'Satan Wants You' Shows How the Satanic Panic of the '80s Still Resonates

Directed by Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams

Photo courtesy of Hot Docs

BY Rachel HoPublished Aug 4, 2023

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Since watching Satan Wants You, I've been pondering what Michelle Smith and her therapist, Lawrence Pazder, wanted from their book, Michelle Remembers. Was it just fame and money, or did they have a genuine belief that they were doing God's work by sharing Smith's story? Either way, I can't imagine that either of them expected to start a movement that would spread throughout North America and ruin the lives of many in the process.

Michelle Remembers is a memoir of sorts for Smith, who claims that, through therapy sessions with Pazder, a repressed childhood trauma was revealed involving her mother handing Smith over to a Satanic cult who committed horrific acts of violence against the young girl. In the years since publication, many of the events and statements presented in the book have been discredited; however, at the time of its release in 1980, the book was a massive success.

Canadian filmmakers Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams's latest film, Satan Wants You, investigates the claims made in Michelle Remembers. The directors opted for to frame their film in the style of a true crime documentary from the '90s — a stylistic choice that works well with the book's time period. The chosen aesthetic also serves as a subtle send up of the current true crime trend and our perplexing desire to fetishize and glamorize the crimes of terrible people (and our innate penchant to believe the claims made in those series without question). 

Horlor and Adams avoid ironically falling into this same trap by not colouring Smith or Pazder with much sympathy. Although a reading of the situation could lend to Smith being labelled as a victim of Pazder's manipulation, it becomes clear through interviews with family and friends of Smith that she was seemingly a willing participant who relished in the fame her book afforded her.

Examining Michelle Remembers makes for an intriguing watch, but the most compelling aspect of Satan Wants You is Horlor and Adams's examination of what happened after. 

From Oprah to Sally, Smith's story was being shared via large platforms with an implicit warning: be careful, moms and dads, because Satanists are out there and they want your children. Smith and Pazder went on to become minor celebrities, repeating this warning in numerous interviews. In effect, Smith and Pazder's false assertions began what is now referred to as "Satanic panic."

This baseless but widespread fear captured the anxieties of the general public, resulting in many school teachers and childcare workers losing their jobs and becoming social pariahs following made-up accusations. In one instance, an American school teacher even served jail time before it was found the claims against her were false. 

At this point in the film, Horlor and Adams turn the camera towards the audience. Clips of Alex Jones, Pizzagate and QAnon are splashed across the screen in a montage that sends a poignant message: the Satanic panic may be over, but that flaw in human nature that allowed this movement to begin is still alive and well today. 

Notably, although the filmmakers do present an opinion, the film doesn't feel biased. Their arguments are laid out in a thoughtful and, more importantly, objective manner. All the more impressive is that, even with such an organized structure, Satan Wants You is very entertaining. Of course this is in part due to the subject matter being so outrageous, but Horlor and Adams make a concerted effort to engage their audience in different ways throughout the film. 

We'll never truly know what Smith and Pazder's goal was when they wrote Michelle Remembers and whether they have any remorse for the hellfire they caused; Pazder has since passed away and Smith chose not to participate in the film. But maybe it doesn't matter. Those two aren't the first to sell half-truths and even outright lies for a quick buck, and they certainly aren't the last.

In this respect, Satan Wants You almost feels like a plea from Horlor and Adams for future generations to finally learn from our past mistakes. Unfortunately, if the current state of affairs are anything to go off of, it appears that we're doomed to perpetuate this cycle of blind allegiance to those who shout the loudest.
(Game Theory Films)

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