Charlie’s Angels Meet The Satanic Panic In This Underrated Gem [Watch]
Welcome to The Overlooked Motel, a place where under-seen and unappreciated films are given their moment in the spotlight. I hope you enjoy your stay here and find the accommodations to be suitable. Now, please take a seat and make yourself comfortable. I have some misbehaving guests to ‘correct.’
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This week’s recommendation is an atmospheric made-for-TV horror picture steeped in satanic panic. The film certainly has its flaws. It’s a little cheesy at times. And the performances are often campy. But I think the picture’s shortcomings are more than made up for by what does work. And there is plenty the film gets right. Satan’s School for Girls serves up some genuinely frightening sequences. The proceedings are steeped in an air of paranoia, and the thematic elements get surprisingly dark on occasion. Not to mention, the picture stars two future Charlie’s Angels: Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd.
When Elizabeth’s (Pamela Franklin) sister Martha (Terry Lumley) turns up dead under mysterious circumstances, the young woman goes undercover at the private school her late sibling was attending. Initially, everything seems to be in order at the Salem Academy for Women. But under closer inspection, Elizabeth begins to suspect that sinister forces are at play. But who will believe her and who can she trust?!
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Satan’s School for Girls starts out with a bang. An air of paranoia is present from the get-go. The frantic opening successfully sets the stage for the horrors to come. We quickly realize that not everyone is who they say they are. And that makes it nearly impossible for Elizabeth to trust anyone. That lack of clarity also serves to add to the overall intensity. As the narrative progresses, the uneasiness continues to build, coming to a head in the third act.
Some fans of the film have pointed out that this picture may have served as a loose inspiration for Dario Argento’s Suspiria. Though I have no idea if that’s true or not, there are a handful of surface similarities between the two. Both share the basic premise of an all-female private school run by supernatural entities. While Suspiria certainly executes on the premise more effectively, Satan’s School for Girls still has a lot to offer.
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One of the picture’s greatest strengths is that it’s surprisingly dark for its time. The ‘70s were much more puritanical. So, the very idea that a film about schoolgirls selling their souls to Satan was broadcast on network television in 1972 is a bit unexpected.
Surprising as it may be for the time period, that conceit is used to great effect here. There’s something very eerie about the way the Dark Lord targets and ultimately preys on vulnerable young women, luring them into a life of darkness. The utter devotion of those ultimately revealed as loyal to him is sinister, as if they’ve lost the ability to think for themselves.
Also eerie is the way director David Lowell Rich makes effective use of stormy nights and low lighting to create a level of atmospheric tension. That coupled with the cold and uninviting college campus sets gives this made-for-TV chiller an imposing quality.
The sequences that see Elizabeth traipsing around the campus in the middle of the night, investigating by the light of a gas lamp, are legitimately frightening. The lack of light lets our imagination run wild. Not being able to see what might be lurking in the shadows adds to the ever-present sense of unease. Those sequences are further intensified by a simplistic but highly effective score that helps ratchet up the tension even more.
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The film also deserves credit for serving up some misdirection and a handful of interesting twists. While the final reveal isn’t exactly a staggering realization, it still serves as an interesting development that packs a certain amount of surprise. Chances are you’ll put some of the pieces together before all is revealed. But you likely won’t see everything coming. I know I didn’t have it all pegged the first time I experienced the picture.
Aside from serving as an atmospheric and twisty effort, I also appreciate Satan’s School for Girls as an enjoyable exercise in nostalgia. The set design, wardrobe, hairstyles, and dialogue all make this a sentimental time capsule likely to appeal to anyone with a soft spot for the output of the ‘70s.
Finally, I appreciate that Satan’s School for Girls never outstays its welcome. It’s relatively short, even for a made-for-television film. It clocks in under 75 minutes, making it the perfect length for breezy seasonal viewing.
On the whole, Satan’s School for Girls is an effectively chilling exercise in satanic panic. Though it’s not a perfect film, there’s still plenty to appreciate about it. If you are curious to check the flick out for yourself, you can find it streaming for free (with ads) on Tubi, Plex, and Wicked Horror TV.
That’s all for this installment of The Overlooked Motel. If you want to chat more about under-seen and underrated films, feel free to hit me up with your thoughts on Twitter, Threads, or Instagram.
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