Satanis: The Devil's Mass

Anton LaVey is arguably a misunderstood figure. Circus ringmaster to opening his own Church of Satan is an odd career move. To this day he still remains a fascinating and controversial figure. Extolling the virtues of individualism, sexual freedom and personal liberty are surprisingly modern values which are now pushed by the mainstream media. At the time he was overshadowed by the "satanic panic" media outrage that swept America.

There's no doubt in my mind LaVey is an intelligent man who has the charisma and big showbiz personality to attract disciples to his cause. Sadly the documentary is workmanlike in its approach and thoroughly boring. The satanic rituals nothing more than costume roleplay; that's not to belittle the people involved it's just not interesting to watch. The talking heads interviews with local residents talking about the Church of Satan failed to hold my interest for more than 30 seconds. The nudity and just general weirdness were not really any more explicit than exploitation films available in 1970. I gave this a few extra points due to it capturing some rare footage of LaVey and although not media-shy he wasn't around during the tsunami of social media we have now.

The DVD from Something Weird is rough. The picture quality is never going to look like The Omen, but scratches, grain and washed-out picture quality are substandard. The sound is also quite low making me having to bump it up.

It's an early documentary about Anton Lavey and his Church of Satan. Lavey is a man whose clerical hard seems to consist of a black velvet jumpiest, a cape and horns on the hood. He speaks quickly, but in a droning manner that seems to mock his own G*d-free worship. The principal reason to watch it is to look at the naked women.

Director Ray Laurent interviewed several of the Church's neighbors, who seem most worried about his unwillingness to clean his back yard, and the lion. Lavey had been a professional lion tamer, and several of the neighbors talk about the lion he keeps, which is noisiest at night -- although one youngster, interviewed in his bed room, says never notices the lion, even as the 500-pound beast tries to get into his room.

It's most interesting as a document of the home-grown craziness that San Francisco is known for. Lavey doesn't make for a particularly interesting interview and this 86-minute documentary goes on for a lot longer than I found interesting.

The Church of Satan was a very small and quirky organization that began in, where else, San Francisco, by Anton LaVey. This film is a documentary about the church, their beliefs, the neighbors' attitudes towards them and those who attend. While this is an interesting topic, the fact that it's such a small and insignificant organization makes it of marginal historical and social interest.

Other than showing some of the ceremonies of this organization, this documentary simply lets people within and outside the organization talk with very, very little direction from the film makers. In fact, the entire film seems rather non-planned and not particularly structured. Because of this, the film tends to wander at times and many of the interviews look as if they should be edited heavily. Simply recording people and stringing the interviews together is not great film making and some might find the whole thing tedious after a while. I truly believe the film could have been half as long or even shorter and been much more interesting and effective. There are also some nudes (mostly quite unattractive) and a bare butt being flogged. They don't particularly seem interesting or necessary and I wonder if they were added to try to "spice up" an otherwise dull film.

What I would have enjoyed a lot more would have been more of a biographical study of LaVey or Alistair Crowley--to figure out what made them tick, so to speak. Otherwise, just listening to everyone talk and talk and talk became quite a strain on most people's patience. If only they could get Louis Theroux to interview the current members and high priest of the Church of Satan--now THAT would be interesting.

Although absolutely nothing special, this documentary by Ray Laurent takes us inside the Church of Satan, founded in California in the 1960s by Anton Szandor LaVey, a former circus lion tamer. It has no narrator, and isn't really attempting to tell a story. It's more a series of interviews - with subjects either standing and talking or sitting down and talking - and therefore, it may be rather boring to some viewers. But the material does have a certain fascination and interest level going for it. At least, that was the case for this viewer. Laurent films the perspectives of various witnesses to this phenomenon: neighbors, flock members, opponents, etc., as well as the man himself.

It's not overwhelmingly cinematic, but there are some decent camera angles and movements throughout; the lighting is also noteworthy. The main reason to watch is to see this vintage footage of Mr. LaVey, who comes across as a fairly charismatic, fairly easygoing individual. He based his "religion", if one can call it that, on the idea that humans are basically flawed anyway, and that these flaws could be celebrated and even encouraged. He felt that most organized religion spent too much time condemning people and insisting that they do / not do certain things.

If nothing else, "Satanis: The Devil's Mass" is an amusing enough look at an alternative lifestyle, no matter what one may think of Mr. Lavey's personal beliefs. We are witness to some entertaining decadence: nude women on altars, ass whippings, the expected incantations and rituals, etc. Among the major topics covered are public reactions to the goings-on at LaVey's "Black House" in San Francisco in the 60s, the hassles with the law due to Mr. LaVey having a pet lion at his residence, and his response when confronted with the notion that he may be nothing more than a big phony.

This is worth a look for curiosity seekers, provided they don't get their hopes up too high about it.

Six out of 10.

I caught this on TCM. You have to wonder if the message of the filmmakers is that all Belief Systems are just that: BS. The Satanists are bored and boring. The black house is a second rate curio shop. The naked ladies, to be charitable, could use some time in the gym. The red lighted rituals are pointless. The Christians are predictable: gosh, how were they able to find 2 young babbling Mormon in white shirts and ties? Where did they come up with an old priest to take us back 1700 years to the Gospels? The only thing missing is a sweaty guy in a straw hat yelling "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Right this way to the weirdos!"

A good tool for insomniacs to get some needed sleep.