X
- 2019
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 35 m
- 2019
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 35 m
Summary When media-savvy members of the Satanic Temple organize a series of public actions designed to advocate for religious freedom and challenge corrupt authority, they prove that with little more than a clever idea, a mischievous sense of humor, and a few rebellious friends, you can speak truth to power in some truly profound ways. As charmi...
Directed By: Penny Lane
- 2019
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 35 m
- 2019
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 35 m
Hail Satan?
76
6.0
Where to Watch
Summary When media-savvy members of the Satanic Temple organize a series of public actions designed to advocate for religious freedom and challenge corrupt authority, they prove that with little more than a clever idea, a mischievous sense of humor, and a few rebellious friends, you can speak truth to power in some truly profound ways. As charmi...
Directed By: Penny Lane
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
76
100% Positive
31 Reviews
31 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
76
100% Positive
31 Reviews
31 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
What the doc proves is that a talented filmmaker, combined with a thought-provoking subject and intensely fascinating characters can truly make some fun black magick pop off the screen.
Why end a rallying cry with a question mark? The devil is in the details, or at least in the punctuation of Hail Satan?, a movie that often seems to teeter on the line between doc- and mockumentary — a sincere examination of a social and political movement delivered with just a soupçon of Christopher Guest.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 31 User Ratings
6.0
61% Positive
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
16% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
23% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 31 User Ratings
6.0
61% Positive
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
16% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
23% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
All the whacko religious zealots are going to get their panties in a knot over this movie without seeing it. If you haven't drunk the blood-colored kool aid, you're going to love it. The most "evil" thing it preaches is to think for yourself and not be sheep. I know, I know... Jesus is your shepherd, but that makes you sheep. Stop pulling the wool over your eyes and bleating about evil and be open to a different point of view. Here endeth the preaching. Great documentary.
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Fighting fire with hellfire, this documentary highlights The Satanic Temple's ingenious methods of resisting the creeping Christian theocracy by calling out religious hypocrisy, standing up for secular freedoms, and celebrating religious pluralism.
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A devilishly funny documentary that blends improbable imagery, self-awareness and religious provocation with a genuine sense of political purpose.
What Hail Satan? really achieves is to show this new brand of Satanism as part of the same tradition as the Dadaists and the Church of the SubGenius, fighting for actual liberty and debunking falsehoods. As one activist so adroitly explains, the devil’s work is never done.
Hail Satan? is too lacking in conflict (apart from the eternal one) to be a true study of a movement. But it’s a highly entertaining survey.
While the movie also offers a much-needed context of the “Satanic panic” of the ’80s and ’90s — backwards messages and heavy metal and Dungeons & Dragons, oh my! — as well as vintage afternoon-TV handwringing and glimpses of organizational in-fighting, it’s these scenes of folks engaging in real political showdowns by any ridiculous means necessary that give the movie its sense of currency.
The documentary shrewdly illustrates how media savvy can turn a fledgling protest into an international cause célèbre.
A tongue-in-cheek but nevertheless thought-provoking look at a "religious" sect that's wildly misunderstood in its efforts to poke some serious holes in the evangelizing of a number of sanctimonious but hypocritical religious and political institutions whose agendas far more dangerous than anything the satanists are proposing. In telling this story, director Penny Lane reveals how its subjects are basically comically sinister but harmless bogeymen trying to get the attention of a complacent public, trying to make us aware of who the real enemies are. Anyone who identifies with the maligned, misunderstood outcasts of society will no doubt relate to their message and realize who it is we should all be really afraid of.
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The Devil has the best music and so it seems the best social awareness groups. Hail Satan? is a humorous, touching and ultimately empowering portrayal of those who feel different in a fractured and increasingly divided society.
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The first 10 minutes basically lays out the whole thesis of the film and the rest is a story regarding the taking down a stone statue of the 10 commandments in front of the state capital building.
It's well-executed and the introduction of new information is well-paced enough that you are never bored but nothing about the film really stands out. It's almost generic in the way it decides to present itself which considering the subject matter is a missed opportunity, seriously no heavy metal?
Make no mistake, this is a political motivated movie nor is it about actual Satan worship and this really damages the over all product as outside of its thesis it does not have much to offer. I agree with just about everything that this movie puts forward yet I left feeling that the film is disingenuous in some ways. Mostly regarding characters fighting self-imposed scrutiny when they decide to take the name and imagery of Satan in their cause and are shocked that they are not accepted and targets of Catholic/Christian groups and feel they must fight this injustice. What did you expect was going to happen? Using Satan is going to upset these groups, they have been using him as a embodiment of evil for thousands of years so no one has any right to be surprised that they don't like groups that model themselves after Satan, its deliberately provocative.
This lack of self-awareness is present throughout most of the people interviewed and this would not be not be an issue in a more partisan film but this movie chooses a side and this really damages its credibility and makes the morels questionable in some areas. They do bring this issue up in the film in one line and its dismissed just as quickly with 'There was no other name for it', that is not really an answer.
Also the 10 commandments have a historical basis in modern law and you could make the argument for a sculpture of it to be in-front of any legal body, again brought up in one lined and dismissed.
I said that most of the people seem to be lacking self awareness because a small amount seem to be in on the joke but the film only nods at rather then outright making it the punchline. I think this again damages the overall product as most of the film is trying to sell the sincerity of the group but this is undermined by a select few using it as a tool for satire and to mess with the dominate religions. I am fine with either and a narrative about a satire group becoming more then the some of its parts or a group calling the bluff on Religious pluralism in the US by putting forward a proxy could be just as interesting but the film fails to commit to either. I do what to stress I agree with most of the political statements presented in this film and the main story is a good morel but film ultimately fails to grab me. I will more then likely forget about it in a weeks times and I cannot help but to feel its the lack of charisma or character with the people interviewed, they are the same old left leaning people we have seen on TV and movies a 100 times over just disguised as Satanists. I honestly think an outsider prospective could have really helped make this movie a lot more interesting rather then it being made in house and almost propaganda to the movement.
In conclusion I think the film really lacked direction and it seems to this a result of the actual 'religious' group this film is based on, some seem to be 100% sincere about it and others use it as a tool for political activism and the film never capitalises on either direction nor the disconnect within. My feelings are summed up well by one of the people interviewed, 'People are often disappointed that I don't actually worship Satan'. I am as well, would have made you and this movie a little more interesting.
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The Satanic Temple has generated lots of controversy in the last few years, most notably by campaigning against Ten Commandments monuments on state capital grounds. This movie outlines the rise of the group and their fights for religious pluralism and other noble causes. They make sure the stress that they don't actually worship the Devil, but focus on social and political justice. Instead of slipping any anarchistic potential in the filmmaking process, director Penny Lane chose to take a sober, traditional approach. There are lots of interviews with cult members, all done on the same background (which adds little visual variety). Plenty of news footage fleshes out their story, but it's all presented in a rather serious and slowly-paced package. The message comes across early, then the remainder plays out more like a sober 60 Minutes story than an entertaining documentary. NOTE: Sit thru the credits for a great punch line.
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Too bad they didn't show human sacrifice, this movie merely doesn't show the whole truth. Where did all the negative comments disappear? All the leftist critics praising this documentary, but this is mere propaganda.
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Production Company
Hard Working Movies
Release Date Apr 17, 2019
Duration 1 h 35 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline In the battle for justice and equality, The Satanic Temple is putting up a hell of a fight.
Awards
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Boston Underground Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Odyssey Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
