Satan's Children/Review

Bobby (Stephen White) is a young man harassed by his stepfather and sexually teased by his sister. After running away from home he’s gang raped and left for dead. “Lucky” for him, he’s discovered by a group of young devil worshipers who take him in, nurse him back to health and attempt to indoctrinate him. But Bobby’s anger is right beneath the surface and when members of the devil worshiping cult start to abuse him too, everybody better watch out.

Director Joe Wiezycki stretched this student film-like production to meet the 80/90-minute requirement for theatrical presentation: and it shows. The majority of scenes, be them indoors or outdoors, are painfully non-eventful and overlong. Still, there’s something different about this homo-erotic tale of abuse and bloody retribution.

Ritualistic crucifixions, an electrocution, several beheadings, and characters consigned to a ferocious ant-eating “quicksand” death, are all a part of the meandering mix. But so is shameless male pulchritude: our able-bodied young protagonist is photographed extensively running around the forest in his wet and soiled tighty-whities--a curious objectifying choice for a film that revels in male rape. The wooden performances make it all seem even more surreal.

Alternative lifestyles (there are “condemned” lesbians too!), incest and gender issues are a few of the other sensational topics covered. The action, such as it is, takes place on rickety, over-lit cardboard sets and in the sweltering, mosquito infested Florida backwoods. A Saturday night distraction for the Z-Grade cinema connoisseur.

Josiah Howard is the author of four books including Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide (now in a fourth printing). His writing credits include articles for the American Library of Congress, The New York Times and Readers Digest. A veteran of more than one hundred radio broadcasts, Howard also lectures on cinema and is a frequent guest on entertainment news television. Visit his Official Website.