The Brotherhood of Satan

For some reason in the 1970's it seemed to be a requirement for every former cast member of "The Wild Bunch" to appear in a low-budget satanic-themed horror movie. You had Ernest Borgnine in the ridiculous "Devil's Rain", Warren Oates in the underrated "Race with the Devil", and of course William Holden in the the overblown sequel "Damien: Omen II". The weirdest one though was probably this one which features both Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones (Jones, who would later write and direct the cult classic "A Boy and his Dog", also contributed to the screen play).

It starts out promisingly enough with an entire family somehow being compacted in their car, all except for the young son who wanders off and runs into a strange group of other children. For awhile it is unclear whether this movie is ripping off "Village of the Damned" or "Rosemary's Baby", as you have this group of orphaned and kidnapped children wandering around after their parents have been done by a bizarre murder spree, AND you have a coven of decrepit oldsters led by Strother "What we have here is failure to commun'cate" Martin. The main protagonists are a good-looking but bland couple and their young daughter who are only passing through town, but become involved in the weird goings after they discover the remains of the compacted family. Jones plays the good guy sheriff, and Martin has a second role as the seemingly kindly town doctor.

The satanic scenes are very weird with a lot of freaky shots of children's dolls, and people violently convulsing and dropping dead. The pretty blonde wife also has a "Rosemary's Baby" style hallucinatory dream that is like "Coffin Joe" on particularly bad acid. The end finally ties everything together sort of, but this remains one of those 70's movies that is a lot longer on style than on logic. Still I guess I'd recommend it if you go for these sort of films at all.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Bernard McEveety; Produced by L. Q. Jones and Alvy Moore, distributed by Columbia Pictures. Screenplay by William Welch, based on a story by Sean McGregor; Photography by John Arthur Morrill; Edited by Marvin Walowitz; Music by Jaime Mendoza-Nava. Starring Strother Martin, L. Q. Jones, Charles Bateman, Alvy Moore, Charles Robinson, Ahna Capri and Geri Reischl.

Modern supernatural horror film stressing amateurish acting and realistic settings to contrast with ageless devil-worship. Story is suspenseful, with a slow, deliberate pace and the novel idea of starting in the middle -without flashbacks. The initial expository material is simply omitted! Three unwary travelers stop in a California town are beset by the villagers. The town is sealed off supernaturally and nightly massacres have been occurring for three days! Fine contrast of daytime versus night milieu, plus scary effects makes for a good, well-climaxed thriller.

When I first saw this movie, I hated it as it made little sense. Watching it a second time was good because I discovered that it did have some intelligence to it. However, it's probably too intelligent for the audience it intended to attract. The plot conecrens the inhabitants of a small town who are into witchcraft, attempting to kidnap children for evil purposes and the efforts of a family passing through the town to unravel the mystery. Though not particularly scary, it does have some moments which really stand out and are not easily forgotten. It's also nice to see Strother Martin (an underrated actor) getting to play a lead role.

A deceptively bland-looking piece of hokum obviously derived 'Rosemary's Baby' combined with the sinister blonde moppets from 'The Midwich Cuckoos' and the pagans in 'The Wicker Man' transposed to the Bible Belt is a prime example example of the bizarre seventies & eighties genre of quickies about satanic rednecks (the most famous examples of which probably are probably "Two Thousand Maniacs' and 'Deliverance') .

Strother Martin intitially looks deceptively normal in his first leading role aided by fellow member of 'The Wild Bunch' L. Q. Jones; likewise the bland little town also looks far too nondescript to harbour such a bizarre secret. Also of interest is a rare film appearance by the gorgeous Ahna Capri.

'Brotherhood Of Satan' is a very interesting and overlooked Seventies Satanic thriller. Initially you might lump it in with silly-but-fun schlock like 'The Devil's Rain' and 'Race With The Devil' but it's actually a much more complex and ambitious movie with a much more serious and less sensationalistic approach. T.V. veteran Charles Bateman and Ahna Capri ('Enter The Dragon') play a couple on a road trip with their young daughter (Geri Reischl - 'I Dismember Mama') who find themselves in a mysterious and hostile small town gripped with hysteria. Townsfolk have been brutally murdered and children kidnapped and nobody is quite sure why. Glance at the title of the movie and take three guesses! 'The Wild Bunch's L.Q. Jones (who also co-wrote and co-produced) and Strother Martin (the latter probably best known for his role in 'Cool Hand Luke' - "What we have here is a failure to communicate!") star as the town sheriff and doctor respectively. This is one of a half a dozen movies they made together and it is always a joy to see them sharing screen time. They made a great team which was unfortunately cut short with Martin's death in 1980. The supporting cast also includes Hank Kimball from 'Green Acres' (!) Alvy Moore, a real kick for buffs. 'Brotherhood Of Satan' is a surprisingly creepy and effective horror movie with a sometimes fascinating approach to narrative. A movie that is ripe for rediscovery!