "Capturing the Friedmans"; a provocative documentary of what actually occurred on Long Island, NY circa 1988, when a computer science teacher was indicted for sexual abuse of his students. Both stories have many diverse viewpoints, and are quite disturbing. 9/10