Review: Satan’s Little Helper
Blu-ray: Satan’s Little Helper (2004)
Making its UK Blu-ray debut thanks to it being the 2nd release by UK Boutique label Treasured Films (make sure to read my review of their 1st release The Last Hunter), Satan’s Little Helper is a low budget shocker with a vein of silly humour running through it.
9 year old Dougie (Alexander Brickel) loves playing the video game ‘Satan’s Little Helper’, and when his big sister Jenna (Katheryn Winnick) comes to visit her boyfriend Alex (Stephen Graham) at Halloween, the lines between reality and the video game seem to blur.
Jealous of the time and attention Jenna is giving to Alex (because he has a crush on her!), Dougie goes out and meets someone in a strange Halloween mask who is arranging body parts, seemingly as a Halloween decoration. His obsession with the video game coming to the fore, and thinking that the masked person is indeed Satan, Dougie asks if he can be his ‘little helper’.
Accepting this offer, both Satan and his new helper begin a killing spree which includes all manner of kills, including banging a cats head against a wall and writing “BOO” on the wall in its blood. However, when the killing turns to Dougie’s family, he begins to realise that everything in real life isn’t as simple as it is in video games and can lead to terrible consequences…The Daily Mail and its readers would have a field day with this movie.
Despite there being quite a few kills, the gore isn’t excessive and most times there is a dark thread of humour running through everything as the blood begins to flow, and while the low budget is evident in the effects and the production design, writer/director Jeff Lieberman keeps everything moving along at a decent pace with a narrative that keeps you guessing as to what crazy thing could happen next.
It does all begin to drag a little towards the end and Brickel does become a bit one dimensional (he was only 9 though), but the rest of the cast seem to be really getting into the silly premise of everything and going with it, though when Katheryn Winnick changes into her revealing Halloween costume, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking “I accidentally grabbed those boobs!”…full story here).
A decent little indie horror that would otherwise have passed me by if it wasn’t for Treasured Films.
Limited Edition Contents
- Double-walled slipcase with exclusive artwork by Mariano Mattos.
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jon Towlson and Justin Kerswell.
- Webstore exclusive double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Mariano Mattos (first 1,000 units only).
- Webstore exclusive 3 double-sided art cards (first 1,000 units only).
Special Features:
- High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation.
- Uncompressed Stereo English audio.
- English SDH subtitles.
- Audio Commentary from Director Jeff Lieberman.
- Audio Commentary from The Hysteria Continues!
- Behind The Mask, a 15-minute video essay by film critic and author Jon Towlson.
- Home Invasion, a 48-minute online interview with Director Jeff Lieberman.
- Behind-the-Scenes footage.
- Trailer.
- Image Gallery.
- Reversible sleeve offering two original artwork choices.
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Treasured Films.
