Hail Satan?

Hail Satan? is a 2019 American documentary film about The Satanic Temple, including its origins and grassroots political activism.[3] Directed by Penny Lane, the film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on April 19, 2019, distributed by Magnolia Pictures.[4][5] The film shows Satanists working to preserve the separation of church and state against the privilege of the Christian right.[6]

Not to be confused with the expression Hail Satan.
Hail Satan?
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPenny Lane
Produced byGabriel Sedgwick
Starring
Music byBrian McOmber feat. Angel Deradoorian and Jordan Dykstra[1]
CinematographyNaiti Gámez
Edited by
  • Amy Foote
  • Aaron Wickenden
Production
company
Hard Working Movies
Distributed byMagnolia Pictures
Release date
  • January 25, 2019 (2019-01-25) (Sundance)
  • April 19, 2019 (2019-04-19) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$424,284[2]

Summary

The documentary follows members of the Satanic Temple organizing a series of public actions designed to advocate religious freedom and challenge corrupt authority. According to the documentary synopsis "they prove that with little more than a clever idea, a mischievous sense of humor, and a few rebellious friends, you can speak truth to power in some truly profound ways. As charming and funny as it is thought-provoking, Hail Satan? offers a timely look at a group of often misunderstood outsiders whose unwavering commitment to social and political justice has empowered thousands of people around the world".[7]

Production

Lane wanted to combat the widespread view of the Satanic panic of the 1970s through 1990s, during which Satanists were described as rapists and murderers, usually of children.[8] She described the primary editing for the film occurred in approximately six months, "concurrent with the bulk of shooting,” after a lengthy research and development phase.[9]

Lane has said that she initially thought the Satanic Temple was conceived only as a prank, only to subsequently understand that they had actually "gone from being kind of a joke to being a real thing. [...] The notion of a religious movement being born out of a joke seemed like kind of a cool story, and not one I’d ever heard before." and adding that part of what compelled her to make the film was that she "loved the idea of watching a new religion get born, right before our eyes, and how goofy and weird that looks, especially if you’re not part of it.[10]

Satanic Temple co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves was initially reluctant to allow the filmmakers access to the inner workings of the organization, saying "the decision to allow [director] Penny Lane behind the scenes access was not an easy one", and adding "it's very stressful having a couple of years of filming going on and having no idea what narrative is being constructed from that kind of footage. No matter how much you trust somebody you don't know ultimately what's going to be made of your life's work."[11]

Lane has referred to the question of how the Satanic Temple differs from the Church of Satan as "a really interesting and complicated question", telling Birth Movies Death that "essentially, the Satanic Temple wouldn’t exist without the Church of Satan. The Church of Satan codified the idea of Satanism in the first place", adding "But then you have a huge point of departure and a satanic Reformation moment where the Satanic Temple’s beliefs are sufficiently different from the Church of Satan",[12] and explaining that "it was very challenging to get that right because there’s so much more to say about that 50-year history" than was possible in a single film.[13]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 127 reviews, with an average rating of 7.58/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Hail Satan? challenges preconceived notions of its subject with a smart, witty, and overall entertaining dispatch from the front lines of the fight for social justice."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15]

The Observer's Guy Lodge listed the film in his 20 must-see documentaries to explain the world in 2020. Lodge wrote of it as a "puckish, perceptive, sometimes riotous documentary", "you won’t see a more pointed inquiry into religious freedom at the moment – or a funnier one."[16]

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See also

References
  1. "'Hail Satan?' Soundtrack Released". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  2. "Hail Satan? (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  3. Robinson, Tasha (January 26, 2019). "Hail Satan? puts the fun in Satanic fundamentalism". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  4. "Hail Satan?". Sundance Institute. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  5. "Sundance: Hail Satan? Documentary Picked Up by Magnolia Pictures". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  6. ""I Was Watching Midcentury Hollywood Biblical Epics, Anti-Communist Propaganda Films, and 1970s B-Movies about Devil Worshippers": Penny Lane on Hail Satan?". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  7. Hail Satan?, retrieved 2019-11-04
  8. Lee, Benjamin (April 18, 2019). "Hail Satan?: the film that will change your mind about satanism". The Guardian.
  9. "Are We Comparing Trimming Unnecessary Footage with Murdering One's Infant Child?: Director Penny Lane on Hail Satan?". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  10. Wilkinson, Alissa (2019-04-16). "'It challenged my ideas about religion': Penny Lane on her new movie about Satanists". Vox.com.
  11. McLaughlin, Katherine (2019-06-04). "Lucien Greaves: 'No matter how much you trust somebody you don't know ultimately what's going to be made of your life's work'". Listfilm.
  12. Timpone, Tony (2019-04-10). "HAIL SATAN? Gives The Devil His Due". Birth. Movies. Death.
  13. Prokopy, Steven (2019-05-02). "Horns to Power - An Interview with Hail Satan? Director Penny Lane and Satanic Temple Co-Founder Lucien Greaves". Music Box Theatre.
  14. "Hail Satan? (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  15. "Hail Satan? reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  16. Lodge, Guy (26 July 2020). "20 must-see documentaries to explain the world in 2020". The Observer. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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