The Brotherhood of Satan (1971)

Director: Bernard McEveety

Starring: Strother Martin, LQ Jones, Charles Bateman, Ahna Capri Alvy Moore

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A demon-spirit of madness and murder holds a California town in the grip of terror.

Plot: There's literally hell to pay when a coven of witches takes over a small town and holds everyone in its thrall, even recruiting the children to worship Satan. A family passing through town sets out to investigate the strange happenings.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

#19 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.


If you digs you some satanic flicks, this one's for you. This was one of those "I'm in the mood for..." kind of pictures and I wasn't disappointed. You're kept in the dark for the fist half hour on what the fuck is going on and it's pretty damn freaky. Once you get a taste of what might be happening (as if the friggin' title didn't clue you in) it's a race to the finish to see what happens.


It's really neat seeing Strother Martin in a role such as this and I was taken aback by seeing Alvy Moore. He's not too unlike his Hank Kimball on GREEN ACRES but more restrained.


I wasn't bored for a moment but there were a couple of spots that could have been tightened a bit. For the most part, the 92 minutes are just right. It's not a home run but it is an interesting take on the post-ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) Satan worshiping movies that feels refreshing. I LOVED the ending! This could stand for a remake as long as not too many modern sensibilities are installed (like making it suck) and the ending kept exactly how it is in the picture. It sure surprised me.