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Directed by: Bernard McEveety Starring: Strother Martin, Charles Bateman, Ahna Capri In The Brotherhood of Satan, widower Ben (Charles Bateman) and his new wife Nikki (a really hot looking Ahna Capri) spot a car wreck along a road in a shady small town. Soon, the couple's daughter is possessed and joins other children of the town in a "dream world" orchestrated by a cult of Satan's minions. The cult is comprised of senior citizens looking to possess the children's bodies to carry on with Satan's work. The town doctor (Strother Martin) lives a double life as the high priest of this cult. The movie is horribly dated both in special effects and in the general values of its characters. It's really strange watching a movie nowadays where the lead actress isn't an "empowered female." Ahna Capri appears in a bikini at the beginning of the film, immediately leaving two soft, nurturing impressions on me--but besides looking pretty, she has absolutely nothing to do. Strother Martin is one of my all-time favourite character actors, and he really shows off that jowly charm of his here. His Satanic priest character is as over-the-top as the lyrics of an Evanescence song, belting out those generic, faux-Victorian sermons those servants of Satan love. I would have written if off as below-average--however, the movie gave me a surprising number of jolts. It helps that the director give absolutely no audio or visual cues. The background music doesn't swell up when a possessed child pops up in the middle of the road--it just sort of pops up in the middle of the dialogue. The ending was surprisingly abrupt and non-committal as well. They did a good job subverting the anticipated tear-filled reunion. The Brotherhood of Satan is no must-see, but it's certainly an underrated flick that fans of the genre might get a kick out of. RATING: 3 PROS: A few good chills, Ahna Capri is hot CONS: Dated ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066863/
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# ? May 19, 2004 00:00 |
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# ? Apr 18, 2024 06:55 |