Review for Satanic Panic

I have this weird fascination about Horror Comedy Films… I’m not a huge horror film fan begin with. But I love when I can find a great or comedy that just keeps me laughing. Sure there’s always Shaun of the Dead for an easy “go to” classic and yes, anything with Ash and the Evil Dead is always good, but when you find a hidden gem that most people  have never heard about, as a film fan it’s a must that you share it with the world. And for me, a film called Satanic Panic is one of those, especially since it was pretty much filmed in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas. I had the pleasure of seeing this at the Oak Cliff Film festival months ago and of course interview the lovely director Chelsea stardust and actress Hayley Griffith. I honestly couldn’t stop laughing when watching film

The basic story is about a young girl on her first day as a pizza delivery girl getting captured by Satanists for a virgin sacrifice… Comedy Gold, right! Well throwing in Rebecca Romijn as a Satanist leader and her dim-witted husband played by Jerry O’Connell in it makes this film even better. This film was a pure delight. The entire cast was fantastic and everything seemed to click right down to the buckets of blood being poured on Haley Griffith’s character. It’s easy to make a film where you’re trying to escape zombies like IN Shaun of the Dead or one of my favorite horror comedy films, Cooties, but Satanists. We never really think of that is a thing anymore, but yet they’re out there and it’s not really not that far of a stretch to think of a young girl being kidnapped for a virgin Sacrifice or the daughter of the Satanists to be in on it.

I think what makes this film really good and the fact that there isn’t really any CGI, it’s old school practical effects and that makes a big difference because it really does bring out the what we love in horror comedy films such as the Evil Dead. Practical effects always make me feel better if nothing else more nostalgic. Chelsea Stardust certainly brings out old-school quality to this film. I’m not going to say that this is the greatest horror comedy film out there. But the writing is superb and the cast does a wonderful job. Hayley Griffiths has great comedic chops when it comes to playing a sweet and innocent girl to an action star trying to escape the clutches of evil. I think she was perfectly suited for this role and it’s one of those times when they get the casting right. the imperfection of this film such as certain moments when it drags just a little bit aren’t enough to bring it down.

It’s still a very wonderful film with great uses in cinematographer within the Dallas area. I can definitely see a cult following surrounding this movie, especially for those of us in Texas because we know the locations where it was shot. Whereas dazed and confused is a great coming-of-age story for Texas youth, Satanic Panic will do the same for Texas horror fans. It’s a film that you will definitely watch more than once and we’ll enjoy it each time you watch. I applaud the choices the director made in shooting this film and bringing out a great comedic horror piece. It’s easily an 8 out of 10 for me. And definitely worth the price of a movie ticket. Even if you’re just a casual comedy-horror fan, you still won’t be disappointed. And the women in this film definitely shine as filmmakers.