This is from the director Penny Lane, who might be best known for making another documentary about Richard Nixon called Our Nixon (which was also fabulous). This is a film about love and the struggle to be free. It is about those that are considered to be different than "normal". The film is also about the struggle to shape our own morality and compassion.

While the film does not try to put down others I think where it really shines is showing how the religious are threatened by people who think and love in a different way. For them their way is the right way and people that think otherwise are dangerous. As an atheist I can tell you that I can't tell if someone is "good" or "bad" based on their religious belief but I can sure as s*** tell you that people that do believe in magical books almost never walk the walk. The belief in the belief is more important than the belief.

I was deeply inspired by the people that risked their personal professional lives for a greater cause. I firmly believe that humans have the compassion and the moral compass to forge a better world. One of the interesting themes in the movie that did not get a lot of air time was the disagreements that some of the leaders had when trying to grow their organization.

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Superb. I'm not too much into documentaries but I've seen and liked Nuts from the same director and the subject was interesting and it turned out very VERY good.

First thing, several passages are hilarious, better than most comedies I've seen recently. I had not laughed like that in a cinema in a very long time. Some comes from the obvious trolling basis of the Temple that is seen through members' remarks in interviews. Some from the few decades ago vision of what constitutes Satanism to other people (spoiler: D&D and metal music), even if this period was (litterally) hysterical and ruined a lot of lives. Some come from the people opposing the Temple, that often come off as totally insane (as long as you have a shred of critical thinking), even more when you can see that the detractors actually believe in Satan, while the satanists do not. Though it's less funny when you think about it and realize how these people are in power, are ruining lives and pushing and immplementing a supremacist agenda and that's exactly what the Satanic Temple is fighting. Still, the way it's shown is perfect.

The way the documentary is done is amazing. Using interviews, real news pieces, and well, mostly cliche movies when it comes to the Satanic imagery. It manages to cover both the creation and evolution of the temple, the very different origins of the members, the reason they joined and what they found there, the different actions they're pursuing (mostly focusing on having a statue of Baphomet in front of government buildings that have a 10 commandments monument), growth and mediatic opposition, as well as some history of Satanism and how it's been treated through time, the Temple's principles, and the special case of religion in the US (yes the whole thing is pretty US centric and addressing issues that aren't really issues anymore in other developped contries). It's pretty complete, treating yhe subject broadly, and always shown in an interesting way.

If you're a religious nut, anti-choice and pro discrimination of minorities, well this is not going to change your mind. Otherwise, if you believe in equality and self determinism, well, this doc shows an interesting and original way to defend this agenda.
Most people object to whatever they propose just because of the Satan name and what their sick mind imagine it means, and that's actually the basis for the choice of the name. That and the pretty cool imagery that comes with it. Hail Satan ? Fuck yeah !

As the ultimate example of judging a book by its cover, Satanism is both a fascinating documentary subject and worthy adversary for religious preference of any kind. It “commemorates what makes America great, and that is religious liberty,“ Lucien explains. This is an unconventional community battling conformity, asking the population to think for themselves and show respect for others. Set aside your preconceived notions of what Satanism is about and check out 'Hail Satan?' - it's a hell of an eye-opening experience.
- Charlie David Page

Read Charlie's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-hail-satan-a-hell-of-a-fascinating-documentary

Head to https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/sff for more Sydney Film Festival reviews.

A fascinating documentary to be sure.

But as far as the Satanic Temple are concerned, I believe they are misguided and misinformed, rather than misunderstood. They don't believe in Satan, they say. They stand up for religious liberty, they say. They want to do good deeds, they say. Fine. But you can still stand up for religious liberty without invoking the name of Satan at a ceremony, or putting up statues that are symbolic of Satanic worship. You can do good deeds without wearing masks and clothing that perpetuate Satanic scriptures. The messages they promote are confused.

The doc doesn't judge them or support them, rather it gives them a voice. But after hearing what they have to say, I feel sorry for many of them. Some of them have been let down by the Christian church. Some of them have felt isolated from their communities. Some of them have struggled to find God. These are some of the overriding factors that have led them towards the Satanic Temple; a place that they have found acceptance. But they are in the wrong place - there are better Christian churches out there. There is scope for finding God. There are places where they will be welcomed without the need to invoke the devil or wear horns on their heads. I hope they find it, because despite the protestations of the temple leaders, there is harm in being in a religion that layers its beliefs around demonic symbols.

Am I right?