The Brotherhood of Satan

I recently watched Brotherhood of Satan (1971) on Tubi. The storyline revolves around a small Midwestern town plagued by a cult that worships Satan, complete with a charismatic leader, witches, and regular rituals involving sacrifices. When a group of unsuspecting individuals stumble into the wrong town, they become the cult's next target.

Directed by Bernard McEveety (Forgotten City of the Planet of the Apes), Brotherhood of Satan stars L. Q. Jones (The Wild Bunch), Strother Martin (Slap Shot), Charles Bateman (Santa Barbara), and Helene Winston (Double Trouble).

While the film boasts a promising premise, its execution falls somewhat uneven. The acting is adequate, though not exceptional, maintaining a sense of believability throughout. The cult scenes are particularly well-done, delivering intense and realistic moments, albeit occasionally drawn out. However, some of the special effects from that era appear dated, and the blood resembles red paint. Despite this, standout sequences like the tank opening and car crash add to the film's appeal. The storyline features engaging twists and turns, culminating in a solid reveal ending. Brotherhood of Satan exceeded my expectations, despite its uneven elements.

In conclusion, Brotherhood of Satan offers enough redeeming elements to make it a worthwhile addition to the horror genre. I would rate it a 6.5-7/10 and strongly recommend it.

I had no idea what I was going to see when I decided to view this film and to my surprise its just an extremely well made horror film that is easily one of the best of the 1970's. Film is of course low budget and this is an excellent example of how the story and style of a film creates chills, not special effects! Strother Martin is one of the great character actors of all time and he has a rare starring role here and the film also stars Martins good friend L.Q. Jones and "Green Acres" Alvy Moore. Jones and Moore helped produce this film as well. TV veteran Charles Bateman is the star and "Enter the Dragon" beauty Ahna Capri is his girlfriend. Capri is in a bikini at the beginning of the film and she's just gorgeous to look at! Film does a terrific job of staying with the story and not adding a phony feel good ending and I really liked the way the film ends. Great atmosphere, interesting story and well directed by Bernard McEveety. Martins performance is top notch also as he doesn't hold back at all and really throws himself into the role of Doc. Good and underrated film!

This totally odd-ball feature is a typical and prime example of satanically shocking 70's horror. The events are thoroughly confusing and it takes up quite a while before you figure out what the hell is going on, but the brooding atmosphere sucks you in immediately. Right from the indescribably bizarre intro, showing a couple of eerie children turning toys into real-life war machinery, you just know this become an uncompromising and gritty shocker. "Brotherhood of Satan" soon appears to be another installment in the alleged & unofficial "creepy little town hiding a dark secret" sub genre. A young widower, traveling with his new yummy girlfriend and 8-year-old daughter, stops in a remote little town to report a car accident they witnessed on a nearby highway. The villagers behave very hostile and insist the visitors on leaving right away. The town clearly bathes in an ambiance of fear and panic, as local children vanish inexplicably vanished and unnatural forces maintain everyone within the boundaries of town. Hillsboro is in the grip of a satanic cult, apparently ruled by the elderly members of the community. I really liked "Brotherhood of Satan" a lot. The story reminded me of a novel written by John Saul, but I can't remember the title. It also dealt with a cult of elderly people abusing youthful villagers for their own greedy merits. The film mainly relies on creepy scenery (like dolls and witchcraft relics) but a slightly more involving and coherent screenplay would have been nice. The subject matter often raises a lot of issues and questions, and director Bernard McEveety can't always provide us with answers. The climax is terrific, very seventies (meaning shocking) and unforgettable. Beautifully shot film, too.

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.

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.