This 1970 documentary about Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan that was directed and produced by Ray Laurent, whose only other credits involve editing some films, including one of the Lemon Grove Kids films that Ray Dennis Steckler directed. Within this movie, there’s plenty of ritual footage, as well as interviews with LaVey, his family, church members and then his somewhat annoying neighbors and some priests and Mormon missionaries.

It’s really interesting to see how the people living next to LaVey saw things, less concerned about the people coming in and out than the upkeep and shingles of the Black House. This is a rare opportunity to see actual rituals of the early Church and hear from its members.

Also, the Church is very ahead of the cultural mores of the time — and even today — commenting on how they don’t tolerate homosexuality in the Church of Satan. Instead, they go further: “To tolerate is to infer they are different or less than, we just accept them as normal people because that’s exactly what they are.” Keep in mind this was made in 1970.

“Well, I had a man come to me the other day and he said that it was just terrible, when he joined the Satanic Church, he was masturbating just about every day, and now he’s masturbating two, and sometimes three, times a day, and he’s very happy, much happier than he’s ever been before.” – Anton Lavey

Director Ray Laurent also edited  The Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters and Body Fever and was the editorial consultant on Sappho Darling.

This had an X rating, probably for the nudity in the Black Mass scene.