I just don't really even know what kind of a movie The Killing of Satan is. I mean, it's about a guy named Lando (yes!) in a battle with the devil, and the title sure as shit sounds like a horror movie. (And you get a couple of surprising bits of gore totally out of nowhere.) But in the bizarre world of this Filipino import, somehow Christian mythology is mixed with guys who can shoot lazers out of their hands and have telekinetic powers. You also get some really bizarre shape shifters, teleportation, and lots of snake abuse. Praise Jesus!
Honestly, it's a hard one to summarize, and I don't think a synopsis does it any justice anyways. But the gist of it? Lando is a family man who is killed but brought back to life by his magical uncle, who lives miles away on an island somewhere. The uncle is a very powerful magic good guy, and is apparently fighting the forces of evil. It is the uncle's dying wish to pass on all of his powers to Lando - which I guess you can do when you are that magic. But when Lando goes to visit magic uncle he finds out that he has passed away. But that doesn't mean his uncle's rival - the Prince of Magic (a surprisingly toothless way of saying High Disciple of Satan) is going to leave Lando alone. Nope, the Prince of Magic heads to the island and attacks Lando and his family, kidnapping his daughter and taking her to be Satan's bride. Lando, along with his less magical but still pretty cool cousin, must journey to Hell (I thought it was just a cave, but I'll go with imdb on this one) to rescue his daughter.
The Killing of Satan is a kooky film, no doubt about it. Genre-wise, the thing is all over the place. It feels like a serious crime drama at times, then a goofball action film, then a mystical/religious fantasy. But it's almost always entertaining. There are times where it can feel a bit disjointed, which is a symptom of not always knowing what's going on and having pretty one-note characters. But if your character's one-note is shooting lazers out of his hand - that's okay, I think. It's not quite as batshit insane as you may hope for (or as the Everything is Terrible "Two Minute Killing of Satan" would suggest). But for fans of that sort of thing, there's definitely enough here to make it worth checking out.
It's hard to know where to start, but it's probably the special effects that stick out the most. As I've mentioned, Lando and company use magic in their fight against evil; which usually takes the form of a crudely animated ray of light that shoots out of someone's hand (or, oddly enough, spirals out from Lando's left elbow). So there are lots of scenes of two guys just standing there, arms extended and palms out, with a cheap lazer effect shooting out. It doesn't make for great action, but it's pretty damned charming.
Horror-wise? It's never all that scary - Satan is just a guy in a Halloween costume, and there is never anything that I would consider tense or unnerving. The group of 20 or so naked women that Satan keeps in a cage (...not sure why) probably is the most disturbing thing in the film. But there are a few bits of pretty well done gore that just come out of nowhere. Blink and you'll miss them, but they're cool. It's funny though - tonally the horror bits feel out of place. For a film filled with murder, attempted rape, Satan, and naked women in cages, The Killing of Satan kind of feels like a family fantasy film more than anything. Not that I would suggest watching it with your family, but there's a certain earnestness and lack of cynicism that keeps the tone mostly light, regardless of what's going on.
I guess the real-life snake abuse is legitimately disturbing. But sadly, I've seen enough 70s-80s Filipino exploitation films to more or less be used to a certain amount of animal abuse. There's nothing really graphic here, but I still hate that shit. I hope the part where Lando punches a snake a couple of times, ties it in a knot, and just chucks it agains the wall is a rubber snake, because it's pretty damned funny.
Anyways, The Killing of Satan is probably a wreck by any traditional standard of film criticism, but in terms of crazy cult exploitation film, it's a solid B. Definitely worth a watch if you're into that sort of thing. Plus Lando's denim jacket (!) and mustache are pretty sweet.
I would recommend this film.
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