Satanis: The Devil's Mass / Sinthia: The Devil's Doll (Special Edition)

DVD,

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An up-close look at Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey and the satanic shenanigans filmed inside his infamous San Francisco "Black House" back in 1969, "Satanis, the Devil's Mass" (86 minutes) is a wonderfully oddball documentary inside one of America's darkest pop-culture curiosities. Along with nude women decorating the altar to a man dressed as a bishop who gets his fanny whipped before climbing in a coffin, you're treated to interviews with LaVey (wearing silly little devil horns) and his flock along with various startled neighbors! Plus, after murdering her parents and setting the family home on fire, Cynthia Kyle becomes "Sinthia, the Devil's Doll" (77 minutes) when Lucifer forces her to wander through a psychedelic world of dreams in this ultra-bizarre mix of skin, daddy-lust and art-film exploitation from cult fave Ray Dennis Steckler. Remember, "If you're gonna b ea sinner, be the best sinner on the block!"
This 1970 film is a great, honest, non-hostile, un-biased documentary presentation of the early days and general proceedings of the Church of Satan---possibly the only such one other than Nick Bougas' Speak of the Devil from 1993. While I personally prefer Speak of the Devil because I felt it captured more of LaVey the person---his intelligence, his charisma and his personality---this is nonetheless a gem. It captures the spirit of the time so vividly, and the ritual scenes are very moving, though I am a Satanist so perhaps you would consider me biased. But even from an aesthetic standpoint, the stunning gothic solemnity and high nobility of these dark ceremonies will make you feel SOMETHING I hope. If not, check your pulse. I also especially like that a lot of this documentary is dedicated to speaking to regular everyday people in the area and letting them talk about how they feel about having the Church of Satan in their neighborhood. Some are supportive, some quite displeased. If you are a Satanist or are at all interested in the Church of Satan's history, check this out. Now I don't know quite what to say about the bizarre hypersexual Z-movie Sinthia: The Devil's Doll which seems almost like a random thing to slap onto a DVD with this serious documentary. I love incredibly weird movies though, so I didn't mind, but the squeamish and faint-of-heart will find themselves skipping out on the bonus film.