Hysteria!, on Peacock

The 1980s were easily the best decade to be in high school. The economy was booming and there was no social media, but we had the freedom to hang with our friends at the mall without any adult supervision. Not surprisingly, all the other generations are jealous, so they keep trying to tear the Eighties down. This time, they want you to believe our super-conservative parents (the ones who dropped us off at the arcade with a fistful of quarters), were paranoid alarmists caught up in groundless “Satanic panics.”  Nevertheless, a student winds up very dead, under really macabre circumstances, in creator Matthew Scott Kane’s eight-episode Hysteria!, which premieres today on Peacock.

Dylan Campbell only has two real friends, Jordy and Spud, but that is just enough to form a terrible heavy metal garage band. Nobody cares about their group, because there is so much cool music in the 80’s. Then, the body of Ryan Hudson, the varsity quarterback, is discovered, apparently mutilated in a ritualistic manner, so Campbell hatches an opportunistic plan to capitalize on the sudden interest in Satanism.

His bandmates think he is crazy, but when Campbell’s popular crush, Judith, agrees to be the first member of his phony “cult,” they quickly recruit new members. They also become suspects, when busybody Church-Lady Tracy Whitehead starts whipping up Satanic panic mania. However, she clearly knows more about the secret dealings in Happy Hollow than she lets on, starting with the fact her daughter Faith was abducted with Hudson. Somehow, she was released and returned home. Faith’s memory is a little fuzzy on the details, but it is just as well, since Whitehead is not eager for her to talk to the police.

Bearing the stress of the town’s suspicions takes a toll on Campbell’s family, especially his mother Linda, who starts having terrifying possession-like experiences. Yet, it is initially worth the hassle for him, because he gets to finally date Judith. Campbell is also fortunate Chief of Police Dandridge remains skeptical of all the Satanism hokum. He even runs interference for the heavy metal trio, but it would still probably be better for Campbell if the Chief did not learn he is dating his granddaughter.

Hysteria! probably sounds like a lot of fun—and sometimes it is—but too often, it undermines its good vibes. Weirdly, it never really embraces 1980s nostalgia, aside from the hair band soundtrack (including blasts from the past, like Lita Ford’s “Kiss Me Deadly”). Yet, what really smothers viewer enthusiasm like a wet blanket is the unsurprising revelation of the “real villain,” who is a predictable and divisive cliché.

Still, Hysteria! boasts the great Bruce Campbell chewing the scenery and jutting out his chin as down-to-Earth Chief Dandridge. Campbell plays it straight instead of falling back on his snarky larger-than-life persona, but he still lands all the funniest lines. Genre fans will also be delighted to see Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs appearing briefly in the fifth episode flashback.

Once again, Julie Bowen plays a convincing mom, but she also has some impressive freakouts as Linda Campbell. Nolan North (whose voiceover work includes Green Lantern for DC animation and the Green Goblin for Marvel gaming projects) has some nice rapport with her as Campbell’s dad.

We Summon the Darkness: Leave it Unbidden

In the 1980s, people still believed the word “evil” had tangible meaning. These days, people are embarrassed by the concept and increasingly resentful when anyone points out its manifestations. Hence, the mass murderers committed by the likes of Richard Ramirez and the Matamoros cult are dismissed with the pejorative term: “satanic panic.” This film takes matters a step further, using “satanic panic” to cast jujitsu-like shade on conventional Christianity in Marc Meyers’ We Summon the Darkness, which releases this Friday on VOD platforms.

Frankly, this film’s worst sin in its slow-as-molasses start. After nearly half-an-hour, the major characters are still farting around in the parking lot after a head-banging heavy metal concert. Metalheads Alexis, Val, and their new friend Bev invite three losers to come back and party with them, even though they could easily pick-up much better-looking guys, thereby making us instantly suspicious. Needless to say, it is not the women viewers should be worried for, but they are only using the trappings of Satanism, in what could be called a false flag operation.

Granted, Chelsea Stardust’s Satanic Panic got a little scoldy in its class warfare finger-wagging, but it was still consistently funny and enormously energetic. In contrast, Meyers and screenwriter Alan Trezza focus on literally demonizing Evangelical Christianity, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. Only the bloody over-the-top mayhem of the final twenty minutes makes any inroads towards redemption—so to speak.

Satanic Panic: The Devil Rides Out

An old school British conservative like Dennis Wheatley understood the nature of evil, so he fought the Infernal One tooth-and-nail with his occult horror novels. Someone could do a jolly entertaining mini-retrospective of the seven films and one TV anthology episode based on his books, but this would definitely be the centerpiece. It happens to be the only Hammer film scripted by Richard Matheson and the great Sir Christopher Lee also often identified it as one of his favorites. Lee plays Wheatley’s intrepid Nicholas, Duc De Richleau in Terence Fisher’s The Devil Rides Out (a.k.a. The Devil’s Bride, trailer here), which screens as part of the Arena CineLounge’s Satanic Panic film series.

Despite the devilish goatee, De Richleau is an upstanding Christian gentleman, who has studied the occult in depth, and therefore understands the profound danger it represents. Both he and Rex Van Ryn have taken a fatherly interest in Simon Aron, the son of their late military colleague. Rather mysteriously, Aron has gone off the grid (circa 1929), so the two old friends have decided to pay him a call. Much to De Richleau’s alarm, they walk in on the pre-game for a black mass to be conducted by the villainous Mocata.

De Richleau manages to scuttle the ceremony and then returns later to whisk off Aron, whether he wants to be saved or not. At first, Van Ryn has a hard time believing De Richleau’s warnings, but he soon sees enough to make him a believer. He also starts to fall for Tanith Carlisle, another young recruit due to be initiated into Mocata’s circle.

Devil Rides Out is notably heavy on the occult imagery, particularly for 1968. There is definitely some serious Satanic panic going on in these tony British drawing rooms and on the Salisbury Plain. Somewhat surprisingly, some of the visuals seem to parallel those seen in A Dark Song (which like DRO, was also influenced by the Aleister Crowley mystique).

Regardless, Lee is terrific as De Richleau, clearly enjoying a rare turn as the hero. His De Richleau is rather a bit brusque and mysterious, not unlike his longtime friend Peter Cushing’s portrayals of Sherlock Holmes. He also has some rather engaging British upper-class bro chemistry with Leon Greene’s Van Ryn (dubbed by Patrick Allen, which seems odd, since Greene was an opera singer, as well as an actor).

Beyond the nifty Hammer-style demonic horror, DRO represents a unique assembly of talent. In addition to Lee and Matheson adapting Wheatley, it features future fine artist Niké Arrighi as Carlisle, Paul Eddington (best known as the easily befuddled James Hacker in Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister) as De Richleau even more skeptical friend Richard Eaton, Charles Gray (Blofeld in Diamonds are Forever) as Mocata, and Nigerian playwright Yemi Ajibade as an African cultist.

The direction of veteran Hammer hand Fisher is tight and taut all the way through. Matheson’s adaptation keeps raising the stakes and incorporating ever more sinister occult lore. Plus, dig those vintage cars. Altogether, it is a highpoint in the Hammer filmography, even though it was not a hit in its day. Highly recommended for fans of vintage horror, The Devil Rides Out screens Thursday night (10/4) as part of Satanic Panic at the Arena CineLounge.