Satan's Little Helper

I had really low expectations going into this film as I haven't liked either of the Jess Lieberman films I'd seen previously (Squirm, Just Before Dawn); but what I found with this film was an inventive and moderately amusing little film that benefits from a talented cast and a clever screenplay. Satan's Little Helper is a pitch black horror comedy that finds time to poke fun at the American institution of Halloween, as well as ideas such as 'video games create killers'. The central idea is more than a little bit silly, but it also shows great imagination; as the idea of having a young boy unwittingly help a serial killer isn't immediately obvious, and the director does a good job of manipulating his characters into the situation he wants them in. Satan's Little Helper revolves around Douglas Whooly; a young boy obsessed with the video game, coincidentally called 'Satan's Little Helper', which was bought for him by his father. After witnessing the local serial killer arranging his victims outside his house, the kid mistakes it for an act and offers his help to the killer; which is duly accepted.

The fact that the lead character is a young boy gives the film a sort of childish horror feel; and Jeff Lieberman brilliantly offsets this with a number of amazingly gruesome scenes, which see things such as a cat being used to write 'boo' on the wall in blood, as well as intestines being used to tie a knot and a particularly grisly stabbing sequence towards the end. The director has also managed to pull in some good B-movie talent to act out his movie. Amanda Plummer is the biggest name on the cast list, and she bodes well with her role as slightly odd mother. The beautiful Katheryn Winnick was the highlight for me, and no doubt most other male audience members, as she looks great and her acting isn't bad either. Child actor Alexander Brickel, and Stephen Graham round off the central cast and overall, this movie doesn't have many problems where the acting is concerned. Jeff Lieberman's sense of humour may not be to everyone's taste; but I found it delightful, and the way the screenplay constantly harks back to earlier events is good. Overall, this may not be a brilliant film; but it's entertaining and fun and therefore gets a big thumbs up.

Satan's Little Helper arrived just in time for the Halloween holiday and was perfectly fitting. It certainly has the Lieberman stamp of dark humor all over it. This is Jeff Lieberman's first genre offering in a long time (since 1987's underrated Remote Control) and it's a nice welcome back. Lieberman has loaded this thing with satire. It seems he has a lot to say about video games and parental unawareness. It could come off as heavy handed if he weren't having a blast poking fun at it. Here's the plot: Dougie's favorite game is Satan's Little Helper and he's dressed as such for Halloween. In the game, you follow Satan around and help him murder and plunder and such. Dougie happens across a serial killer dressed like a devil and, staying true to his favorite game, follows him around and lends a helping hand. It's very funny in the "should I be laughing at this?" sense. There are many moments and one-liners that would have made me spew milk from my nose if I were drinking milk at the time. This movie is definitely not for everyone, but it will surely get more laughs than scares. I would classify Satan's Little Helper as a Halloween guilty pleasure.

This film is exactly what a horror should aim to be. The film itself is sick, twisted and has a creepy sense of humour that is always lurking underneath the atmosphere. This film is by far no means perfect and you can very easily tell that the budget was not very high. But the director works well with what he has and gives the viewer something that up mostly scares them and makes them feel for the characters. This film is a great horror/slasher movie and whoever enjoys films like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or House of 1000 corpses should definitely pick this up as it is well worth watching.

A scary 7/10

This movie has a pretty absurd premise (it's hidden in the title, so that doesn't count as a spoiler)! I could only hope that it would at least kind of live up to that crazy expectation ... and it did at the beginning! Also you're welcome for the pun in the summary line above.

It was as it should be, black humor and sick jokes all over the place. Just as it should be, with a movie like that. No political correctness in sight, that would've just be a distraction! A bad one, too! For a few people the first bump will be, that there is no nudity in the movie. But you know, although this is a horror movie, where you kind of expect that, I didn't think that was a bad thing. It went against expectations for once in the right place. The jokes worked without that, too!

But then it happens ... what I mentioned in the subject line ... it's a shame, but the movie just runs out of ideas and just gets annoying from a certain point on. And it's a shame too, because it all felt good and right up to that point, but after that it's downhills ...

Still worth a watch on disc or stream, if you like off-balance, black humor, that isn't political correct! (originally reviewed July 2007, slight update in June 2022)

Very Original Horror The very original concept of 'Satan's Little Helper' is almost enough to overlook the poor editing, acting, and total lack of a musical score. Yep, almost.

I only saw this film to drool over blonde bombshell Katheryn Winnick after seeing her in 'Hellraiser VIII.' Well I wasn't disappointed by the fact that she spends the entire film dressed for Halloween as a renaissance bar wench showing off her "assets" and by the fact that her younger brother has a crush on her.

Anyway the original concept of 'Satan's Little Helper' revolves around an unknown serial killer dressed in the frightening rubber mask seen on the cover box. Halloween is actually a good day to go on a mindless bloody rampage. He can get away with dragging around dead bodies, or body parts, and wielding weapons without the police batting an eye. Screams for help and 911 calls are also dismissed. Attacking people in their homes is easy. Everyone is prepared to answer the door at night for a masked stranger with candy in hand, rather than a gun. (For the record I do still keep a gun by my door even on Halloween.) Maybe the ease of being a serial killer on Halloween is why Michael Myers always chooses this day. How does he spend his time the other 364 day of the year? A young boy Dougie witnesses the murders but assumes they're all part of Halloween fun and offers to become Satan's little helper. Hence the mute serial killer uses Dougie as an accomplice in his murder spree.

In a very funny scene, after realizing the killings are real Dougie prays to God. (Much more effective than calling the police or grabbing a weapon.) The serial killer now being hunted by Dougie's family changes Halloween costumes and appears a Jesus. Dougie lets him in the house believing his prayers were answered.

Where the film fails isn't in its poor production quality but in its horror movie clichés. Once the family realizes the masked serial killer is real do they, RUN LIKE HELL? Hide? Hold up and wait for help? Grab a weapon? Or simply fight back? (After all the serial killer doesn't have any super powers, he's just one man.) NO! They follow the usual horror movie clichés of splitting up wandering around dark areas and investigating strange noises in the basement.

But I do give the film credit for having a GREAT ending. Always key and very difficult in horror films. A bad ending can ruin an entire horror movie.

Worth a viewing for an original idea. Only worth a second viewing to drool over Katheryn Winnick a second time. And brace yourself for the poor production quality.