Documentary Trailer: "Satan Wants You" (2023) Explores the Roots of the Satanic Panic of the 1980's

Premiering at SXSW, Satan Wants You is a new documentary from directors Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams that’s set to explore the infamous “Satanic Panic” wave of the 1980s.

Satan Wants You tells the untold story of how the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was ignited by “Michelle Remembers,” a lurid memoir by psychiatrist Larry Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith. Supported by the Catholic Church, the bestselling book relied on recovered-memory therapy to uncover Michelle’s childhood abduction by baby-stealing Satanists.

Movie Review: "Hail Satan?" (2019)

Hail Satan? is a 2019 American documentary film about The Satanic Temple, including its origins and grassroots political activism. Directed by Penny Lane, the film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on April 19, 2019, distributed by Magnolia Pictures. The film shows Satanists working to preserve the separation of Church and State against the perceived privilege of the Christian right.

Lane wanted to combat the widespread view of the Satanic Panic of the 1970s through 1990s, during which Satanists were described as rapists and murderers, usually of children. She described the editing for the film occurred in approximately six months, "concurrent with the bulk of shooting." She made the conscious decision to leave out known details about inner conflict within the organization and external criticisms from other Satanists. After completion of editing, Lane joined The Satanic Temple as a member.

Documentary Review: "The Devil and Father Amorth"

In a year of excellent documentaries, 2018 saw the release of one of my personal favorites, The Devil and Father Amorth. It is a simple documentary directed by William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist (1973), showing the ninth exorcism of an Italian woman in the village of Venafro in Italy referred to as "Cristina", performed by renowned Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth.

It is divided into four parts. First, William Friedkin introduces us to himself and how he came to direct The Exorcist, as well as introducing the two main characters of the film: Father Amorth and Cristina. Second, with small camera in hand, Friedkin offers us an uninterrupted glimpse into the real exorcism of Cristina performed by Father Amorth. Third, Friedkin interviews various neurologists and psychiatrists to get their opinion on what he filmed. Lastly, it concludes with the aftermath of the event, such as the death of Father Amorth and the current state of Cristina.

"Demon House": A Compelling and Haunting Documentary

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit Zak Bagans' The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, where among the haunted treasures is kept the final remains of the notorious Demon House, where one of the most controversial and widely-publicized paranormal cases of the last few decades took place in Gary, Indiana from 2011 to 2014. In the museum you can see the actual basement stairs of the Demon House, as featured in the documentary, under which is the original soil from where certain items were buried under the stairs and uncovered, and these items are also preserved in the museum. When you approach the room containing these items, the door is shut with a crucifix above the door to "contain the evil within." We are warned by the tour guide to enter at our own risk, if we choose, knowing that those who had lingered in the house in the past, including Zak himself, had suffered physically and/or mentally. Everyone in my group entered the room, and one young man even had to leave because he started to get a painful headache. The reason this museum has the last remains of the Demon House, is because Zak himself had purchased it to investigate it, but when things went wrong and took a turn for the worse, he decided to tear it down in January 2016 hoping that it would never bring harm to anyone again - though he couldn't resist saving some items for his museum.