Satanic Panic (2019)


REVIEWER RATING: 
6/10

DIRECTOR:

CAST:


Satanic Panic marks the directorial debut of Chelsea Stardust (after working on numerous shorts) and it's a pretty decent effort from the freshmen filmmaker, especially to have gathered such an interesting cast of actors like Jerry O'Connell (dude is everywhere nowadays) and Rebecca Romijn (can't remember the last time I saw her) just to name a couple.

As for the movie, it focuses on a struggling pizza delivery girl named Sam, whose had a string of bad luck as of late and unbeknownst to her things are about to get a whole lot worse. After delivering several pizzas to a swanky house in a posh neighborhood she decides to invite herself into the home that took the pizzas in hopes of confronting the unfriendly gentlemen who stiffed her on the tip. Instead, she finds herself deep in the middle of a satanic gathering and the party was just getting started! Though it seems that the group of devil worshippers happen to be in need of a virgin sacrifice and Sam just so happens to be a virgin (hey what a coincidence!).  Let the hilarity ensue!

While the movie is a horror comedy, hilarious isn't exactly what I would use to describe it since a lot of jokes fell pretty flat, but comedy is subjective so they might work better for others. Though for the most part it is an amusing film, especially when it comes to the dialogue and its cast of characters, specifically Rebecca Romijn as the head of the group and a character named "Gypsy" who wants to take the power. The film takes place over the course of one night, as Sam tries to escape the satanists evil clutches with the help of another character that she meets early on, who naturally knows a lot about how this whole Satan worshipping thing works.

During the process of escaping Sam encounters some creatures that the group conjure up, but they're unfortunately pretty short-lived and aren't explored or used enough in the movie. Luckily the filmmakers stuck to practical effects for them, along with the gore, which there's a decent amount of at times. Sadly the movie does suffer in the third act, where it doesn't seem to know where to take things or how to end and ultimately falling short. There's quite a bit of lost potential here, especially when it came to the supernatural/creature elements, but that might've been due to budget restraints. It's a little sad either way, because as it is, it's a decent movie; just not quite as good as it could've been.

RLJE Films will release SATANIC PANIC in Theaters, On Demand and Digital on September 6, 2019.

OVERALL: 
Satanic Panic proves to be a perfectly decent movie--offering decent pacing, practical effects, and a handful of amusing scenes, but falls short in story and where things could've led, espcially in the third act. There's quite a bit of lost potential, possibly due to budgetary reasons, but regardless it's still an above average horror flick and an adequate way to spend an hour and a half of your time, just don't expect a whole lot out of it.


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