Satan Wants You Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Satan Wants You Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 7, 2025

Satanic Panic was all the rage in the 1980s, putting tabloid television and a multitude of grifters to the test as they worked to exploit the fears of suburbanites trying to make sense of their media-manipulated world. “Satan Wants You” is a documentary exploring ground zero of the phenomenon, highlighting the success of the 1980 book, “Michelle Remembers,” the literary weapon that inspired a whole decade of panic and exploitation. Directors Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor want in on the rush of terror, out to craft an unsettling understanding of a calculated manipulation that snowballed into a national nightmare. “Satan Wants You” tries to be overly dramatic to support the mood of the subject matter, but it occasionally veers into ridiculousness, which doesn’t help the semi-interesting tale of deception that’s presented here.

In the 1970s, Michelle Smith had a number of emotional issues, requiring help to sort through her troubled mind. She found relief with Lawrence Pazder, a psychiatrist offering his undivided attention to the young woman, willing to engage in lengthy therapy sessions to help navigate the maze of her memories. During this time, Lawrence connected to Michelle’s recollections of abuse, assisting her as she found her way to a stolen childhood where she was subjected to hideous torture at the hands of a Satanic cult, offered to the group by her mother. Sensing an opportunity, Lawrence elected to turn tapes of therapy into a 1980 book titled “Michelle Remembers,” soon putting the pair on the promotional circuit to sell the work. The writing quickly took off as a best seller, turning Lawrence and Michelle into media figures and law enforcement consultants, welcoming the publicity of “Michelle Remembers” as it becomes a fixture in literary and television circles.

What initially drove Michelle to seek Lawrence isn’t entirely clear in “Satan Wants You,” as the filmmakers mostly focus on the help she was receiving for her mental issues. The pair began therapy sessions in 1976, and hours and hours of these intimate conversations were recorded, tracking Michelle’s growing hysteria as she connected to long dormant memories of horrific treatment. Lawrence probed deeply into these years, pushing Michelle to recognize what was happening to her, eventually reaching recollections of the “feast of the beast” and other Satanic rituals.

Instead of analyzing such a breakthrough for medical purposes, Lawrence elected to turn the situation into a book, and “Satan Wants You” follows the development of the title, as the psychiatrist gave transcription duties to Cheetie, one of Michelle’s friends, who, amazingly, actually sits down for an interview in the film, unbothered by her participation in a possible con game. This “reliving process” for Michelle was handed the national spotlight, and the directors follow how willing the patient and doctor were willing to sell their story to anyone who would give them media exposure. “Satan Wants You” attempts to provide some foundation for this turn of events, identifying Lawrence’s interest in African cults, but there’s a more realistic explanation provided, identifying the 1976 television film “Sybil” as the possible inspiration for Lawrence’s ambition to reach fame, working with Michelle to take her story to the masses.

Twists and turns are limited in “Satan Wants You,” but that doesn’t stop Adams and Horlor from trying to squeeze as much suspense out of the tale as possible. They offer the usual in documentary structure, putting craziness first before gradually exposing the reality behind the situation. The mystery of Lawrence’s decisions mostly drives the story, as a seemingly well-adjusted man of medicine suddenly decided to abandon his wife, Marylyn, and children to focus exclusively on Michelle, presenting a professional front throughout their time together. Of course, there was more to this pairing than just therapy, and even such private encounters weren’t exactly normal, as the patient periodically ended up in her underwear, held by her doctor.

“Satan Wants You” is most interesting when it starts to dig into the book’s release, with the Catholic Church maintaining possible financial interest in the work, which would certainly help increase churchgoers and interest in the promotion of organized religion. And there’s the rise of Satanic Panic, putting Michelle and Lawrence on a publicity tour that would trigger copycat stories and bring daytime trash television to a whole new audience, with the likes of Geraldo and Oprah doing their part to cash-in on a craze. Police understanding of the situation is tracked, as FBI expert Ken discusses his position in the middle of the madness, watching as reports of Satanic activity spiked during the 1980s. Michelle and Lawrence were even brought in to act as experts, helping police sort through the mysteries of other sexual abuse cases with alleged cult origins, including the horrors of the McMartin preschool investigation in 1984.

“Satan Wants You” collects a good number of interviewees to help illuminate the relationship between Lawrence (who died in 2004) and Michelle (who, naturally, doesn’t participate in the documentary). There are experts and family members, and most identify a growing obsession between the doctor and patient, who collaborated on “Michelle Remembers” for different reasons, riding their fame for as long as possible. Insight is mostly offered into these damaged people, and pain from their actions remain for a few, but Adams and Horlor tend to pull away from a deeper understanding of betrayal, offering a more sensationalized take on the subject. And one that, amazingly, villainizes Lawrence and remains sympathetic to Michelle. This unusual understanding of the central situation almost deserves a movie of its own.

Satan Wants You Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation provides a sharp look at interviewees, exploring the textures of age and clothing choices. Media clips are decently balanced, utilizing some AI tinkering with photos and television recordings. Color is crisp, capturing moodier hues with interview segments looking to set a spookier tone. Deeper browns and grays are exact. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Where the viewing experience really runs into trouble is compression, which repeatedly falls apart, leading to heavy banding and some posterization.

Satan Wants You Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA delivers sharp voices during interview segments, keeping thoughts clear and dramatic. Old therapy session recordings are agreeably cleaned up, but retain age. Scoring provides crisp instrumentation and support.

Satan Wants You Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet contains an essay by Heather Drain.

• And a Trailer (1:48, HD) is included.

Satan Wants You Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Without Michelle's participation in "Satan Wants You," the story can only go so far before it runs out of perspective. Debunking begins in 1987, putting the details of "Michelle Remembers" to the test, and failure is immediate, as people, including Marylyn, set out to actually research these claims (but not the publisher?), coming up with giant holes in the story, or flat-out lies. The helmers don't go into legal or emotional ramifications from these revelations, preferring to remain slightly mysterious to stay with the eeriness of occult influence. It starts to play pretty ridiculous as the picture concludes, and resolution is also an issue, as the feature doesn't offer a satisfying conclusion that wraps up the many ideas presented throughout the endeavor. "Satan Wants You" has a compelling story to follow, but it ultimately chooses to be spooky instead of fully journalistic, replicating Lawrence and Michelle's modus operandi to keep viewers interested.