Review of The Brotherhood of Satan

This film seems to be a tad underrated on IMDb--it's not that bad a film despite the current 3.5 rating. However, the reviewer who gave it a 10 also shouldn't be trusted--believe me, this is not GONE WITH THE WIND or CASABLANCA--it's just a cheap but somewhat interesting horror flick! The film starts off very well and it really had me hooked with the concept. A family wanders into a small town where no one can leave due to some bizarre force and now that same force won't let the family leave as well! In addition, many adults have died in the last three days and their young children are missing. Apparently, a Satanic cult wishes to sacrifice these kids so that they may be immortal!! While this is original and very chilling, it did irritate me that despite all this, some townspeople laughed at the minister when he suggested that there were "supernatural powers afoot"--well DUUUUHH!!! Any idiot would have known that, but oddly the scared folks balk at his reasonable suggestion!! Unfortunately, from about that point on, the film kind of fizzled. Now it wasn't bad, but the momentum surely was lost and the whole thing ended in a big anti-climax. The film had a great idea but spotty writing and a few clichéd characters keep this one from being any better than a 5. Worth a look, but not exactly earth-shaking!