The Manson family cult’s ‘helter-skelter’ rampage of the late 1960s fired up increased interest in the occult that would last for decades to follow.

Then, in the 1980s, America was overcome by what the media called ‘Satanic panic’ as a rash of false allegations against daycare centres gripped the public imagination.

Unsubstantiated statements from children and coercive and suggestive interrogation by therapists and prosecutors further fuelled the fire.

The fascination with Satanism never really went away, and according to The Daily Beast, has found an outlet in films about Satanic cults like My Friend Dahmer director Marc Meyers’ latest offering, We Summon the Darkness.

[Situated] smack-dab in the middle of heartland Satanic hysteria circa 1988, when concerns over impressionable teens being possessed by Ozzy Osbourne lyrics ran rampant—thanks, in part, to Tipper Gore’s war on pop culture profanity, licentiousness, and the occult via her Parents Music Resource Center.

We Summon the Darkness suggests, early on, that Gore was on to something, given that its story finds Indiana contending with a string of unsolved Satanic killings. Yet no matter the seriousness of that threat, brash Alexis (Alexandra Daddario), sultry Val (Maddie Hasson) and timid Bev (Amy Forsyth) remain committed to attending an eardrum-bursting concert by The Soldiers of Satan.

Part Manson family madness, part The Craft, this film looks like a wild ride:

You’ll want to watch this one with the lights on.

Look out for it on the big screen, April 10, 2020.

[source:dailybeast]