Since starting Repulsive Reviews years ago, I’ve kind of gotten accustomed to watching some pretty bad movies. For all of the really great ones, there are about ten really excruciating ones that also need to be experienced. For whatever reason, be it karma or some other unseen force, I have been on one hell of a hot streak lately. The latest film to come in this awesome span is Chelsea Stardust’s Satanic Panic.
The Plot
It is Sam’s first day at her new job as a pizza delivery girl. After entering the home of another rude customer, she is met with a coven of Satan worshiping witches in the middle of their sacrificial ceremony to Baphomet. Now, Sam must survive the night keeping her body and soul intact.
My Thoughts
Satanic Panic is another film I knew nothing about going in. It wasn’t until I got the film in my hot little hands that I even realized that it was written by author Grady Hendrix, who I have become familiar with recently due to his work on “Paperbacks from Hell.”
Hendrix’s script is helmed by a first time director in Chelsea Stardust. Stardust has done one hell of a job making a film that is not only funny but also very deeply rooted in the horror genre with some rather dark imagery.
It doesn’t take long for things to heat up once Sam (Hayley Griffith) gets apprehended by the bloodthirsty coven of Satanic witches. We quickly meet the coven’s bickering top officials, none other than Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) and Arden Myrin (“Shameless”). Romijn’s real-life husband, Jerry O’Connell (Stand By Me, “Billions”) also has a small role before he is rather gruesomely disposed of.
Joining these talented actors are the likes of other genre alumni including Ruby Modine (Happy Death Day), Jordan Ladd (Cabin Fever), Jeff Daniel Phillips (3 from Hell), and AJ Bowen (The Sacrament). All parties involved do a wonderful job on screen, as expected, bringing both laughter and terror to the forefront in this comedic horror flick.
The female-led cast, female directed, and female produced Satanic Panic is not afraid to get its hands dirty when it comes to what all horror fans come to expect in their movies — the gore! Influenced by Grady Hendrix’s love of Hong Kong cinema, Chelsea Stardust and the team of special effects artists used for the film have created some of the most jaw-dropping effects I’ve seen in a while. From Rebecca Romijn fisting a hole in her dead husband’s neck to retrieve his still beating heart to drug induced gut vomiting, Satanic Panic pulls no punches.
As much as Stardust and company get right in the horror department, they do equally as well at delivering some very memorable comedic dialogue. It is a blast watching Griffith’s Sam and Modine’s Judi interact, one being quirky and reserved, the other being an obnoxious loudmouth, and Rebecca Romijn’s Danica and her one-percenter companions are hilariously stereotypical with their stuckup attitudes towards Sam’s “Walmart sweatpants” or “bras from K-mart.”
Satanic Panic at Home
Satanic Panic is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from RLJE Films. The film is presented in a 1080p High-Definition 1:85.1 Widescreen format with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track and optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
The home release features some behind the scenes featurettes containing interviews with both cast and crew.
The Verdict
The marriage between horror and comedy is a hard one to get right, but luckily Satanic Panic does just that. The film is extremely gory when it needs to be, and perhaps even when it isn’t necessary (hey, I’m not complaining), and all around funny more often than not.
Chelsea Stardust has done an incredible job of making a gruesomely entertaining film about witches and demons and haxan cloaks in the form of killer bedsheets. I am excited to see more of her work including the only other feature-length project she’s directed, an episode of Blumhouse and Hulu’s Into the Dark entitled All That We Destroy.
If you are looking for some laughs with your carnage, give Satanic Panic a watch, as I give it 4 giant killdos out of 5.
