Any filmmaker is lucky to make a single cult classic in their career. Outside of the masters of the genre, it’s rare for someone to helm more than one movie that resonates with a passionate fanbase, regardless of size, over the course of multiple decades – but Jeff Lieberman earned the distinction despite only having five films to his name.
Lieberman made his directorial debut with 1976’s man-eating worm flick Squirm and quickly followed it up with 1978’s killer trip Blue Sunshine. 1981 saw the release of his backwoods slasher Just Before Dawn, after which his feature output slowed considerably. He directed the 1988 sci-fi comedy Remote Control and penned the script for 1994’s The NeverEnding Story III before making his return to horror in 2004 with his final film to date, Satan’s Little Helper.
Ostensibly a cheap, direct-to-video slasher, Satan’s Little Helper – like the rest of Lieberman’s output – subverts expectations. Having already made a slasher of sorts (albeit one that owes more to Deliverance than Friday the 13th) with Just Before Dawn, the filmmaker was clearly more interested in having fun with the genre than adhering to its conventions.
Satan’s Little Helper begins with a dated Flash animation posing as handheld video gameplay that aims to be a microcosm of the movie; akin to Midsommar‘s opening mural but distractingly janky. You then meet Douglas Whooly (Alexander Brickel), a grating 10-year-old with an unhealthy fascination with the devil and a desire to marry his sister, Jenna (Katheryn Winnick, Vikings). It may not be the most promising start, but there’s plenty of fun to be had if you stick with it.
Jenna comes home to the fictitious New England town of Bell Island from college to take Douglas trick or treating, but she brings along her new boyfriend, Alex (Stephen Graham). The breaking of their sibling tradition upsets Douglas, who’s more interested in finding Satan than collecting candy. When he spots a silent, imposing figure in a devil costume (Joshua Annex) decorating his yard with fresh corpses, Douglas believes it to be Satan from his video game and pledges himself to be his helper.
When ensues is a delightfully peculiar blend of slasher tropes and demented hijinks. There’s murder – although, with one intestine-wrenching exception, the kills are fairly tame – but the film is so boisterous that it almost feels like a coming-of-age movie gone wrong. Whether due to budgetary restraints or a deliberate creative choice, cinematographer Dejan Georgevich‘s (The Virtuoso) matter-of-fact shooting style further emphasizes the offbeat tone.
Adding to the idiosyncratic family dynamics is Pulp Fiction‘s Amanda Plummer as the kids’ mother, who engages in some inappropriately provocative conversations with Jenna. Plummer’s role is more substantial than one might expect given that she was the only “name” involved at the time. She fully commits with her signature eccentricity, even spending a good portion of her screen time thanklessly bound by tape.
Despite the mean streak, Lieberman approaches the material with a tongue in cheek. It’s rarely laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s virtually impossible for a horror fan to watch the madness play out without a smile plastered across their face (save for an egregious use of a racial slur). The humor ranges from campy to satirical to pitch black, most often leaning toward the latter.
No one would mistake Satan’s Little Helper for a studio movie, but the limited budget is all on screen. Importantly, it doesn’t skimp on the Halloween atmosphere; nearly every shot features costumes, decor, and/or autumnal foliage (sometimes digitally colored in post-production, alas). That alone is enough to warrant a seasonal recommendation, not to mention a Bob Dylan song (“Man of Peace”) on the soundtrack.
Despite being a tad too long at 100 minutes, it’s not difficult to see why Satan’s Little Helper became a late-era video store staple. Not the straightforward Halloween knockoff one might expect based on the premise, the film thrives because Lieberman is not afraid to get weird. It’s surprising that the movie didn’t spawn a sequel, if not an entire franchise.
But hey, there’s still time! Satan’s Little Helper was Lieberman’s first film in 17 years, and it’s been 18 years since. Perhaps the Synapse Films‘ new restoration – presented uncut in high definition on Blu-ray and streaming on Screambox – will renew interest in the perennial treat.
Satan commands it.
The post ‘Satan’s Little Helper’ – Why You Should Stream the 2004 Horror Movie on SCREAMBOX This Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.