Satanis (1970) – Review
Ever wanted to get an idea what Anton LaVey and his band of Merry Blasphemers were really up to in the late ’60s?
Well, so did I.
Full disclosure: back in my wayward youth I was extremely interested in LaVey and ate up all of books, from The Satanic Bible to Satan Speaks! Although it’s been many years since LaVey held any allure to me, when I discovered there was original documentary footage from the early days of the CoS (Church of Satan) it instantly moved to the top of my Netflix queue. Satanis was enlightening, that’s for sure, though it’s not quite the propaganda effort that LaVey may have been hoping for.
The film’s style is frenetic, jumping between interviews with LaVey and his cronies, people from the neighborhood, and a handful of religious authorities in the San Francisco area (where the CoS was based). These interviews are interspersed with long sequences where we see the actual rituals being performed. The camera work, although serviceable if static shots during interviews, is amateurish when it requires more finesse during the rituals, giving them a juvenille quality that does not do the Satanists in question any favors.
This is not to say that the rituals themselves are not juvenille, because they certainly are. In fact, in comparison to other examples I’ve seen of ritual magic (especially the OTO) they come off as completely ludicrious. When exposed to the harsh reality of the camera the glamorous and secretive mystique of the Church of Satan, which LaVey worked so hard to create in his books, reveals itself to be a complete sham. While this is probably a surprise to very few, our Satanists in question turn out to be primarily comprised of drunks, misfits, and crass rednecks.
Not to say that the other “stars” of this film come out much better. The director, Ray Laurent, seems to have a masterful eye for capturing people at their worst moments and exploits this talent for all it’s worth. Laurent manages to find the most intolerant and small-minded Mormon missionaries, fundamentalists, and incorrigible gossips in the neighborhood and gives them every opportunity to make fools of themselves for our entertainment.
And, in the end, that’s what this film is: entertaining. While far from the most informative documentary, there were plenty of laughs to be had. From unintentionally hilarious ritual nudity to absurd hand-wringing by neighbors and clergy, no one is spared. If there’s any lesson to be learned here, it is: “Don’t take any of this too seriously.”
