In
horror movies, anyone invoking satanic tropes as part of a joke or performance piece
will inevitably be revealed in the third act to be a conscious agent of Satan,
deliberately doing his evil bidding here on Earth. However, this is nothing
like a horror movie, because horror movies are fun to watch. Instead, we get a
constant stream of political statements from the prankster-activists of the
Satanic Temple in Penny Lane’s documentary, Hail
Satan?, which opens today in New York.
Supposedly,
the Satanic Temple is dedicated to the preservation of secular humanist values,
most definitely including the separation of church and state. However, instead
of campaigning against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) (which is practiced by
some remote Christian sects, but not Evangelicals), the growing influence of
Sharia Law, and women forced to wear veils and burkas, most of Lane’s doc
focuses on the Temple’s campaign against a proposed Ten Commandments monument
on the grounds of the Arkansas state capitol.
Granted,
a statue of Moses’ stone tablets sounds like a total waste of tax-payer money,
but if you opened the Arkansas state budget to any page you could probably find
costlier boondoggles. At least, the monument has the virtue of being a one-time
expense—or at least it would, were it not for the periodic vandalism requiring extensive
restoration work. Regardless, the Temple thinks it is all very funny
petitioning to have a statue of the demon Baphomet placed next to it, but the
truth is, their crusade is a fundraising gift from God to the sponsor of the
Commandment monument, State Sen, Jason Rapert, a former clergyman. Seriously,
how perfect is it for his messaging to have the Satanic Temple openly
campaigning against him? A more insightful film would have explored that symbiosis,
but this is more like an extended commercial for the Temple.
In
fact, watching Hail Satan? is like
sitting through a lecture from the People for the American Way, with some added
pitchfork and cloven hoof imagery. Lane never challenges anything the Temple
activists say nor does she offer the other side any opportunity to speak for
themselves. As a result, the film is such a puff piece, its only value is as a
recruiting tool for the Temple. Although Lane’s previous doc Nuts was quite interesting and
entertaining, Hail Satan? is so nakedly
biased, it calls into question her credibility as an independent filmmaker.
Of
course, the real irony is everything the Satanic Temple ascribes to their
Evangelical bogeymen applies to them with equal or greater force. They
obviously have no interest in understanding other points of view, because of
their overwhelming confidence in their moral superiority. Rather, they prefer
to demonize (so to speak) those who disagree with them.
So,
let’s ask what would the Satan of William Peter Blatty novels want us to do as
a nation? He would want us to assume the worst about each other. He would want
to maximize polarization and distrust, while minimizing dialogue that seeks
common ground. Based on the activity Lane presents, it is safe to say the
Temple is doing his work here on Earth. That is not funny. It’s depressing. Not
recommended, Hail Satan? opens today
(4/17) in New York, at the IFC Center.
