★★★1/2

Though it spins its wheels with a dependence on repetitive information and restating previous points, Satan Wants You is an often jaw-dropping look at the “Satanic Panic” of the early-to-mid 1980s.

Having unwittingly attended a record burning bonfire on a random Sunday in the 1980s, while attending church with a friend in elementary school, the so-called “Satanic Panic” seemed fringe and silly to me - the work of religious extremists who, on this particular Sunday morning, believed heavy metal music was ruining the moral framework in America. Watching Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams’ documentary, turns out I was not completely wrong. Clearly though…I had zero idea how entrenched these views happened to be in the world surrounding 9-year-old me.

My friend Brian’s family, ironically, played rock music constantly in their house. That sweet, sweet sound of the needle drop on a vinyl record served as the prologue before Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” or Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours,” or any other number of classic rock and pop records Brian’s dad would play constantly on the turntable in the living room of their modest home.

I thought of Brian’s family while watching Satan Wants You because I still, to this day, have no idea why they let me accompany them to the parking lot bonfire. I wonder if they owned a copy of “Michelle Remembers,” the book which detailed housewife Michelle Smith revealing that, at the age of 5, her mother, an alleged secret member of a Satanic cult, gave her over to fellow cultists and allowed her to observe, be tortured, and/or participate in an abhorrent and depraved series of events, which included ritual sacrifices of babies, cannibalism, animal torture, and any other number of sordid, awful experiences.

What proves remarkable in watching Horlor and Adams’ film is how the parallels of claims of satanism in the 1980s mirrors the misinformation so pervasive in our culture today. Where we now have platforms to spread lies and falsehoods like Facebook, Twitter, Discord, Reddit, and countless other tools, this Satanic Panic took hold through a hungry news media and through the proliferation of daytime talk shows common in the time period.

I will say, there is something to be said about hearing Oprah tease an upcoming episode on “Satanism!"

An impressive array of talking heads keep the film informative and engaging. We hear from family members connected to both Smith and Dr. Larry Pazder (Smith’s psychiatrist), Pazder’s ex-wife Marylyn, who divorced him after his affair with Michelle came to light, and police and investigative journalists who worked, in real time, to address bizarre and reprehensible claims of satanic violence and acts happening in the country. Through copious (and rather dubious) footage of interviews, television programs, and coverage Smith’s story received, we see that human beings, by design, are apparently gullible and susceptible for falling for anything that seems salacious and provocative.

Eventually, as the film runs out of things to say about 15 minutes before the end credits, Satan Wants You also seems to miss an opportunity of digging a bit deeper into the book burning, record burning, and larger pop culture impressions which spun wildly out of control as Smith and Pazder’s book eventually buckled under intense scrutiny and deeper investigation.

In capturing a period of time where a large number of Americans seemed to lose their damn minds, Satan Wants You is a breezy, fun time capsule that gives us ample room for mockery before underscoring perhaps the most important takeaway, as one policeman reminds us, history is doomed to repeat itself.

Satan Wants You was screened as part of the 49th Seattle International Film Festival