Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

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

lastliberal It seemed like a stereotypical dysfunctional family, presumably Italian-American, on a trip through the woods in New Jersey. They break down and, like the back roads of Texas, they come upon things they should have left alone.Felissa Rose seemed more like the daughter than the wife, but I'll play along. If Frank (Salvatore Paul Piro) can get a wife like that, there is hope for me.Major screams from Felissa Rose, putting her at the head of the class as a Scream Queen.Creepy, bloody, suspenseful fun makes for a good scary pic with some very weird characters.

UltimaDeplete This movie was so goddamn AWFUL that even thinking about it now makes me wince in pain.The acting is terrible. So...very terrible...not one of the people in this movie can act...Acting is not one of their talents, they have no acting ability, acting is beyond their limited talents, I know dead fish who had more liberating careers yadda yadda. Trust me.The story is really...meh...It's badly written, uninspired and the storyline really is pathetic, disjointed and altogether boring.It has the typical stupid plot points, where people do stupid things and you lose all respect for them as characters.Can I mention the terrible acting again? - It was painful...seriously...I mean...I wish I could find more to complain about but there's so little substance to the film and all the people in it that there's literally nothing left to say about it, apart from, Whatever you do, DO NOT watch this film unless you enjoy the slow and painful melting of your own brain as you sit through the most retarded and pathetic attempt at movie making you will ever witness.I'm doing this to save people from wasting a good 90 minutes of precious, precious life.

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."