Satanic is a 2016 American horror film, directed by Jeffrey Hunt, from a screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski. It stars Sarah Hyland, Steven Krueger,

Justin Chon Justin Jitae Chon (born May 29, 1981) is a South Korean-American actor and filmmaker. He has directed three films, Gook (film), ''Gook'' (2017), ''Ms. Purple'' (2019), and ''Blue Bayou (film), Blue Bayou'' (2021). He is also known for portrayin ...

, Clara Mamet, Sophie Dalah and Anthony Carrigan. The film was released in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

on July 1, 2016, by Magnet Releasing.

Plot

The film begins with a scared female making her way through a labyrinth of pentagram-covered walls, hearing voices, trembling with fear. A figure runs past her. A group of teenagers arrives in Los Angeles to visit several occult sites. Seth and Elise are

goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

and Chloe and David their friends. As they pass an abandoned building they see and photograph an unknown figure inside who is panicking. The group registers at the Flower Hotel, where a Satanic priestess committed suicide in room 204 in 1972. During a

Ouija The Ouija ( , ), also known as a Ouija board, spirit board, talking board, or witch board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", and occasionally "hello" and "goodbye", along ...

board session, Elise claims she feels something. The group visits the Los Angeles Chapter of the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan (CoS) is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism, Satanism as defined by Anton Szandor LaVey. Founded in San Francisco in 1966, by Anton LaVey, LaVey, it is considered the "oldest satanic reli ...

, where patrons spit on them when they ask questions. They next visit a residence in the Hollywood Hills where Charles Manson and his followers murdered several people in 1969 including actress

Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she appeared in advertisements and small television roles before appearing in films as well as working as a model. After receiv ...

. At the Black Door Shop, an occult and Satanic goods store, the owner asks them to leave when Seth sees a Satanic altar in the back room. The group spends the rest of the day in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

. Upset about being evicted, the group decides to follow the shop owner. He enters a house and joins a Satanic ritual. A girl, later identified as Alice, appears to be an intended sacrifice. Chloe screams and the group flees to their hotel. Seth loses his phone in the commotion. The next day Alice calls them on Seth's phone. They meet Alice and take her back to the hotel. She recognizes the room as the site of the suicide. They perform a ritual. Alice draws a pentagram on the wall, vomits and undresses, revealing scars from brands and cut marks. Then she slashes her own throat. The group reports the incident to the police and relocates to David's home. Elise uses the Ouija board to determine why Alice killed herself. David is alarmed when he discovers a pentagram drawn in condensation on a bathroom window. The group discovers the kitchen dirty, cutlery stuck in the ceiling and dead birds in the swimming pool. They return to the Black Door Shop and David aggressively interrogates the owner. The owner says they were not going to sacrifice Alice, they were expelling her from the group for being too extreme. The group decides to leave Los Angeles. Elise suddenly feels unwell. Chloe discovers marks on Elise's belly. Elise goes into a restroom. She screams. Only her torn clothing remains and the stall is covered in scratches. Seth enters an abandoned building when he hears Elise screaming. Chloe and David hear Seth screaming. They find three bloody marks on a pillar, then four marks carved on David's face. As he and Chloe flee the building, David vanishes. Terrorized, Chloe stumbles through a maze of sheets covered with pentagrams. She reaches a window and tries to get the attention of a passing car. The inhabitants of the car are Chloe, David, Seth and Elise, who take pictures and leave. Chloe is unable to escape the building. She finds herself in a small dark room with scratches on the walls. Suddenly her mouth has been stitched shut and her arms have been amputated. The Devil picks up her phone and approaches her. The stitches prevent her from screaming.

Cast

* Sarah Hyland as Chloe * Steven Krueger as David *

as Seth * Clara Mamet as Elise * Sophie Dalah as Alice * Anthony Carrigan as Anthony * Marc Barnes as James the Hotel Clerk

Production

In August 2014, it was announced Jeffrey Hunt would direct the film, from a screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski. Lawrence Mattis will serve as a producer on the film, while Stephen Emery will serve as an executive producer, under his Circle of Confusion Productions banner. Magnet Releasing will distribute the film.

Release

The film was given a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and was distributed through

on July 1, 2016.

Critical reception

''Satanic'' received negative reviews from film critics. It holds an approval rating of 0% based on 7 reviews, with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of 3.6/10.

References

External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, 771444253 2016 films American supernatural horror films 2016 horror films American independent films The Devil in film 2016 directorial debut films Films scored by James Dooley 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language horror films