The Brotherhood of Satan

By 1971, the peace and love generation has begun to suspect there was a conspiracy around every corner.  Even the pop-up retreats and Wiccan societies were infiltrated by pagan power brokers whose sinister motives were inspired by Satan himself.  So describing The Brotherhood of Satan (1971) as a sort of “Brady Bunch goes to Hell!” episode isn’t really that far off.

When Ben (Charles Bateman), his girlfriend and young daughter drive into the town of Hillsboro to report an accident on the road they find themselves trapped in a Twilight Zone scenario.  All the residents, including the sheriff  (L.Q. Jones) and Doc Duncan (Strother Martin), are being held captive by a supernatural force that’s stealing their children one by one.   That force – as the title suggests - is a coven of Satan worshippers who need 13 kids to make their quota before renewing their contract of eternal youth with Lucifer.

 

A fairly early – and obscure – entry in the save of satanic panic films that began with Rosemary’s Baby, director Bernard McEveety delivers a relatively flat visual style interrupted by some trippy dream sequences (possibly at the request of producer/co-star L.Q. Jones, a frequent Peckinpah collaborator).  But the realistic approach actually works to keep the mystery grounded and believable.  The film’s resemblance to episodic television of the time disturbingly works in its favor.   TV vets like Bateman and child actor Geri Reischl (who oddly enough played the new Jan Brady on the short lived Brady Bunch Variety Hour) only help complete the illusion.

 

But it’s Strother Martin who gets the most mileage out of his role, playing the part of the folksy country doctor who moonlights as the ringleader of a group of Satan worshipping senior citizens who’ll do anything to hold their place in line.  The Brotherhood of Satan is never scary, but its commitment to revealing the generational corruption waiting in the wings – right up to the final frame – is to be commended. 

 

Arrow’s Blu-ray special edition looks absolutely beautiful and includes a commentary from Kim Newman and Sean Hogan, Satanic Panic visual essay, interview with child stars, trailers and collector’s booklet.  

 

 

    

 

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