Comeuppance Reviews Jonah Johnson (Elarton) and his wife Isabelle (Carol) are Southern televangelists. They are also con artists, and when their game is discovered, they high-tail it out of the south in a hurry. They travel to L.A. and set up shop in an old dilapidated house, which they then proceed to renovate into their new church/home. Going whichever way the wind blows, they sense the tenor of the times and open a church of Satan called the "Church of Latter-Day Sins". The church becomes successful, and while Isabelle wants to bilk people for all their worth, Jonah, who after all is still actually a devoted Christian, has second thoughts. But still he dons a ridiculous black leotard and slaughters goats in their basement. While the place is swarmed by terrified plumbers, squatting "punkers", an IRS agent, and a Rabbi who warn of the evil within, will the Johnsons continue on, or will they pack up and move like they did before? You may have noticed that this is not an action movie. But in our quest to become the ultimate AIP site, we have to include items like this. We thought it was ACTION International Pictures, but perhaps here they were trying to expand their base and include a comedy. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, but the problem with many horror comedies, this one included, is that it's neither funny nor scary. It's hard to tell the intended audience the filmmakers were going for here. While in theory we would enjoy an anti-PC movie such as this - it takes shots at Christians, Jews, Mexicans, Southerners, trendy L.A.-dwellers, the aforementioned Punkers and just about everyone else in between, but somehow none of the jokes really hit, they lack bite or edge. But what's interesting about Speak of the Devil is that it is a satire of not just the televangelism trend of the 80's, but also the Satanism trend of the 80's. It kills two birds with one stone, and that seems to be the strength of the film.It does have something of a behind-the-scenes exploitation pedigree, as co-writer/co-producer/director Nussbaum and co-producer Henning Schellerup (with 'Script Contributions' by Scott Spiegel) have noted careers for B-movie fans, but even with some exploitation elements, the result is surprisingly mediocre. The project could have had potential if they went all-horror or all-comedy, but this mix is middling. Plus at 100 minutes it's too long. You really feel every minute. So while spoofing Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, as well as Anton LaVey, was certainly the film's main focus, the most interesting jab came when some characters on screen make fun of Cannon Films. Calling it "Uzi Films", it mocks their head honchos by re-naming them "Golem and Bogus". Though surely it was meant only for hardcore fans like us, we thought that was the most worthwhile moment in the movie. We wish they did more jokes like that, rather than some stupidity about a clogged toilet.While we've seen much worse, in all honesty you could probably skip Speak of the Devil.For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

Brian Shovlin I thought this film was great I just wish I could find it on DVD somewhere everywhere I go no one has even heard of this film so hopefully ill get it one day.I haven't seen this film in years and I would love to see it again even buy it on DVD...so if anyone knows where I can buy the film please let me know...the story I think was a great idea yes it was a bit tacky but loads of films are and they are great and become so called legend films.. I hear they are making a remake so I hope they do it justice and make it a good film with what they can do with films now days I surely hope so and not make it a Hollywood ending..cause I am sick and tired of having a really great film and just cause they are running out of time rush the ending and make it a stupid ending..not everybody needs to live why not have everyone die.

Katatonia This film is quite simply excellent. It is not a horror film, it is a slapstick comedy/horror. An interesting and comedic plot that's somewhere in between The Exorcist and The Naked Gun. There are numerous sequences that are just plain hilarious.For a low-budget film, this was pulled off very well. The acting is mostly very professional and believable, especially the lead roles. The script was fine-tuned and very original. To get an idea of the style of this film, if you've seen Fred Olen Ray's "Witch Academy" , or David DeCoteau's "Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama". Speak Of The Devil is very much in that same cultish B-movie vein.I thought the way they portrayed "Satan" in this movie was particularly well done. It's not meant to look horrific, it looks like a cartoon with horns really, and that's a good thing!

Phroggy After a mishap, a phony evangelist and his wife chose a more lucrative business - opening a satanist's convent ! In fact they do so well that they get in touch with the Horned One who sends them a little demon to do their biddings. As a satire of pseudo-evangelists, this one is pretty funny. The film plays on its own cheesiness by presenting us a 100% cardboard demon ! But the movie seems to lose steam in the middle, losing all sort of coherence leading to a conventional ending. Worth a look-see if you are curious,