Director: Bernard McEveety
Notable Cast: Strother Martin, LQ Jones, Charles Bateman,
Ahna Capri, Charles Robinson, Geri Reischl
As a cinephile dedicated to the strange corners, odd trends,
and genre aspects of the cinematic world, Satanic cult films are a subgenre
that I often visit and revisit from time to time. It’s not unusual to partake
in a few new ones a year, whether they are recently made or re-released relics
of a mostly forgotten era. Although The Brotherhood of Satan popped up
occasionally in my exploration of the genre, it was a film that never piqued my
interest enough to seek out. Especially after noticing the lukewarm reception
even from the diehard fans. The announcement that the film would be part of the
Arrow Video slate in 2021 was a bit of a shock considering its lack of stature
in the genre. It’s not that the iconic distribution label, one that has made it
a goal to uncover long lost “classics,” is above misfires. Hardly. This company
did release Blu Rays for Satan’s Blade and Microwave Massacre after
all. Yet, my expectations were relatively middling going into this oft
overlooked early 70s flick.
Consider the expectations met.
However, The Brotherhood of Satan is both a surprise
in quality and perplexingly off the mark. It falls in a strange place between
exploitation fun and artistic merit, never hitting the wild roller coaster
thrills of a film like Devil Rides Out or the artistry and smarts of a film
like The Wicker Man. It’s better than expected in its attempts at
uplifting its meandering script, but it’s also utterly bogged down by odd
structure, leaps of logic, and glacial pacing.
This leaves The Brotherhood of Satan as exemplifying
the classification of “could have been fuckin’ awesome.” It starts off with a
classic premise, where a family driving through rural country ends up stranded
in a small town plagued with child disappearances. It’s a classic viewer
surrogate model that allows the film to slowly unfurl its plot to the
characters and audience. Yes, the initial mystery does grab its viewer.
Unfortunately, it takes far too long for anything real
punchy to arise in the script or plot. The meandering narrative never matches the
more memorable moments with the connective tissue between them. It’s a relative
slog for most of its runtime. Even by the third act, when actions and pacing
should start to peak, there are long moments of setup that never snag the
tension necessary and most of the horror is lost in the void of its build.
Yet, there’s enough merit to the execution in The
Brotherhood of Satan that keeps the hooks in for its viewer to finish out
the film. Director Bernard McEveety, know for - let me see - nothing of note
really, knows how to slather in an interesting visual and that alone makes it
understandable why Arrow Video released the film in high definition. Creeping
fog, the design of outlandish Satanic cult sets, and atmospheric use of
lighting give the film a distinct look that maximizes the 70s tone. Some of the
performances are delightfully odd too, particularly of the cult leader or some
of the concerned townsfolk looking to save the missing children and battle the
servants of Satan.
Even when the film decides to embrace its silliness,
including scenes with a black knight or an opening sequence with tank treads
crushing a car, they feel as though they come from a completely different film.
It never finds its footing and so many secondary plots are left hanging. The
Brotherhood of Satan makes a plethora of intriguing choices, but none of it
quite fits in with the others. Even the baffling and artistic finale, which
leaves so many questions, feels slightly off-kilter from the rest of the
film.
The execution in almost every aspect tends to feel as though the emotion of the characters and the plot are never intersecting with the visuals and tonality. It’s challenging to watch. Had McEveety and company been able to match the disparities, The Brotherhood of Satan might be one of those instant classic gems worthy of its peers. As is though, The Brotherhood of Satan is a cult curiosity more than anything else, intriguing for its artistic choices, but marred by its meandering narrative and sluggish pacing. For those who have already seen all of the Satanic cult classics, it’s worth the gander though.
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