# POLISH PREMIERE | documentary | satanicpanic | satanism | riruals | devil | eating children | 80s | USA | american dream | America | conspiracy | hipnosis | therapy | witch hunting | bestseller | Michelle Remembers | masshysteria
SATAN WANTS YOU
documentary | Canada | 2023
world premiere: South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) 2023
polish premiere: Splat!FilmFest
MASS HYSTERIA ABOUT THE DEVIL IN THE 80’S.
Did you ever wonder why were people so crazy about satanic horror movies in the 80’s? What was the reason for entire America panicking around blood-thirsty cannibalistic satanists that, as the media would claim, were haunting the country?
The documentary Satan Wants You will take you through that phenomenon step by step. It is a story of Michelle Smith, a housewife from British Columbia, who attended a psychiatrist, Lawrence Pazder, to treat her post-miscarriage depression. During one of therapy sessions, she confessed to him that as a child she had been abducted by a satanic cult, the members of which would torture her and make her participate in their satanic rites. She even claimed that once they had summoned the devil himself, which had caused the immediate intervention on the part of Jesus, Michel Archangelo and the Virgin Mary. According to Smith, all of those extraordinary events took place in Victoria, a city where the satanists allegedly had their global headquarters.
Sounds nuts? Definitely. And still, the world believed in the stories told by Michelle. Or by Pazder, to be exact, as it was him who recorded over 600 hours of Smith’s gruesome memories. They even managed to write a book together, which certainly didn’t go unnoticed in America. They would travel through Canada and the States, telling their story of baby-stealing satanists, which even made people set out for witch-hunting. However, it quickly came to light that the story was missing some important bits and even dr. Pazder couldn’t make up for that with his great charisma. The book called Michelle Remembers, which had been the bestseller of the 80’s, was soon pronounced bullcrap.
However, not by everyone, as you can still find some believers of what Michelle Smith had to say about satanists binging on tender baby meat.
Satan Wants You is a job well done. This documentary by Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor not only tells Michelle’s story, but also pictures the cultural background of a country where it was possible to ignite such a mass hysteria in the 80’s. Having watched the film, you’ll get the impression that the filmmakers interviewed literally anyone who could add to the story. Anyone except for Michelle, who refused to do so, and of course the devil himself.
director: Steve J. Adams, Sean Horlor
screenwriter: Steve J. Adams, Sean Horlor
photography: Blake Davey
editor: Graham Kew
music: Mark Dolmont
duration: 1h 28min
language: English
subtitles: Polish
recommended age: 16+
