By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Penny Lane
Country: united_states
Year: 2019
Running time: 95
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9358044/reference
Chris says: “I totally get Satanism as a rejection against ‘straight’ society, but how ’bout as activism to *protect* separation of church and state? My skepticism, however, gradually broke down–as she conveyed with her last doc NUTS!, director Penny Lane is sensibly pragmatic towards her subject while deploying just the right amount of skepticism as well. This is fascinating and entertaining, as long as you can read between the lines. At one point, a disgruntled woman complains of the Satanic Temple, ‘They just want to irritate people’; she’s not wrong, but one can agree with her and still fully appreciate the group’s efforts. 4 cats”
Brett says: “This documentary has a winning combination that has appeal for a variety of curious viewer types. There are plenty of ironic and borderline comedic elements at play, many of them residing in a realm of psychology where we as viewers overcome our aversions to things that teeter on ‘freaking us out,’ thus prying a series of laughs out of sheer conquest of those aversions. That element combines with an attempt, then, to establish some common ground and understanding in order to enable the free flow of communication among filmmakers, subjects, and audience to take place. Suddenly, as a viewer, one might find himself/herself nodding along with a few of the tenets and themes that become discussion points of free thought. On top of that, as one might assume from the subject matter, the documentary carries a magnetizing “hook” with it in that the subject matter is intriguing and borderline taboo in itself. Combine all of those factors, and the result is what will likely be one of the strongest documentary features you will likely see all year. There is a strong ironic element that empowers the viewer as they see past the shock value of the subject matter and start to read between the lines of much of what they’re being exposed to in the film. It’s at that point that film still allows viewers to make judgments for themselves, all while being entertained.”
TC says: “As a Christian – even one that does NOT support a lot of things churches do these days – I think that the group may have to answer down the road for the way they’ve used Satan as a metaphor of sorts. But what they’re doing with it – THAT’S what really matters. Anyone who can’t tell Lucian Greaves is a charlatan from the beginning needs to further explore their feelings about the subject. Penny Lane is quickly becoming one of my favorite documentarians of the past few years with three top notch films now under her belt – “Our Nixon”, “Nuts!”, and now “Hail Satan?” – and MAN is that “?” a REALLY important part of the title. I was deeply amused by the way the various people in the group operate, and what they’re using their “calling” for, and I don’t want to say anymore other than it’s a excellent film that should be seen before you condemn what they are calling themselves… 4.5 cats”
Julie says: “I agree this is an excellent film. Interesting, entertaining, well done. So many funny moments in this film. I was not expecting to like it, based on the title but was open since Chris recommended it. It’s not what I expected. I got a real kick out of Lucian Greaves means to an end. Bravo !!! 4.575 cats”