The Brotherhood of Satan (1971)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A lot of fun.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

If it's not already considered something of a cult classic, then "The Brotherhood of Satan" certainly should be. It's one of a few interesting genre items produced by actors L. Q. Jones and Alvy Moore; the others are "The Witchmaker" and the justly famous "A Boy and His Dog". Joined by director Bernard McEveety (a veteran of mostly TV), cinematographer John Arthur Morrill ("Kingdom of the Spiders") and other talents, they're wise to concentrate mainly on an escalating sense of danger. In fact, the whole film has a memorable atmosphere of weirdness, not to mention some effective imagery.Its opening is one of the most memorable things about it, as the filmmakers switch between shots of a toy tank and a real one as it crushes a car beneath it. This leads us into a story (written by William Welch, with story credit given to Sean MacGregor (director of "Devil Times Five")) about vacationers Ben (Charles Bateman), his girlfriend Nicky (luscious Ahna Capri), and K. T. (Geri Reischl), Bens' daughter from a previous marriage. They come upon a small town whose citizens are scared silly. It seems that no one can enter (save for Ben & company) and no one can leave. Adults are dying, and kids are disappearing. The frustrated sheriff (Jones) doesn't understand what's going on and it's driving him crazy.This is creepy from the start, and gets under the skin due to a deliberate pace and some deeply committed performances, from bit players as well as main cast members. Jones and Moore are great value, as always, and Charles Robinson (not to be confused with the actor from 'Night Court') is good as the priest who comes to figure things out. Strother Martin is wonderful as the cheerful Doc Duncan who's hiding a LOT from some of his fellow citizens. There's also a very fine music score by the under rated Jaime Mendoza-Nava ("The Town That Dreaded Sundown" '77). The nightmare sequence in the latter half of the picture is stylishly done. And there's one noteworthy scene where a member of the coven (Helene Winston) is confronted for going against the ways of their Dark Lord.Horror buffs should give this one a try, if they're not already aware of it. It just makes this viewer more impressed with Jones and Moore that they gave genre fare a go during this period.Eight out of 10.

"The Brotherhood of Satan" is a stupefying combination of conventional horror elements mixed with some imaginative characterization and direction (Bernard McEveety). It all starts out with father Charles Bateman (as Ben) driving out west with his pretty blondes: luscious Ahna Capri (as Nicky), and daughter Geri Reischl (as K.T.). Things get weirder and weirder for the trio, as they approach the town of Hillsboro, which is being gripped by a Satanic cult! When the dullish travelers hit Hillsboro, the "action" switches to the film's more interesting assemblage of characters: townies L.Q. Jones (as Pete, the sheriff), Strother Martin (as Doc), Charles Robinson (as Jack, the priest), and Alvy Moore (as Tobey). Their interplay is sometimes fun. Soon enough, it all gets very silly, and predictable. Mr. Martin is the stand-out (as you might expect); he considers the possibility of a Satanic cult to be a "cock-and-bull story", but is (of course) their leader. The "Come in, Children" ending is puzzling; unless, perhaps, it was the film's original title. *** The Brotherhood of Satan (8/6/71) Bernard McEveety ~ Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, Charles Bateman, Ahna Capri

Diabolic forces wreak havoc in a small New Mexico town. A young widower and his pretty new bride and eight year old daughter travel through and unwittingly get drawn into this convoluted world of fear. They cannot escape it's lair and all the towns people are equally weird and possessed by some dark spirit. This is definitely budget horror from the early 1970's. Characters are from a rural background and are played with backward and vapid mentalities. Weird things happen in these small towns and Hollywood understood that long before it became common knowledge. I grew up near the Mojave Desert where there have been numerous accounts of Satanic worshippers practicing their rituals in the Lucerne valley. Oh yes, these things are not always fiction, they exist.This is a good, creepy little gem that will scare you into submission.Watch and enjoy.

A young couple -- father Ben (solid Charles Bateman), wife Nicky (the lovely Ahna Capri) and their daughter KT (the cute Geri Reischl of "I Dismember Mama" fame) -- find themselves trapped in a small California desert town populated by hysterical lunatics. Worse yet, there's a pernicious Satanic cult that's been abducting little children for their own diabolical purposes. Director Bernard McEveety, working from an offbeat and inspired script by William Welch and L.Q. Jones ("Devil Times Five" director Sean MacGregor came up with the bizarre story), relates the compellingly oddball plot at a slow, yet steady pace and ably creates a creepy, edgy, mysterious ooga-booga atmosphere. Strother Martin delivers a wonderfully wicked and robust performance as Doc Duncan, who's the gleefully sinister leader of the evil sect. The top-rate cast of excellent character actors qualifies as a substantial asset: Jones as gruff, no-nonsense Sheriff Hillsboro, Alvy Moore as friendly local Toby, and Charles Robinson as a shrewd, fiercely devout priest Jack. John Arthur Morrill's bright, polished widescreen cinematography, Jamie Mendoza-Nava's spooky score, and the wild, rousing climactic black mass ritual are all likewise up to speed. The idea of having toys come to murderous life is simply ingenious (the opening scene with a toy tank coming real and crushing a family in their car is truly jolting). Nice eerily ambiguous ending, too. A pleasingly idiosyncratic and under-appreciated winner.