Question for people who have seen this movie - Satan's Playground (2006) Discussion

[–] hauntedwoods 18 years ago

Kind of depends what you're looking for.. if you kind of liked his other flicks but couldn't get into the nightmare/abstract logic, you'll like this one more. It's got a much lusher look, bigger budget. More traditional story. Solid acting, etc. I like the weirder films more myself, but he got a nice budget for this one.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] spacemonkey_fg 18 years ago

Happy to hear that you enjoyed this movie g-ginnerson, I cant wait to see it myself. It will be available on August the 22nd on DVD, so Im going to purchase it as soon as its out! Cant wait!

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[–] dark-outskirts 18 years ago

I really haven't seen the other two films but if they have anything to do with this one I DON'T WANT TO!I really haven't seen a movie this bad in years,even the 6.4 rating makes me lautgh!It doesn't deserve more than 3...in my opinion,i apologise to the fans!

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[–] IconsofFright 18 years ago

I enjoyed both his first two films, but I think this one's by far his best yet. (A huge step up for Dante as a filmmaker.) If you enjoyed 'Desecration' and 'HORROR', you won't be disappointed with 'Satan's Playground'.

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[–] metallica1417 18 years ago

So if this is his best then I don't even want to know how bad the acting and plots were in his other films, you can find better acting and plots in porno flicks...

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[–] spacemonkey_fg 18 years ago

The thing is that this is more of an oldschool type of horror film. Its decidedly low tech. No MTV style editing, no hip young kids and not CGI. It tells its story without any over stylized distractions. I do admit that the film isnt perfect and it has some flaws, but all in all Id say it was a very solid horror film.

The performances from Ellen Sandweiss and Felissa Rose were great, they really conveyed that feeling of being put through hell. Irma St. Paul did a really good job as well as the crazy old Mrs. Leeds. And I loved Christie Sanfords demented mute.

Also the budget for this film was small, so you have to take that in consideration. Im really interested in seeing what Dante can do with a decent budget! Cause if he directed this one with a few hundread thousand...Im willing to bet that with a bit more cash he could cook up something really awesome. Still as it is I like Satans Playground oldschool charm.

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[–] duncreg 17 years ago

A larger budget might snare better actors, but it can't close glaring plot loopholes, create intelligent characters or suspense, unfortunately.

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[–] smerd_70 17 years ago

I grew up on old school horror films, and Satan's Playground felt nothing like old school horror. Felissa Rose's acting was truly awful(and I usually don't let cheesy acting in low budget horror films bother me) And I've seen horror films with same/or smaller budgets that impressed me far more than this.

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[–] daryavaush 13 years ago

I grew up on the Roger Corman type horror movies too - today, his stuff s watchable, poor Tomaselli, he makes attempts to transform horror into dark humor - and this one does have a few good moments of that dark humor - but the rest of the movie, I'll have to pass on.

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[–] hyxtryx 17 years ago

By metallica1417: So if this is his best then I don't even want to know how bad the acting and plots were in his other films

You're right, metallica, you don't. If you thought Satan's Playground was nonsensical and confusing, then you definitely wouldn't like Desecration and Horror. Don't watch 'em.

I happen to like all 3, and my favorite band is Metallica. Go figure!

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[–] ofumalow 15 years ago

These films are intended as abstract nightmares based on genre conventions, not as conventional horror movies. Their illogic and broad archetypal performances are deliberate. They should be taken as surreal meditations on/salutes to recent decades' horror classics. If you can't grok/enjoy that on its own terms--and admittedly his movies have been rather misleadingly marketed on dvd as straight-up horror--then you're not getting what he's doing. I really like it, but then I get a kick out of their abstract, semi-camp take on horror narrative, character and violence.

Tomaselli likes overdrawn situations and performances that would seem amateurish in a standard B-horror flick cuz they exaggerate horror genre tropes. Probably they seem amateurish anyway to many. But if you take "Satan's Playground" as a latterday fanboy's version of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," it all makes sense. This stuff isn't for the average horror fan--not to say you need to be smarter to "get it," but it definitely requires a certain culty avant-garde bent to be appreciated.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Falconeer 11 years ago

"Satan's Playground" is not as strong as Tomaselli's "Dececration," as it doesn't have that arthouse feel to it. "Desecration" is such a beautiful example of low-budget, super stylish Italian horror, it's hard to compete. But I must say, Playground is superior to "Horror" in every way. "Horror" tried to combine silly teen slasher elements with artistic vision, but it didn't really work there, aside from a few effective scenes. This film plays like straight on popcorn horror; a low budget (even lower budget than) ""Evil Dead." It is a lot of fun, and the laughs, whether intentional or not, help to make viewing an enjoyable experience, especially while watching with friends who love old school horror. and this one, like "Desecration" features the hypnotically OLD Irma St. Paul, who is known to be the oldest person alive still acting in film!

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

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