The sleaziest biker movie youve never seen, Satans Sadists focuses on a gang called The Satans who, for no particular reason, descend on a diner and decide to kill everyone inside, with only a waitress and a Marine managing to escape. The rest of film is a cat-and-mouse game as the bikers set off in hot pursuit, and for a movie directed by Al Adamson, the maestro who gave us Blood of Ghastly Horror and Horror of the Blood Monsters, its surprisingly well done. Its coherent, its not patched together from at least 5 different movies and its never boring. When Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson Family shortly after the films release, Adamsons producing partner, Sam Sherman, decided to exploit the obvious marketing possibilities by tying his film in with the tragedy. According to Harry and Michael Medved, exhibitors were encouraged to bill the film as The real story of Californias Sadistic Tate/Manson Hippie Cult, a move that paid off with $10,000,000 in worldwide grosses from a $50,000 investment.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
