Stadt des Grauens

'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!

The Brotherhood of Satan is viewed by some as a great film and by others as much less than mediocre. The difference lies in the mind of the beholder. Literal-minded folk will definitely not appreciate it and will find it slow-moving and boring. Even those who think of it as a classic will agree that it takes a long time for anything significant to happen. However, for those with a metaphysical bent, once the film gets moving, it resonates at a very deep level of the psyche.

Someone raised in a mystical or semi-mystical religion, taught doctrines of transubstantiation, resurrection of the body, the power of prayer, the importance of surrender to the almighty, and the necessity of worship will find striking parallels here though the object of adoration is the Powerful Evil One. God needs the Devil, good needs evil, life needs death, the old need the young in a dualistic world. When attraction is balanced by repulsion in the mind of the viewer, the effect is powerful. Strother Martin in the role of doctor and devil's surrogate is superb.

The use of toys and dolls to symbolize elements that exist on different levels of size or importance is ingenious. This multidimensionality suggests to our subconscious mind that nothing is just what it appears to be. In science fiction and horror, this powerful tool stimulates the imagination. In science it suggests multiple realities, multiple universes.

Diabolic forces wreak havoc in a small New Mexico town. A young widower and his pretty new bride and eight year old daughter travel through and unwittingly get drawn into this convoluted world of fear. They cannot escape it's lair and all the towns people are equally weird and possessed by some dark spirit. This is definitely budget horror from the early 1970's. Characters are from a rural background and are played with backward and vapid mentalities. Weird things happen in these small towns and Hollywood understood that long before it became common knowledge. I grew up near the Mojave Desert where there have been numerous accounts of Satanic worshippers practicing their rituals in the Lucerne valley. Oh yes, these things are not always fiction, they exist.

This is a good, creepy little gem that will scare you into submission.

Watch and enjoy.

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.

"Brotherhood of Satan" is one of the most underrated horror films of all times.Why it hasn't achieved a cult status is beyond me.This is a chilling tale of terror and witchcraft which contains one of the most powerful and disturbing climaxes in the annals of screen horror.In the small American town some children have disappeared and their parents been violently murdered.What is the cause of hysteria?The film is really eerie,some scenes are genuinely unnerving and definitely not easily forgotten.The suspense never lets up,the acting is really good,and the climax is bizarre and disturbing.Check out this forgotten gem of satanic horror.Absolutely recommended.