In the 1970s there was a wave of two items that were connected. The first was known as the “satanic panic”, a time when everyone presumed there were evil devil worshipping cults roaming the countryside in search of blonde haired, blue eyed children to sacrifice. It didn’t matter that there were no cases of this happening, books were sold, speakers made money and TV shows had all of them on as guests.
The second was a surge in films that were founded in this panic that was taking place. A horror movie is a great way to start a career but when you couple that with exploiting events taking place in the news you can’t get better publicity than that. Toss a devil or two in the title and it should have been a solid hit. RACE WITH THE DEVIL, TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER, THE OMEN, THE DEVIL’S RAIN, THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW and a small picture that was actually quite well made. Its name was THE BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN.
A widower named Ben (Charles Bateman) is on vacation with his daughter K.T. (Geri Reischl) and his girlfriend Nicky (Ahna Capri). They come across an accident seen in the film’s opening and drive into town to let the sheriff (L.Q. Jones) know. They’re surprised when he drags them from the car and searches them for identification. When the townspeople see them they rush to them claiming that they’re their salvation. The Sheriff lets them go and they head out of town. When they almost hit a young girl in the middle of the road their car is broken down and there is no sign of the girl. They head back to town on foot.
While on their way back we see a group of elderly people gather together led by Dr. Duncan (Strother Martin). It is soon apparent this is a coven of witches. At the gathering there are a number of children in a trance like state placed on pedestals.
Ben, Nicky and KT make it to town where they attempt to find a place to stay. They come to a home only to find the adults there are both dead. They contact the Sheriff who along with his deputy Tobey (Alvy Moore) come to the house with a wagon for the bodies. The Sheriff gives them a place to stay at the jail where the meet both Jack the town’s Catholic priest and Dr. Duncan. They learn that there have been 26 deaths in the town and children gone missing. Not only that, no one has been able to enter or leave the town for weeks now.
So why were Ben and his family granted entrance? Will the Sheriff and his group be able to figure out what’s going on? And just what is the coven led by the duplicitous Dr. Duncan really doing?
Written by Jones who also stars the film has a solid plot to it unlike many low budget horror films. And the acting from all involved is far more than one would expect. Strother Martin was best known as a character actor in films like COOL HAND LUKE where he played the warden. He shines here as the leader of the coven with expert delivery of his dialogue.
The cinematography is excellent and the direction by Bernard McEveety is dead on. McEveety worked mainly in television on show ranging from THE REBEL, THE VIRGINIAN, RAWHIDE, COMBAT, THE BIG VALLEY and more. He made films for Disney like ONE LITTLE INDIAN and NAPOLEON AND SAMANTHA. He must have been comfortable in TV production because his film career is small. Surprising seeing as how well he handled things here.
While the film has been released in the past on both VHS and DVD, Arrow Video is giving it their special treatment which will be a treat for fans of the film. This begins with a high definition 1080 Blu-ray release of the film which has never looked better. Then there is their usual high quality collection of extras. These include a brand new audio commentary track by writers Kim Newman and Sean Hogan, “Satanic Panic: How the 1970s Conjured the Brotherhood of Satan” a brand new visual essay by David Flint, “The Children of Satan” interviews with Jonathan Erickson Eisley and Alyson Moore who were children in the film, the original trailers, TV spots and radio spots, an image gallery, a reversible sleeve featuring original artwork and newly commissioned artwork by Richard Wells and for the first pressing only an illustrated booklet featuring new writing by Johnny Mains and Brad Stevens.
This film has found a following since its release. Arrow has
done their best to preserve the film for horror fans that will find this
release to their liking. But then what else would you expect from Arrow?
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