Stadt des Grauens

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.

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.

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.

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.