If it's not already considered something of a cult classic, then "The Brotherhood of Satan" certainly should be. It's one of a few interesting genre items produced by actors L. Q. Jones and Alvy Moore; the others are "The Witchmaker" and the justly famous "A Boy and His Dog". Joined by director Bernard McEveety (a veteran of mostly TV),cinematographer John Arthur Morrill ("Kingdom of the Spiders") and other talents, they're wise to concentrate mainly on an escalating sense of danger. In fact, the whole film has a memorable atmosphere of weirdness, not to mention some effective imagery.

Its opening is one of the most memorable things about it, as the filmmakers switch between shots of a toy tank and a real one as it crushes a car beneath it. This leads us into a story (written by William Welch, with story credit given to Sean MacGregor (director of "Devil Times Five")) about vacationers Ben (Charles Bateman),his girlfriend Nicky (luscious Ahna Capri),and K. T. (Geri Reischl),Bens' daughter from a previous marriage. They come upon a small town whose citizens are scared silly. It seems that no one can enter (save for Ben & company) and no one can leave. Adults are dying, and kids are disappearing. The frustrated sheriff (Jones) doesn't understand what's going on and it's driving him crazy.

This is creepy from the start, and gets under the skin due to a deliberate pace and some deeply committed performances, from bit players as well as main cast members. Jones and Moore are great value, as always, and Charles Robinson (not to be confused with the actor from 'Night Court') is good as the priest who comes to figure things out. Strother Martin is wonderful as the cheerful Doc Duncan who's hiding a LOT from some of his fellow citizens. There's also a very fine music score by the under rated Jaime Mendoza-Nava ("The Town That Dreaded Sundown" '77). The nightmare sequence in the latter half of the picture is stylishly done. And there's one noteworthy scene where a member of the coven (Helene Winston) is confronted for going against the ways of their Dark Lord.

Horror buffs should give this one a try, if they're not already aware of it. It just makes this viewer more impressed with Jones and Moore that they gave genre fare a go during this period.

Eight out of 10.

This film seems to be a tad underrated on IMDb--it's not that bad a film despite the current 3.5 rating. However, the reviewer who gave it a 10 also shouldn't be trusted--believe me, this is not GONE WITH THE WIND or CASABLANCA--it's just a cheap but somewhat interesting horror flick! The film starts off very well and it really had me hooked with the concept. A family wanders into a small town where no one can leave due to some bizarre force and now that same force won't let the family leave as well! In addition, many adults have died in the last three days and their young children are missing. Apparently, a Satanic cult wishes to sacrifice these kids so that they may be immortal!! While this is original and very chilling, it did irritate me that despite all this, some townspeople laughed at the minister when he suggested that there were "supernatural powers afoot"--well DUUUUHH!!! Any idiot would have known that, but oddly the scared folks balk at his reasonable suggestion!! Unfortunately, from about that point on, the film kind of fizzled. Now it wasn't bad, but the momentum surely was lost and the whole thing ended in a big anti-climax. The film had a great idea but spotty writing and a few clichéd characters keep this one from being any better than a 5. Worth a look, but not exactly earth-shaking!

A beautiful drive along the country road brings along a bit of horror for Charles Bateman, his daughter Geri Reichel and his girlfriend Ahna Capri, coming across the ruins of a hideous car accident. Trying to find help in the local town only brings them horror and they can't even successfully leave thanks to the presence of a coven who is interested in Reichel. Friendly doctor Strother Martin and local sheriff L.Q. Jones are of no help because as it turns out, well that part is predictable.

And who populates a coven in a small town? A bunch of old people that's who, and it's difficult not to laugh as some really cute grandmotherly types come in with satanic candles, allowing their loyalty to him. But for one woman who is just pleased the coven, it is a fatal mistake in a truly horrific scene where she is shunned and then seemingly welcomes back, only to find out the hard way that she is not welcome.

This is a better than average supernatural thriller with a lot of "Rosemary's Baby" thrown in and a lot of shocks along the way. Parents praying for their lost children are suddenly overcome with a strange illness and quickly die while a little girl standing in the middle of the road drives the family off of it with them fearing they have killed her.

Usually films of supernatural satanistic subject matter end up being pretty silly, but this is actually quite frightening in spots and it left me creeped out a little bit. A few other familiar faces pop up including Alvy Moore from "Green Acres" and Bateman's future "Santa Barbara" wife, Judith McConnell, as the youngest adult member of the coven. Martin is at his slimiest here but really doesn't get a lot of screen time. Well worth finding for a one time Halloween fright, but not quite the classic of other better known supernatural thrillers.