Legacy of Satan

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.

Legacy Of Satan - 1974 ( This Film Rates an F ) Set in New York City in the 1970's. A group of satanic cult members have chosen a woman (Maya) to be their new queen. They enjoy bloodletting and consuming blood from those willing and unwilling alike. They engage in rituals to capture Maya and she starts to have bloody and erotic dreams. She feels "different" but is unable to explain how. The husband (George) tries to understand these changes but is bewildered and frustrated by her erratic behaviors. The couple are invited to a costume party by a friend (arranged by Dr. Muldavo - a friend of a friend) where transportation and the costumes are supplied by the host. Once at this party they are escorted to a room to change into the respective costumes. At 40:30 Maya and George drink wine which immediately entrances them into what looks like a psychedelic experience. It was completely laughable. She makes her way downstairs where everyone is gathered and waiting for her. Every single one of them giddy from the blood drinking and chanting Maya's name. Dr. Muldavo courts the future queen even further. Maya soon learns how deep this all goes but remains helpless and powerless until George comes to the rescue with the help of one jealous satanists. He wields a lighted sword. Dr. Muldavo is injured as a result and requires large amounts of blood to survive. George and Maya try to escape but it's all for naught and Maya is already the queen, a wicked queen who does not take no for an answer. The 70's synth soundtrack was a bit too loud and repetitive and some of the transitions from scene to scene were a bit cut and rough. The gore is extremely minimal and there was no effort to show any. The acting is borderline but some of the stunts reminded me of a high school play. But even decent acting and good gore effects could not save this horrid film. Even at 70 minutes Legacy of Satan is still too long.

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.

The lovely Lisa Christian plays Maya, a sexually frustrated young woman married to the boring George (Paul Barry). Unbeknownst to them, their friend Arthur (James Procter) has gotten mixed up with a Satanic cult, and now this cult considers Maya essential to their plans, luring her & George to their lair by using a costume party as a cover.

Gerard Damiano, the adult film director best known for the iconic Deep Throat, also gave us this decidedly minor horror film that won't be very satisfying to sleaze lovers. (The whole cast actually stays clothed most of the time!). The plot, characters, and performances are all quite insipid, although John Francis still manages to be very amusing as the nefarious cult leader Dr. Muldavo.

The truly tacky makeup effects are courtesy of Tom Brumberger (Don't Go in the House), while other familiar names working behind the scenes include co-composer Arlon Ober (The Incredible Melting Man) and cinematographer Joao Fernandes (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter). That music score is HILARIOUSLY awful!

Unfortunately, this is a rather dull affair that possesses an awful lot of padding for a film running a mere 70 minutes. It may be of some interest to very curious exploitation & horror aficionados, but it's not a movie I would really recommend.

Sandra Peabody of The Last House on the Left fame has a very small role as a cult member.

Four out of 10.

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.