Legacy of Satan

Bored architect turned devil worshipper Arthur (James Procter) lures sexually frustrated housewife Maya (Lisa Christian) into the bosom of a Satanic cult who believe that a union between her and their malevolent leader, Dr. Muldavo (John Francis), is the key to incredible Satanic powers. Maya's hubby George (Paul Barry) has other ideas and, dressed as a jester, uses a magical glowing sword to infect Muldavo's face with a life-sapping omelette.

According to another reviewer here on IMDb, Legacy of Satan, directed by Gerard Damiano of Deep Throat fame, is rumoured to have begun life as a hardcore feature, but was trimmed of its explicit sexual content to make it suitable for release as part of a grind-house double-bill; it's not all that hard to believe, the film definitely having the look and feel of a 70s porno—all grainy cinematography, trippy visuals, and lo-fi synth music, with a decadent, sexually charged atmosphere, a nonsensical plot, and an untalented cast of complete unknowns. The film's short running time and choppy editing also go a long way to support the theory.

However, if there was ever a XXX version, it has long since vanished into the mists of time, and all we have been left with is this dreadfully boring, shambolic wreck of a film, a Satanic horror with no tension, no scares and very little blood. Clearly Damiano considered himself something of an artist, and did his best to bring a hallucinatory beauty to the film through the use of coloured light and strong shadow, but his handling was way too heavy-handed to be effective, the result being a garish mess as opposed to a stunningly creative piece of cinema. Arlon Ober and Mel Zelniker's experimental electronic score proves to be just as much an assault on the ears as Damiano's visuals are on the eyes.

There's nothing really enjoyable about this film. The biggest problem is Lisa Christian, its lead actress. She can't act, at all, and drains the life out of almost every scene she is in, which is most of the movie. On multiple occasions she repeats, in near monotone, the exact same line of dialog she said minutes before. Perhaps that was caused by multiple takes and film editing that wasn't even trying to keep track. (Except the other actors' dialog doesn't seem like it repeats, at least as far as I noticed.) Her character is just banal, extremely selfish and, at times, wildly inconsistent. Her poor husband. In many ways, this was a character study of someone who was pathetically narcissistic. She imagines she's everyone's favorite ice cream flavor but is just spoiled milk. She is chosen to become consort to an equally insignificant but egotistical occultist who worships a supernatural entity they call Rakeesh. Yes, the satanists in this movie don't worship Satan but someone named after Lord Shiva in Hinduism, which is not only not politically correct but just plain ignorant. If you're going to change the name, at least make the source of ultimate evil Krog or something else even slightly intimidating. I don't want to imagine they all worship the guy who wipes up spilled Slurpees at 7-11. Of course, many Satanists use their rites as an excuse to play sex games,...but not this pathetic batch. If you've seen the photos here on IMDB, you've seen the most skin you will see in the entire film. It's purely PG-13 stuff. This was before PG-13, so it's closer to PG than R. The film is kind of short, but I can't tell if that was because it was originally going to feature 20 minutes of nudity (or porn, to go by the rumor) that got cut / never was filmed or just because the mobsters who were funding it said enough is enough. Honestly, though, only losing the lead actors and starting over from scratch could have saved this movie.

Legacy of Sat (1974)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A bored housewife (Lisa Christian) doesn't have much going on in her life until a Satan worshiper decides she'd make the perfect leader for their cult. Soon the woman is dealing with all sorts of weird visions but her husband isn't going to just let the cult take her over without a fight.

Gerard Damiano, best known for DEEP THROAT, directed this rather weird film that has pretty much been forgotten over the years except for those who enjoy seeking out the various "Satan" pictures from the decade. This one here was rumored to have been more explicit at some point but I'm not certain there's any actual proof that it was. Perhaps in the pre-production stages it was discussed but there's nothing evident here to think it was ever shot that way.

The biggest problem with this film is that nothing ever really happens. The wife pretty much does nothing except walk around and have various visions and none of them are that shocking, disturbing and they're certainly not scary. I'm really not sure what Damiano was going for because there's no gore so that rules out any shock value. There's no violence so that's another strike against the picture. There's not really any sexuality so there's nothing erotic going on. I'm not sure if he was just trying to create a psychedelic piece of art but that doesn't happen either.

LEGACY OF Satan is mildly entertaining in a silly way and especially if you like low-budget movies that deal with this subject. Fans of that subgenre will want to check this out but all others can find much better movies out there.

A New York couple are lured to a masked party, held at the large house of an evil occultist who has set his sights on the wife. Very low budget, bad acting and a plot that could be written on a postage stamp this ticks the boxes for viewers seeking 1970's grindhouse trash. One of the movie's strongest points is the ever present, eerie synth score. This combines well with several surreal, nightmare like sequences. Some of the make up is OK too. Two things that I didn't like are - 1 - no nudity, which was unusuall for black magic films from this decade, and 2 - despite the title I never once heard the name "Satan" get a mention, instead some Lord Rakeesh, or something, is the demon to which the cult is dedicated. A name that I am not familiar with. Yes, this is trashy but it is still far more enjoyable that most of the horror movies being churned out in the 21st Century.

I viewed this on Tubi, which is the kind of place you'd find movies of this ilk. Seventies exploitation to be sure, with all the baggage that that moniker entails. There's a wisp of a narrative, something about a housewife being selected by a devil-worshipping cult to be their queen. Attractive cast, especially lead actress Linda Christian, who capably handles the material, such as it is--and The Philadelphia Story it ain't! Since this was filmed in 1972, we get the usual barrage of groovy fashions and home furnishings, a treat for fans of retro stuff. The synth score is a double-edged sword, irritating in some scenes, but rather atmospheric in others, particularly the black mass scenes. These scenes are probably the most compelling in the whole film. Over-ripe monologues, moody lighting, and the previously mentioned score (augmented by some eerie Gregorian chants) all make for some effective viewing. The DP and cinematographer both must have had a purple fetish, because there are several scenes where that particular color is emphasized. Maybe the director was shooting for an art film aesthetic, with some of the kooky angles, shooting a dialogue scene through the gauzy veil of a poster bed, etc. Looks great in the Code Red transfer, and doesn't overstay it's welcome