An excerpt from my script review for Satanic Panic which will be available 09/09/19:
4.) Dialogue and Description
We’ll skip dialogue because it didn’t really do much either good or bad. It served its purpose, more or less.
The one thing I wanted to mention was the description, particularly the visuals.
If you’re going to do one thing right in a horror, go for broke with insane visuals.
Page 46:
She looks at the family photos.
Mr. and Mrs. Neumieir with their two kids posed in front of
their house.
The whole Neumieir clan at Disney Land, arms around each
other, smiling.
Here they are on a ski slope, laughing in the sun.
Here’s the Neumieir family in a torture chamber, displaying
their bloody hands to the camera and laughing. Behind them,
on an operating table, is something that used to be human.
Mr. and Mrs. Neumieir plus the kids standing around a Satanic
altar, wearing black robes, next to a pile of human heads.
Finally there’s a photo of Mr. and Mrs. Neumieir standing by
a scenic lake. Their kids hang from nooses, black hoods over
their heads. They’ve been gutted, and their intestines are
piled at their feet.
That’s dark.
And notice how it escalates, getting more and more morbid.
Lastly, by showing the parents sacrifice their children (and take a picture of it) it gives the audience the gore they’re craving AND shows Sam these people are anything but rational.
Page 55:
INT. POOL HOUSE – NIGHT
Gypsy opens an urn and drops the wax figure into a seething
mass of worms.
INT. GYPSY’S HOUSE – KITCHEN – NIGHT
Sam kneels in front of Judi, writing the protective words
across her belly. Judi’s legs are completely covered with the
text. Candles burn on the counter for light.
As Sam writes, Judi squirms in pain.
SAM
Hold still.
JUDI
Hurry…
SAM
I’m –
Judi vomits worms all over Sam’s hands. Sam stares in horror
as Judi falls to her knees and vomits worms on the floor.
This whole swapping between Gypsy tormenting Judi via the voodoo doll was interesting.
More horror visuals, and hopefully the budget allowed for some of them to be pulled off, because it was an interesting part to the narrative.
Page 83:
The cultists writhe and hiss as they become possessed. Some
wear masks of bulls, cats, and goats. They scourge their
flesh with thorny vines, they bite and tear at themselves and
each other.
Cultists lift ropes of entrails from the pickling vat and
guzzle them.
The nude cultists are covered in blood and foul fluids,
writhing like one great undulating organism, a seething bowl
of worms, a clot of maggots, an orgy from Hell.
There are flickers of the goat-headed god, Baphomet, seen
through the smoke, holding his hands in the symbol for “As
above, so below.” He has nine eyes and they burn yellow in
the dark.
A foul wind blows.
Sam’s POV: it’s a living nightmare.
Another fun little bit at the end. Almost like a 2019 version of the ending to Rosemary’s Baby where Rosemary figures out what’s really happened.
So the story’s not the strongest, but with horror fans being a forgiving lot, delivering on the Satanic ritual of summoning a demon in this manner should be worth it.
(Hopefully the budget allowed for this to be done well also.)
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