It's hard to tell from the outset which aspect of the film is most striking. Is it the lethargic pacing? The unbelievable acting? The meager direction? The amateurish writing? The abject, appalling, pervasive homophobia - a predominant theme of the entire length, and a horrid bigotry that the filmmakers are obviously encouraging? The total ignorance and willful misunderstanding of Satanism? The ill-fitting music that suggests Ray Fletcher just discovered contemporary prog rock and had to be sure everyone knew about it? The sexual assault and tawdry exploitative slant? The awful, unconvincing dialogue? The feeble scene writing? The floundering editing and weak cinematography? The absent production values? I can forgive a low budget and inexperience, but only part of the substantial flaws here can be attributed to a lack of resources, knowledge, or prior activity in the industry. More than not, 'Satan's children' is simply rotten, a damning testament to the astounding arrogance, prejudice, and conscious refusal to learn or even attempt comprehension of director and producer Joe Wiezycki, writers Gary Garrett and Ron Levitt, or apparently anyone else involved. This is low-grade schlock that other low-grade schlock would be ashamed of.
I don't know if I should commend the production for at least finding suitable filming locations, and materials for an infinitesimal modicum of art direction, or despise those who provided access to those locations and sold their materials for this production. Even if we overlooked every other trace of putrescence in these eighty-odd minutes - and we absolutely cannot and should not - there is no value to be found here. The presentation is so flat and dull that there is never any possibility of extracting any thrills, excitement, or baseline engagement. Between the course of events and the ideas that it plays with I suppose this does technically fit into the "horror" genre, yet I don't know if I've ever encountered another title of the genre that is less capable of making itself be felt. Everything about it is so astoundingly terrible that there's no possibility of even having mocking fun at its expense. I will grant that the last minutes give the narrative an ending that at last provides the sinister fun we wanted all along from a picture with the name 'Satan's children,' but that alone is plainly insufficient to allow this to recover from all its overwhelming problems.
And so we come to it at last: the simple truth that whatever it is you're looking for in a horror flick, including that last sliver of wicked delight, you will find it elsewhere. You will find it elsewhere in far greater abundance, with higher quality, and without all the significant issues that weigh down this feature from the very beginning through to the very end. For as much as it may be true that anyone can make anything in the Age Of The Internet and distribute it online for mass consumption, clearly filmmakers in past decades had no problems with having their own dreck disseminated. 'Satan's children' is horrible and worthless, and no one should ever watch it.
I don't know if I should commend the production for at least finding suitable filming locations, and materials for an infinitesimal modicum of art direction, or despise those who provided access to those locations and sold their materials for this production. Even if we overlooked every other trace of putrescence in these eighty-odd minutes - and we absolutely cannot and should not - there is no value to be found here. The presentation is so flat and dull that there is never any possibility of extracting any thrills, excitement, or baseline engagement. Between the course of events and the ideas that it plays with I suppose this does technically fit into the "horror" genre, yet I don't know if I've ever encountered another title of the genre that is less capable of making itself be felt. Everything about it is so astoundingly terrible that there's no possibility of even having mocking fun at its expense. I will grant that the last minutes give the narrative an ending that at last provides the sinister fun we wanted all along from a picture with the name 'Satan's children,' but that alone is plainly insufficient to allow this to recover from all its overwhelming problems.
And so we come to it at last: the simple truth that whatever it is you're looking for in a horror flick, including that last sliver of wicked delight, you will find it elsewhere. You will find it elsewhere in far greater abundance, with higher quality, and without all the significant issues that weigh down this feature from the very beginning through to the very end. For as much as it may be true that anyone can make anything in the Age Of The Internet and distribute it online for mass consumption, clearly filmmakers in past decades had no problems with having their own dreck disseminated. 'Satan's children' is horrible and worthless, and no one should ever watch it.