2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Satan Hates You but I like It, 13 Oct 2011
This review is from: Satan hates you [DVD] (DVD)
This is a clever bit of film making by the writer-director James Felix McKenney. Despite a limited budget, he has come up with an entertaining and interesting film which matched his original vision. This is one of the advantages of working in the independent film sector rather than with the major studios as he was free of interference which could have forced modifications to the script, plot, characters etc. A mixture of religion and horror seems to be an odd concoction but it works on this occasion. The homage to the old style religious movies is maintained throughout by the use of TV sequences in the background and the presence of a preacher played by Angus Scrimm. Constantly lurking in the background are a couple of demonic characters who add the humourous commentary and try to influence characters to follow a sinful route. The horror sequences are limited but effectively presented. But even the horror parts are balanced by the introduction of comedy into the scenes particularly one which involves the disposal of bodies. The director must be complimented on the way in which he has balanced these elements of religion, horror and comedy. There are numerous characters and groups but they all have well defined roles and neatly ingegrated into the plot. Amongst all the messages projected is one which indicates that even when the path to seeking forgiveness and redemption is being followed there is always the danger that consequences of evil acts may not be avoided.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christian scare satire that doesn't preach to the choir, 16 Sep 2011
This review is from: Satan hates you [DVD] (DVD)
I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this film at the Egyptian in Hollywood last summer and I loved it. The whole film is like a Jack Chick tract brought to life! All of the hot button topics that drive evangelicals crazy are addressed (sexual promiscuity, heavy metal, drug abuse, abortion, witchcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, etc.) as the film's main characters stumble through a "Hell House" version of our reality. `Satan Hates You' is complicated, challenging and potentially controversial but also totally entertaining.
It would've been easy for the filmmakers to wink at the audience or to add an extra dollop of easy camp to the proceedings but Director McKenny chose to go for a more ambiguous tone and I think that's why I ended up liking the film so much - It always stays true to its source inspirations (Christian scare films). It always feels authentic.
With a cast that includes such cult favorites as Angus Scrimm, Michael Berryman, Debbie Rochon, Reggie Bannister, Alan Rowe Kelly and Bradford Scobie, the film could have been an exercise in self-congratulatory backpatting for the hipster crowd but `Satan Hates You' achieves something greater. In a lot of ways, the film, while being a condemnation of religious intolerance and ignorance, is also a provocative examination of faith and morality.
In this day and age when seemingly everything has been done and every story told, I love being provoked in some new way. I mean, isn't that what horror films are supposed to do? `Satan Hates You' is a different breed of transgressive. It offends those who want to be coddled at the cinema; it offends those who want to be constantly reassured that they're "in on the joke".
The film doesn't provide any easy answers. Smart, funny and genuinely scary - `Satan Hates You' is that rare horror satire that trusts its audience to come to its own conclusions.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Buy it if you're into self-loathing, 24 Aug 2011
This review is from: Satan hates you [DVD] (DVD)
Caught this movie at a horror film fest in San Francisco. Have no idea why TLA Releasing would pick up this movie as the message is being gay makes you a homicidal manic and/or a sexual deviant with no societal redeeming values and your going to hell. A turd sprinkled with shiny production values makes it a movie anyone from the religious right would love. Skip it.
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