Satanis and Sinthia

     Satanis is a self-made documentary by Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan. You would think that a documentary about Satanism would contain some shocking footage of some kind, but it's nothing like that at all. It's actually rather comical as Anton LaVey expresses his belief system while wearing his horned hood with his overly arched eyebrows. He looks more like a cartoon character than a Satanist. People who follow LaVey's teachings are about as comical as he is. His neighbors describe him as a very interesting individual and their only complaint was that he had a pet tiger. His masses always included a naked woman on the altar and it was really surprising to see how many women were willing, eager, and were actually auditioning for this role. 

      Filmed in 1970, Satanis still retains a very 1960's feeling. Pretty much a live-and-let-live attitude. People are always scared of the unknown and I think this is actually a very well-made documentary that lets you know that the goings on inside the Church of Satan are really not all that scary or dangerous.  There are no orgies, animal sacrifices, murder, etc... all the things people assume are part of Satanism. Unlike Christianity, Satanism praises sex as healthy and natural, which was enough for many people to consider a change of religion, especially in a time of free love. 

      The only thing I found annoying was Anton LaVey's egotistical sense of self-righteousness. He was very proud of who he was and what he'd accomplished and wasn't afraid to tell the whole world how he single-handedly built the Church of Satan from the ground up. He claimed thousands of followers in spite of obviously having few attendees at his masses. And when it came to religion, especially Satanism, LaVey always seemed to kind of make it up as he went along, much like any other religion. Whatever. 

      This documentary has been released on DVD, coupled with a very very bad movie called "Sinthia, the Devil's Doll". Being made in the 60s it was obviously meant to be watched on drugs, and ultimately Sinthia doesn't really have a story. It's mostly psychedelic sex scenes with a girl named Sinthia going on about how she wants to have sex with her father. This movie never really made it and was only coupled with Satanis as a vehicle for its release.