Saturday, May 12, 2018

LEGACY OF SATAN (1974) * ½


Legacy of Satan was directed by Gerard Damiano, who’s probably most famous for directing The Devil in Miss Jones.  It would only follow that he would helm this horror movie about a lonely housewife (Lisa Christian) who is under the spell of a Satanist cult.  From the looks of things, it seems that this started life as a porno, but all the explicit footage was excised so it could play on the legitimate circuit.  (The frequent jump cuts and awkward edits are a dead giveaway.)  However, without any hardcore sex, the movie is a slow-moving and boring affair.  I can’t say if the presence of hardcore footage would’ve saved it.  All I know is that in its present state, Legacy of Satan ain’t much.

Legacy of Satan is reminiscent in many ways to the equally inane Lucifer’s Women.  At least that movie had some (not much) nudity.  If the synth-heavy musical score doesn’t get on your nerves, it’ll probably give you a headache.  

There’s a nugget of a good idea here, but Damiano is unable to make it work.  He films the black masses in such a shoddy manner than even the cool costumes and creative set dressing get lost in the shuffle. It’s mostly a chore to sit through and the sixty-nine-minute running time feels much longer.  

If you stick with it long enough, you’ll be treated to some OK moments.  I liked the scene where Christian is having a dream where she is lying on an altar and has a candle placed between her legs.  When she awakes, she notices she’s considerably warmer “down there”.  It starts to turn into a slasher movie near the end when Christian starts stabbing people to provide fresh blood for her master.  The ending is kind of fun, especially when her husband showed up brandishing a legit lightsaber, three full years before Star Wars.  It makes you wonder if George Lucas saw this.

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