The Brotherhood of Satan (1971)

0% of critics liked it
(5 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(466 ratings)

Noted character actor L.Q. Jones (who would later direct the cult classic A Boy and His Dog) produced this low-budget horror item about a small Southwestern town torn asunder by the mysterious disappearances of several of its children. Jones plays the town sheriff, who joins forces with some of the… More Noted character actor L.Q. Jones (who would later direct the cult classic A Boy and His Dog) produced this low-budget horror item about a small Southwestern town torn asunder by the mysterious disappearances of several of its children. Jones plays the town sheriff, who joins forces with some of the locals to find the perpetrators and uncovers a diabolical plot concocted by a coven of elderly devil-worshippers who plan to use the children's bodies as receptacles for their own souls, enabling them to live again in younger bodies. To this end, they use their supernatural abilities to slay any meddling adults by turning the kids' toys into deadly war machines. Creepy opening and closing sequences and a bravado performance from Strother Martin (as the king-daddy Warlock) are the film's strongest assets. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 33 min.
Directed By: Bernard McEveety
Written By: William Welch, L.Q. Jones
Genres: Drama, Horror, Classics

In Theaters: Aug 6, 1971 Wide
On DVD: Aug 13, 2002

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Nonsensical, creepy satanic supernatural thriller.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Just about what you'd expect from a movie with this title.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
I guess if you've seen one "Midwest town overtaken by maniacal senior-citizen Satan worshippers" flick, you've seen 'em all.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dr Blood

It's like "Children of the Corn" but with geriatrics instead of the kids. What a load of nonsense. It's not scary at all. Nothing happens except a lot of talking gibberish. For those of you who care, the old folks use kids in their Satanic rituals to play with… More
It's like "Children of the Corn" but with geriatrics instead of the kids. What a load of nonsense. It's not scary at all. Nothing happens except a lot of talking gibberish. For those of you who care, the old folks use kids in their Satanic rituals to play with toys that resemble things in the outside world... or something like that. Just think of voodoo dolls and you'll be on the right lines. You won't care anyway and will probably switch this off after the first ten minutes where nobody speaks at all.
Eric B

"The Brotherhood of Satan" starts off really well, like Antonioni gone horror. Lots of silence and lengthy tracking shots about nothing, and the script perversely takes 20-25 minutes before any of the situation begins to make sense. But then the story turns into a fairly… More
"The Brotherhood of Satan" starts off really well, like Antonioni gone horror. Lots of silence and lengthy tracking shots about nothing, and the script perversely takes 20-25 minutes before any of the situation begins to make sense. But then the story turns into a fairly standard Satanic-coven flick, and is nothing to get excited about. If you made a pie chart for this film based on how much the actors get a chance to ham it up and flash their chops, it would be 98% for Strother Martin and 2% for everyone else. I didn't realize this until after the film was over, but the main little girl is played by Geri Reischl, who later became the "substitute Jan" when the Brady Bunch attempted their infamous musical-variety series. Surely, Satan played a role in getting that show on the air.