Brotherhood of Satan

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has released the horror film, “BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN”, about a satanic cult in a small town.  The ‘60s and ‘70s provided a lot of horror films dealing with family’s stumbling upon devil worshipers, while on cross-country trips, the best of them being the AIP cheapie, “RACE WITH THE DEVIL”.   “BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN” isn’t in the same league as that fun, suspenseful, thriller.  It also doesn’t have the same stellar cast, eg. Loretta Swit, Peter Fonda, etc., but it does have a few moments that will probably endear it to fans of occult thrillers.  Director Bernard Mcveety, tries hard to bring an original style to the film, as is evidenced by its confusing, but visually intriguing opening sequence, with children’s toys being trampled over in a auto junkyard.
        The story opens with a young couple and the man’s daughter becoming stranded in a small town while on a family vacation.  As the confusing plot unfolds, no one has been able to leave the town for a week, and the citizens are wondering how they made it in.  Children are missing, and no one is certain what the actual cause is.  The town’s doctor, played by L.Q. Jones, seems likeable enough, in a Granpa Walton kind of way, but he’s actually the leader of Satanists, using the children’s bodies as capsules for the older Satanists seeking eternal youth.  So, it’s up to the young couple to save the day, and eventually their child.  This is a “talky” thriller, and unfortunately, most of the dialogue is horrible.  There’s non-stop “satanic” ranting, and while it probably seemed original at the time of its release, it’s laughable and annoying now.  There are still a few chills throughout the film, and fans of “B” movies should still like it.
COLUMBIA TRISTAR has released the film with its proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio and 16:9 enhancement.  The colors are more vibrant than we’d expected, without any oversaturation.  There’s some infrequent grain throughout, but not enough to distract from the generally sharp image.
The monaural mix is presented with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.  While it’s generally fine, there are instances wherein the dialogue becomes overshadowed by various effects and the music.