Satan's Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.5

Satan's Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie Review

"Ra ra" is only going to invoke Egyptian deities, dimwit.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 17, 2017

Yvonne De Carlo was one of a group of “yesterday’s stars” who got to strut their stuff in the legendary Stephen Sondheim musical Follies in its original Broadway incarnation. De Carlo played the blowsy chorine Carlotta, and she got to sing what has become one of the best known songs from the score, and indeed Sondheim’s entire output, “I’m Still Here” (which Shirley MacLaine memorably “covered” in the film version of Postcards from the Edge). Sondheim’s lyric was typically trenchant, but it included a verse that seemed tailor made for De Carlo herself:

Black sable one day, next day it goes into hock, but I'm here
Top billing Monday, Tuesday, you're touring in stock, but I'm here
First you're another sloe-eyed vamp
Then someone's mother, then you're camp
Then you career from career to career
I'm almost through my memoirs, and I'm here

By the time De Carlo appeared in Follies in the early seventies, she had seen her career go from sexy exotic roles in a string of B-movies to higher profile parts in films like The Ten Commandments to, infamously, a role where she was both someone’s mother and camp, Lily in The Munsters.

De Carlo was in what some might call her “ What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? phase” when Satan’s Cheerleaders came out in 1977, having been consigned to, yes, campy roles in a series of low grade horror films, a trend which would continue for the actress for several years, at least intermittently. By any standard Satan’s Cheerleaders is pretty silly stuff, but it at least has the good sense to not take itself very seriously, something that helps to elevate the not quite ready for prime time performance acumen of much of the younger cast, but which ultimately can’t really save the film from being a pretty ridiculous mess.

The film kind of gives up the (demonic?) ghost from the get go by revealing that a local Sheriff (John Ireland) may be worshipping something other than your ordinary everyday “good god” (so to speak). That deprives the film of one central surprise once a gaggle of high school cheerleaders and their faculty advisor Ms. Johnson (Jacqueline Cole) are more or less kidnapped by school janitor Billy (Jack Kruschen), who just so happens to be a practicing Satanist and who doesn’t like the way all the kids make fun of him. (Just for good measure, Billy also has a secret little peep hole in a storage closet that allows him to spy on the naked cheerleaders in their locker room.)

Up until that point, Satan’s Cheerleaders has played almost like a bizarre mash up of elements from the old Frankie and Annette “beach” movies like Beach Blanket Bingo and “secret coven” outings like Rosemary's Baby, which in and of itself may be enough to recommend this odd entry to some. The film quickly documents the underlying rowdiness of both the cheerleaders and (of course) the football players, but the whole Satanic element is such a gonzo addition to this basic plot formulation that the film struggles to weave things together into something amounting to an organic whole.

The film is so filled with amateurish performances that line readings that even have a semblance of normalcy become something to celebrate. Chief among the “less accomplished” performances is that of Kerry Sherman as cheerleader Patti, who seems to have an inherent “connection” to that underground villain, and whose perhaps telepathic communications with something Devilish surprise even hapless Billy. Sherman’s “performance” is really outrageously funny if one approaches it with the right jaded sensibility, but the fact is aside from old pros like De Carlo and Ireland (along with John Carradine, who has what amounts to a glorified cameo), she’s surrounded by folks who offer characterizations that might be more at home in a junior high school play than a feature film (even Kruschen struggles in this film, and he was Academy Award nominated for The Apartment, for crying out loud).

There are whole major plot points left dangling in this enterprise, but the upshot seems to be those nasty Satanists need a bonafide virgin in order to make some kind of sacrifice, but as has already been alluded to in this somewhat salacious film, these particular cheerleaders may not fill that particular bill. The entire film builds to a completely lunatic “climax” that reveals an unexpected “pure” woman but which leaves Patti’s peculiar “talents” largely unexplained. At least it looks like the football team isn’t going to have any problem winning the season.

Kind of weirdly, Satan’s Cheerleaders offers a couple of other actors who had parts in legendary musicals, and two of those share a connection to one of the most iconic stars of stage and screen of her generation, one Barbra Streisand. Kruschen co-starred in the musical that gave Streisand her big break, Harold Rome’s I Can Get It For You Wholesale (he later did the West End run of Promises, Promises, the musical version of The Apartment). Sydney Chaplin, featured here in what was evidently his last feature film, famously co-starred as Nicky Arnstein with Streisand in the original Broadway run of Funny Girl, earning the enmity of Streisand to the point that he was evidently never even considered for the film version. It’s too bad that co-writer and director Greydon Carter decided not to make Satan’s Cheerleaders a musical. That would have been something to see.

Satan's Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Satan's Cheerleaders is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of VCI with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The back cover of this release touts a "new 2K scan from the original 35mm negative", and as can be seen in the Main Menu screenshot in location 20 accompanying this review, the Blu-ray release comes with two versions, "Restored" and "Original Transfer". Unfortunately, VCI hasn't provided any further information on what these labels mean, and it's interesting to note that some aspects which are routinely corrected in "restorations", like noticeable wobble during the credits, have not been addressed in this particular "restored" version. What is noticeable is the absence of several larger blemishes that dot the "Original Transfer" version, but again, even this tends to be a hit or miss proposition, since even the "Restored" version has damage, mostly in the form of smaller specks that can be spotted especially in the darker scenes, and which also has at least moments of what looks like print through that afflict the "Original Transfer" as well. The "Restored" version arguably has better saturated color, at least (again) intermittently, with some of the early beach scenes looking a bit better saturated than the "Original Transfer". Probably one of the better aspects of these transfers is the palette (even in the "Original Transfer"), which often pops quite agreeably. On the other hand, one of the biggest issues is the variant grain field. There are moments when quite a bit of grain can be spotted, typically in establishing shots that offer clear views of bright blue skies, but both the "Original Transfer" and "Restored" version have what sure looks like high frequency filtering, something that makes me think the "Original Transfer" is not a raw scan of the negative. Pay attention, for example, late in the film when De Carlo is summoning Satan in a darkened environment, and while you can clearly see damage "roll" through the frame (especially in the "Original Transfer" version), there's not much, if any, grain to be spotted. Both versions are generally very soft looking, even in relative close-ups, as can be seen in any of the screenshots accompanying this review. Both versions also show at least minor density fluctuations. Fine detail is also fairly limited, and both versions have a slightly plastic, digital look to them. Trivia lovers may be interested to note that this was an early credit for Dean Cundey, though there's little of his patented lighting acumen on display.

Note: Screenshots 1 - 10 are from the "Restored" version. Screenshots 11 - 19 are from the "Original Transfer" version.

Satan's Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Satan's Cheerleaders features an LPCM 2.0 mono mix that has some fairly recurrent age related wear and tear, including hiss, and the occasional pop and crackle. The entire track is pretty boxy sounding and occasionally lapses into distortion, especially during some cues but even with regard to dialogue (though maybe De Carlo is supposed to sound something like Mrs. Stephen Hawking when she's summoning the Devil late in the film). With the film's general lo-fi ambience in mind, there's nothing too overly problematic here, but there's similarly not much to impress.

Satan's Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary Track with Director Greydon Clark


• Commentary Track with genre film director David DeCoteau and film historian an djournalist David Del Valle


• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (1080p; 3:01)

Satan's Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is one of those kind of sad affairs where you actually feel sorry for some of the vaunted stars of yesteryear who had to do something like this to put bread and butter on the table. There's no denying that Satan's Cheerleaders has a sense of humor about itself, which is probably its chief saving grace, but unfortunately a lot of what's funniest here is unintentional stuff like unbelievably poor line readings by a seemingly unprepared cast. The commentary tracks included on this release are quite engaging and may be the real calling card for fans. Video and audio could both use improvement, but will probably suffice for the hardiest aficionado, for those considering a purchase.