Satan's Sadists

Coming from a huge fan of the trashy, 1970s, low-budget, motorcycle gang, genre, my comment may be slightly biased. Being a fan of the wonderful Al Adamson might be too much as well. However, as far as sleazy 70s biker flics go, "Satan's Sadists" is indeed one of the better ones. Russ Tamblyn outdoes himself as the whacked out, sadistic leader of the group. His performance is truly fun to watch and he plays the villainous role to the max. The soundtrack is also tons of fun with some memorable "acid" tunes that should have you saying "Wow man!" every 20 minutes or so.

It's a pretty violent entry to the biker genre, but few of them are really "sugary-sweet". "Sadists" however, is maybe a bit above the rest with some real nastiness committed by the title group. For something a little less shocking, "Easy Rider" would be a better choice or even "Hell's Angels On Wheels".

Fans of schlock director Al Adamson have to see/own this one. It's a biker "classic" and deserves high ranking in biker film "Top Tens" right alongside "Northville Cemetery Massacre", "The Glory Stompers" and "The Savage Seven". Enjoy!

There are several things this picture cannot overcome with its very low budget: the pacing is very slow at points, photography is almost amateurish in places (blown up from 16mm, I think), there's filler - too many shots of motorcycle riders moving on the freeway, and lousy dialog/acting. But, there's enough entertainment value for 3 stars from me. The credits song, 'I Was Born Mean...' is just super. Then you have star Tamblyn, the biker leader, overacting or subverting his persona, depending on how you look at it. He makes this weird speech a third of the way in (famous to people familiar with the flic) about how peaceful hippies are persecuted by cops; this is how he justifies his murderous actions (yes, I do this for the hippies, since they're too peaceful to do it). Scott Brady is a cop on vacation and the object of Tamblyn's antagonism. It doesn't explain why Tamblyn kills 3 young women later - what do they have to do with it? He giggles like a madman as even his own fellow biker (Cardos) rebels against such pointless murder.

Is Tamblyn just playing a joke on the audience? Here I am, he seems to be implying, once a nice boy in Hollywood movies. Look at me doing all this crazy stuff! I am one crazy dude. The 2nd half of the pic is all in the bleak desert, with the various surviving characters running about. There are no other police or establishment figures intruding; it's mentioned in the beginning how desolate the area is, that you can go 200 miles(!) without seeing another person. Greydon Clark is amusing as another biker who lives to get stoned on acid or LSD; his goal is to go on a one-way trip. And this was Regina Carrol's first big role, as a biker momma. Some of her dialog, as mentioned, is atrociously dated and poorly delivered besides; pining for Tamblyn, she asks another biker, "doesn't he know I dig him?" So what were they all rebelling against, these lowlife bikers? It's anyone's guess. Like in other such pictures, they just looked bored with everything and spewed moronic rationales out of their dirty little mouths - but the filmmakers put them there. Next was "Dracula vs.Frankenstein" - a reworked biker tale.

I say "One of the Best" because I collect "Cheap Biker Movies" and this IS one of the best. The cheaper (as in low budget, minimal plot, horrible acting, etc.) the better. I realize most accidents in the home happen in the bathroom,so take note of the medicine cabinet scene in the diner's restroom. Did you know you can DIE if someone opens a medicine cabinet door in your face? It was a very graphic and horrible scene (notice any tongue-in-cheek, here?) I felt sorry for the Bro who died a terrible and bloody death. Also, these "Bros" can really handle a "Hog" off road. Realistic? Wow! Honestly, this movie keeps me on the edge of my seat every time I break it out and watch it. I have to be on the edge of my seat 'cause my head is in a bucket! Highly recommended movie to watch if you love the best of the worst.

Having served a stint in the Marine Corp, "Johnny Martin" (Gary Kent) has returned from Vietnam to the United States and decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to start life all over again. On the way a married couple by the names of "Charlie Baldwin" (Scott Brady) and "Nora Baldwin" (Evelyn Frank) pick him up and they drive through the barren California countryside and eventually stop at a small gas station in the middle of nowhere to get something to eat. While there a motorcycle gang called "Satan's Sadists" drive up and upon entering the café begin to give the few people there a hard time. One thing leads to another and after eventually killing Charlie, Nora and the owner of the café outside the gas station, the psychotic leader of the gang who goes by the name of "Anchor" (Russ Tamblyn) returns to the café to finish off both Johnny and the waitress named "Tracy" (Jackie Taylor). However, Johnny manages to overpower the men left behind to guard them and escapes with Tracy in a dune buggy out into the desert. Not long afterward, Anchor and his gang soon give pursuit with the intention of killing these two witnesses. What nobody in the gang counts on is the resourcefulness of Johnny or the mental instability of their leader. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I thought this was one of the grittier films of this particular sub-genre with a good dose of raw violence and a late-60's atmosphere that blended in quite nicely. That said, although it certainly wasn't an outstanding movie by any means, it still managed to keep my attention for the most part. For that reason I have rated this movie as slightly above average.

Satan's Sadists = a simple and straight exploitation flick with a cool 70s vibe and soundtrack. Only recommended if you like the genre and can dig some low budget trash production, and this I should add, some lengths story-wise too. For a better rating I miss some more action and gore, but we should not forget that the movie was released in 1969 and game changers like the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre where still to come.