Hail Satan? (2019)

“The Satanic Temple was an idea between a handful of people directly confronting authority.” – Jex

Number of Times Seen – 1 (19 Dec 2019)

Brief Synopsis – Documentary about the rise of Satanism in the US and how something that started as a symbol against authority has evolved into something else entirely.

My Take on it – This is a film that I had heard some great things about and was quite intrigued to see what it was all about.

They do a nice job trying to explore the how and why the religion known as The Satanic Temple came about and has had a rapid rise in popularity over the past few years.

This movie does its best to try and dispel many of the myths and misinformation about the religion and why the various goals of the stream all point towards finding equality in the eyes of the law.

The film thou has too many inconsistencies for its own good and that actually hurts the way that things are presented.

This, in turn, makes things come across as being quite chaotic and at the same time things come across as being too ambiguous and unexplained properly.

This movies tries much too hard to find a way to explain or justify its own existence by attacking those who believe differently..

What they should have done was try and present things in a way that gives more reasons as to why they should be allowed to exist and unfortunately, it isn’t done properly.

Bottom Line – Intriguing film that does a nice job of trying to explore the how and why the Satanic Temple has become so much more popular in America in recent years. The film tries to dispel the myths about the religion and why it’s main goal is to receive equality in the eyes of the law. The problem is that there are too many inconsistencies within the story that make things a bit too chaotic and also make things feel a bit too ambiguous and unexplained. The film feels too much as if it is trying to justify its existence by attacking those who oppose it instead of trying to give more reasons as to why they should be allowed to exist.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Throughout the film, members of the Satanic Temple claim America is a theocracy. America is in fact not on the list of world theocracies and was never a theocracy at any point in its history. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (6/10)