Official trailer:
I found “Hail Satan?” on Hulu, and it is also streaming on various other services listed here:
http://www.magpictures.com/hailsatan/watch-at-home/
The film follows The Satanic Temple from its inception to its activities today, including a few growing pains along the way.
Simply put, The Satanic Temple is a bunch of Atheists who found standard Atheist organizations to be a bit dull at the same time as the Christian right seemed to be sneaking some questionable practices into law.
One of the more high profile projects has been confronting 10 Commandments monuments installed on government property, including disputes with Oklahoma and Arkansas. To drive home the point that the US is a secular nation, the organization has created a monument named “Baphomet,” and once one religious statue or monument is approved for display on government property, The Satanic Temple applies for a permit to place Baphomet on the property as well, demanding equal treatment under religious freedom laws.
Here’s Baphomet on a visit to the Little Rock, Arkansas State Capitol, where a 10 Commandments monument is also displayed.
All photos courtesy Magnolia Films.
Baphomet was met by angry protesters in Little Rock. Note the sign claiming “blasphemy is not free speech.”
The Satanic Temple members, many dressed in costume, showed up in Little Rock to support the placement of the Baphomet monument.
Lucien Greaves, the star of the show, mastermind and spokesman for The Satanic Temple, is a soft-spoken, intelligent and constitutionally and legally well-informed leader of the organization. When he spoke in Little Rock, he was advised to wear a bullet-proof vest.
The documentary takes an unexpected turn when one of the members who organized the Detroit Chapter went off the rails a bit in a public ceremony and was dismissed from The Satanic Temple all together. It’s an interesting segment in the flim.
The website explains in detail the difference between The Church of Satan and The Satanic Temple, as the two are often confused and have quite different missions. Neither actually believes in Satan, by the way.
The organization survives on donations and sale of merchandise. They are also active in legal action when necessary.
The film was featured at Sundance and has a 96 percent positive rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes.