Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Bloodwank When I first started really using IMDb I used to think it a bit weird that Dante Tomaselli films got such low ratings. Long before I frequented this site I read praising reviews of each one on one of the other sites I use to feed my interest and always thought he was some kind of indie notable even without seeing his films, only to read the round disdain on here and be rather shaken. Actually watching them though, it all becomes clear. I don't mean this in a derogatory sense, but his films are very much an acquired taste even within the realms of low budget independent horror. Still, I liked his earlier Desecration and I like this one as well. Satan's Playground tells what one might think is among the most standard of stories, a family travelling through the woods suffer a breakdown, only to find in searching for help that bad, bad things await in the woods. At first a crazed matriarch and her retarded spawn seem the main problem, but there's more out there than that. What with a bunch of cultists and an unseen flying menace (clearly Evil Dead inspired) along with a crazy family and the whole lost in the woods paranoia bit, all or at least most of the backwoods terror bases are covered. The interesting thing is that other than a connection between said crazy matriarch and the flying beast (its the Jersey Devil and the classic mythology is referred to) there isn't really anything holding the assorted menaces together, its just a matter of this stretch of wood being infested with bad stuff and our luckless family lumbering into it all. Now one of the biggest criticisms of the film is that the characters act like morons. They do. In a film aiming for some kind of relative realism the character actions would be indefensible from a critical point of view but I don't think that is the intention here. Rather Satan's Playground seems an effort to be backwoods horror at its purest, all logic and realism, all the connective tissue of sanity and relatable decisions boiled away to fetid skeleton. Strange, unpleasant things happen and the cast is mindlessly drawn in because the film isn't about the characters but the horror show. In fact with the number of times people say "I'll be right back" or variants thereof, events seem a smiling embracement of clichéd illogic. Of course any claims about point or purpose will come down to whether you dig the style. For me, though Tomaselli is undoubtedly flawed as a writer he has a real flair as a director. Cool aerial shots, smart compositions, well dispersed jolts and the odd passage of suspense, its a well handled ride with virtual roller-coaster pace. I was reminded a little of House of 1000 Corpses and even The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the sense of gleeful insanity, though unfortunately also in the lack of gore. Like both of those films Satan's Playground really needed significant graphic punch, but it only achieves it once with a sweet throat slicing. Outside of that there isn't much bloodshed at all though, practically criminal as there are a few stabbings and lots of hammer blows to heads. Its a real shame as with more on screen nastiness this could have been a gem, but it just feels a bit defanged. At least the cast give their all, on the side of the angels Ellen Sandweiss and particularly Felissa Rose get put through a bit of a wringer and acquit themselves with compelling power. The villains are better though, Edwin Neal a creepy pleasure with his limited screen time as a creepy retard, Christie Sanford unsettling as his sister and veteran Irma St. Paul a blast in one of her last few roles as evil Mrs. Leeds. One of the more memorable crazed old ladies I've seen in a while, her doddery derangement is thoroughly watchable and even chilling. The sound design and scoring is on the money as well, creaks, cracks and cries effective and music of macabre lullabies, carnival mania and mournful drones. Its a classy package, but the aforementioned lack of gore really hurts it, as does absent character development and a somewhat weak close. Still, as a fan of weird low budget horror this one definitely satisfied my cravings, strong 6/10

italianm I have been watching Dante Tomaselli movies since the late 1990s, when Tomaselli released his Catholic horror film "Desecration," at a time when horror was just starting to make its huge comeback following nearly 10 years of slumber. "Desecration" was a chilling low-budget film and, for its price, a real masterpiece.Tomaselli followed it up fairly quickly with "Horror", which followed some of the same themes of "Desecration." In both films, characters take a slow descent into a real underworld of horror where evil just simply seems to take a grip on reality.With "Satan's Playground," Tomaselli takes advantage of the New Jersey forestland to make his most accessible horror film yet...Tomaselli knows how to exploit the eeriness of the New Jersey woods for maximum effect, giving the film some Blair Witch/Evil Dead-style moments. Best yet, the total lack of CGI makes you think you're watching a movie from the 1980s. What I like about Satan's Playground is that it is unpredictable, and evokes an eerie sense of hopelessness absent in so many horror films today. The cinematography, music and some of the gore effects are brilliant. They don't make 'em like this anymore, folks. At least nobody but Tomaselli does.

stmichaeldet Wow.I have to say, I've seen a lot of bad films in my time, but not many that can rival Satan's Playground. And, it's not a good kind of bad, either. More like the "shake your head sadly and pity everyone involved" kind of bad.The plot is simply a basic, Texas Chainsaw ripoff. A group of people are stranded in the middle of nowhere and are killed one after another by a family of inbred mutant hicks. Of course, in TCM, the inbreds had to work a bit to take down their prey; in this movie, the victims are dim enough to walk straight up to the horror house one at a time, knock on the door, and ask to use the phone. One right after another, like clockwork. Oh, and there's a lurking monster - the Jersey Devil - thrown in to pick off the stragglers. Just don't expect JD to actually put in an on-camera appearance; that, apparently, was too much effort for this production.But don't worry about the plot so much; most likely, you'll be too distracted by the atrocious casting to worry about it. Our victims, far as I can tell, are a family unit - Mom, Dad, Sis, Sis' baby, and Autistic Bro. Took forever to figure that out, though, since Dad looks about 45-50, Mom looks like she's in her late twenties, Sis looks about 30, while A-Bro is established at 18, and looks about 23. The baby, however, is convincingly infantile. Much like the rest of this flick. (Yeah, I know it's a cheap shot, but can you blame me?) After you've wrapped your head around that, then you can marvel at how... busy the middle of nowhere is. As mentioned above, we've got four separate scenes of the principles wandering up to Casa Mutata, plus another, totally unrelated and irrelevant stranded woman pounding on the door (and basically being told to stand in line behind the rest of the movie if she wants killin'), random Satanists coming up on the weekend to perform unholy rites in the inbreds' front yard, a cop who seems to be patrolling in area (and doesn't bother to check out the stranded vehicle stuck not 20 yards from where he parked), and several cars driving up and down the backwoods dirt roads. One of which won't even slow down to help a fleeing victim.Nothing hangs together, or even appears to be trying to make any sense. Even if you're a fan of the badfilm, I'd recommend you take a pass on this one.

Anthony Laura It's been a long time since I rented a horror movie that simply looked scary. Satan's Playground stars some of horrors best known stars. I am not one of the biggest fans of the Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw movies. However, I decided to give this film a watch. Upon the first few minutes of the film, I was immediately taken in. The way the film catches you from the beginning moments right up until the fade out to the credits is something that rarely happens with a film in this genre. Many people, I've read in reviews, have been turned away from this film because they think it is generalized with Evil Dead-type films. Please do not be fooled by this in any way. The truth is the psychological version of this film far beats the horror elements. If I had to make a fair comparison I would say it has the psychological elements of Halloween and the scare factors of Rosemary's Baby. Taking place in the New Jersey area, and following the characters whose subplots are just as interesting as what's happening in front of you, peels back every layer of horror in a reality based environment. Tomaselli is a genius and should go on record as becoming the next Craven in horror masters. He knows how to captivate his audience. Most importantly, he knows exactly what to leave out and lets the subtext speak for itself. As an avid moviegoer myself, I buy movies regularly, as opposed to most people who just rent. If there's one thing I can say for certain about this film is that this will go in my collection under "Things to Watch on October 31st/and Friday the 13th."