SXSW First Look: ‘Satan Wants You’

In the 1980s, America was hit by the “satanic panic” characterized by the fear that demon-worshipers were engaged in secret ritual abuses and child sacrifices. The documentary Satan Wants You, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival this Saturday, examines the origins of the cultural deception that has resulted in many innocent people being harmed. Directed by Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams, the film will screen in the documentary spotlight section of the festival.

Deadline writes on Satanic Panic, which “was ignited by Michelle Remembers, a lurid memoir by psychiatrist Larry Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith. Supported by the Catholic Church, the bestselling book relied on recovered-memory therapy to uncover Michelle’s childhood abduction by baby-stealing Satanists,” according to a description of the film. “Amplified by law enforcement and America’s Daytime TV boom, Satanic rumors spread through panic-stricken communities across the world, leaving a wave of destruction and wrongful convictions in their wake. This film digs deep into the roots of moral panics and cult conspiracies, showing how these events still affect and distort our reality today.”

Deadline focuses on the director’s comment about the film: “What surprised us most when we started the film was the number of experts—police officers, journalists, sociologists, podcasters—who believed the Pazders and their book were responsible for igniting the Satanic Panic of the ‘80s and ‘90s, yet no one had ever explored this story in a documentary format,” Horlor and Adams write in a director’s statement. “This is the very first time that Michelle’s sister, Larry’s ex-wife, and Larry’s daughter have gone on the record to tell their side of this story. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine all these stories together to reveal the true origins of the Satanic Panic and show how they connect to the Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracies of today.”

Satan Wants You is written, directed, and executive produced by Horlor and Adams, with Michael Grand and Melissa James producing. Satan Wants You is an acquisition title at SXSW.

Below is the trailer for Satan Wants You.