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Review

The most important thing for gay audiences to know going into Satan Hates You is that it is a satire. By presenting the idea that being gay and/or pro-choice are worthy of shame, the filmmakers simultaneously mock the very same notion.

Evoking John Larroquette’s infamous intro from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Satan Hates You begins with a warning: "...if you are easily offended or of a delicate nature, you may choose not to watch the following motion picture - do so at the risk of losing your immortal soul." This kind of opening is likely to give squeamish viewers pause – that is, obviously, the intention. Compared to modern, oh-so-prevalent "torture porn" horror flicks, however, Satan Hates You is refreshingly restrained. While it proudly features graphic scenes of violence and gore, everything is delivered with a deliberately campy, tongue-in-cheek playfulness.

After the warning, the film truly begins when Marc (played by Don Wood), tries to make out with a generous, same-sex pot-dealer... and then brutally murders him after he is accused of being gay - screaming "I am not a queer!" We think he doth protest too much! Marc is attracted to men. He likes himself some man-on-man action - there is no way around it. That doesn’t stop him from denying it, though – much to the surprise of the unfortunate gay boys who take him home from the bar and wind up bludgeoned to death the next morning.

Meanwhile, a lesbian and occult-friendly party-girl named Wendy (Christine Spencer), fully aware that she is pregnant, pops pills and snorts random substances on her bathroom floor. She will have to go to even further extremes, however, to destroy her fetus. Take our word for it: it will not be pretty.

What provokes the destructive, devil-may-care attitude that Marc and Wendy share? The devil himself, of course! Prolific indie-horror producer Larry Fessenden and Shortbus actor Bradford Scobie have a campy good time as invisible demons – think of the fairies from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," only evil – who pull strings and attempt to control the actions of these wicked souls. Decency be damned!

Satan Hates You gleefully parodies some of the bizarre, low-budget "religious message movies" that cropped up in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s – an obscure genre, to be sure, but one ripe for homage. What separates this new invention from the films that it skewers is the fact that Satan Hates You, though capably made, and filled with excellent, varied performances, never takes itself seriously.

Writer/director James Felix McKenney has crafted a truly original, proudly bizarre, candy-colored horror/comedy. While it is surely not for all tastes, it is not as morally reprehensible as it pretends to be.

 -- Robert O'Neill