Magnet Releasing, Marvista Entertainment, Circle of Confusion,
Sarah Hyland, Justin Chon, Steven Krueger, Clara Mamet, Anthony Carrigan, Sophie Dalah
Satanic is the story of four friends, Chloe (Sarah Hyland) and Elise (Clara Mamet) who are cousins and their boyfriends who are on their way to Coachella for the music festival, but decide to arrive 2 days early to visit the site of horrific murders and satanic rituals in Los Angeles.But when they meet a lost girl who appears to be all alone, they invite her to stay, which brings doom to the bunch of them.
People sure hated this film. I think that is a bad rap, because I found myself interested in it. I was able to follow what was going on, and if you’re totally lost, just watch the special features and you’ll learn a lot about the intentions. I have a soft spot for folks who love the movie business, and though they have little money and little pull in Hollywood, they set out with vigor to try to do the best they can with what they have. Having read William Shatner’s biography about the beginning of Star Trek and the troubles they had where they had to write changes to the script because there was no money for any special effects. (The transporter itself is an example of that. There was a shuttle craft in the script, but no money for it, so Roddenberry on the fly came up with the transporter where the actors stood on tiny circles and inside the camera they would make them disappear and reappear on the surface of the planet. This film reminds me of that.) This is a very low budget film with a very dedicated director who wanted to make this film very much. Most of the cast and crew only did it for their love of film and not for a big paycheck. Everyone turned in their best. Sarah Hyland is obviously the star of the film and is given the most to do due to her experience and training in TV and other films, but a number of the other characters really stood out and did a good performance. My favorite is a toss up between Steven Krueger and Sophie Dalah. Steven did an excellent job, but Sophie really seemed quite adept at her role as the lost soul who was the keystone of the whole adventure. I was sure I had seen her before, but looking her up in IMDB showed that she’s really new but extremely talented. She definitely reminds me of someone, although I’m not sure who. The movie starts out slowly allowing us to get used to the characters and the dynamics of the group, and sets up a few red herrings for us. As the actors get the situation ALL WRONG, we do as well. The ending is abrupt, and loses a lot of people, but it’s really obvious what it all means. I didn’t find it a bad ending at all, although I was disappointed at how it ended, I think it was very well done. I would have liked a different outcome, but I didn’t want the Titanic to sink either, you know. Also I did not want Davey Crockett to die in the Alamo either. But with very little budget and a great love of cinema, these guys made a decent horror film, and though it’s not mainstream Hollywood, I think they did an pretty good job and deserve praise, not complaints. I liked it, and if you’re a horror fan, as I am, give it a try. It’s not that bad, trust me.
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