The Wild Sounds of Satan's Sadists!

By the late '60s, the Hollywood studio system was crumbling and independent filmmakers were invading drive-ins with a vengeance. Many actors found themselves without studio contracts, and they had to seek work elsewhere. That probably explains how Russ Tamblyn (WEST SIDE STORY, THE HAUNTING) wound up starring in a biker flick... a film which killed his movie career.

SATAN'S SADISTS is the story of The Satans, an outlaw biker gang led by badass Anchor (Tamblyn). When their shenanigans result in murder, the gang heads for the hills (literally) to silence the only witnesses to their crime.

Harley Hatcher's instrumental theme for "Firewater" sums up the movie perfectly -- it's essentially a western in the guise of a biker flick, and was shot at Spahn Ranch (where the Manson family resided at the time), which was also used for locations on many classic westerns. Dubbed "The Citizen Kane of biker films," the film falls into some of the usual trappings of the bad drive-in b-movie, most notably in the script, which is riddled with unintentionally (??) hilarious dialogue. However, some of the performances are good, the soundtrack is awesome and there's some genuinely beautiful cinematography and inventively arty camerawork. The film was sold on the angle that it was very violent... and it's not your usual phony b-movie violence. Some of the images are extremely realistic and were probably pretty disturbing for 1969 audiences. At the very least, it's the first film to depict someone drowning in a toilet. SATAN'S SADISTS was successful (many cite it as director Al Adamson's best film) and a sequel was planned (also starring Tamblyn) but the sequel was completely restructured at the last minute, most of the footage with the bikers was cut, and it was ultimately released as the schlockterpiece DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN (!!).


The music for the film was composed by Harley Hatcher and performed by Hatcher, Paul Wibier and the Nightriders. It's hard to pin down a style because it's a mixture -- a little bubblegum, a little acid rock, some groovy instrumentals -- and it's very much of its time. The album's not easy to come by (I saw a sealed copy of it sell for $150 last year) and despite months of looking, I was never able to find the complete album for download anywhere... until now, just in time for the 40th anniversary of the movie! This is my own vinyl rip with a couple extras; 320 kbps.


01. Satan (Theme) - Paul Wibier
02. Gotta Stop That Feeling - The Nightriders
03. Nice Set... (dialogue)
04. Is It Better to Have Loved and Lost? - Paul Wibier
05. I'm On My Way Out - The Nightriders
06. Firewater - Harley Hatcher
07. I Like the Way You Work - The Nightriders
08. Baby How I Fell For You - The Nightriders
09. Anchor's Speech (dialogue) - Russ Tamblyn
10. Love in the Afternoon - Harley Hatcher
11. Can You Dig It? - Harley Hatcher
12. Traces of Love - Harley Hatcher
13. The Chase Is On - Harley Hatcher
14. Born Mean - The Nightriders
15. Vietnam (dialogue)
16. Satan (Alternate Version)
17. Radio Spot (30 second)
18. Radio Spot (15 second)

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
RapidShare, Sharebee, MultiUpload, Box

It's worth noting that the Troma DVD is out of print and not worth eBay scalper prices. In 2010 it was re-released as a Region 0 disc by Alpha Video -- seemingly with the same extras from the Troma disc -- and it sells for under $10. You can buy it at Oldies.com.

Remember! When vacationing in the desert, it's probably best not to sunbathe topless or to offer food to strangers. Make sure to avoid getting sand in your carburetor, and watch out for snakes. But enjoy your trip!

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