A documentary that takes a look inside the "Church of Satan", founded in California in the 1960s by Anton Szandor LaVey, a former circus lion tamer.A documentary that takes a look inside the "Church of Satan", founded in California in the 1960s by Anton Szandor LaVey, a former circus lion tamer.A documentary that takes a look inside the "Church of Satan", founded in California in the 1960s by Anton Szandor LaVey, a former circus lion tamer.
- Self
- (uncredited)
- Self
- (uncredited)
- Self
- (uncredited)
- Cult member
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
Anton LaVey: We feel that the, ah, the so-called carnal side of man, or the carnal nature of man, is the most important. We feel the soul is just a pitance, it's something that's sort of rung out, like if you squeeze an orange, you get a few drops of juice out of it, and certainly this can be the essence. But this doesn't mean that the orange is any less important, simply because the juice comes out of it. We feel that the body of man, the carnal symbolism of man, is by far the most important.
- ConnectionsEdited into Revival of Evil (1980)
However, this documentary in choosing to sacrifice the weightier aspects of the Church to the titillating nude alters and B-movie lighting offers such a superficial treatment that for those for whom "Satanis" is their introduction to LaVey and the Church, the reaction of snide dismissal is totally understandable. The documentary is basically composed of three strands: talking heads of neighbours (both sympathetic and antagonistic) and Church members; extended scenes of Satanic rituals; and interviews with LaVey. The ritual scenes begin as interesting but quickly become stale and interminable and (most boringly) designed to titillate a theme which re-emerges when members of the Church discuss sex and masturbation and, despite supposedly being advocates of the flesh liberated from Judeo-Christian conceptions of shame, giggle like pathetic teenagers (something which visibly irks LaVey as he tries to talk). In the end the only interesting pieces of the documentary (few and far between) are the interviews with LaVey himself as he waxes lyrical on the tenets of his Church with an energy and enthusiasm he would lose in later years, something evident in the still-patchy-but-much-better later documentary "Speak of the Devil" (www.imdb.com/title/tt0183811/reviews-4).
All in all, I would only recommend "Satanis" to people who are already acquainted with the Church of Satan and want to get a feel of what the first few years must have been like as to those coming to the Church for the first time would be forgiven for not seeing the nuances and complexities inherent in the organization. I recommend the documentary "Speak of the Devil" for its more mature approach and focus on LaVey himself but for those really seeking knowledge on the Church I recommend the authoritative and comprehensive book "The Church of Satan" by Michael Aquino available to download for free. Shemhamforash indeed.
- RomanJamesHoffman
- Dec 19, 2013