User reviews

As many others before me have likely pointed out, "Satan's Cheerleaders" is really too tame to work that well as an exploitation film. However, provided one refuses to take it seriously, they *can* have some fun with it. There is a sense of humour present, and a tongue in cheek tone. Co-written and directed by B movie veteran Greydon Clark ("Without Warning"), it's an amiable enough bag of garbage.

Still, one has to sit through way too much tomfoolery (for at least the first third of the movie) as nothing that entertaining happens. Kerry Sherman (as Patti), Hillary Horan (as Chris), Alisa Powell (as Debbie), and the well endowed Sherry Marks (as Sharon) play our title characters. On their way to a football game, they're waylaid by Billy (Jack Kruschen), the bumbling, stuttering janitor at their school. They've been selected as sacrifices for local Satan worshippers led by a genial sheriff (John Ireland) and his nutty wife (Yvonne De Carlo).

Devotees of cinematic trash may take exception to a low body count, an absence of gore, and the limited amount of bare female flesh. This is closer to the kind of thing one might expect to see in TV movie treatment of such material. The slumming big name cast provides some curiosity value; De Carlo appears to be serious, but Ireland is clearly kidding around, John Carradine knowingly hams it up as a bum, Kruschen is appropriately off putting, and Sydney Chaplin has some fun as one of the Devils' disciples. He plays a monk, and actually gets addressed as "Monk"; also, the girls have their names stenciled on their tops just so we're never in doubt as to who is who. Director Clarks' wife Jacqueline Cole plays Phys. Ed. teacher Ms. Johnson.

When the sheriffs' actual name is "B.L. Bubb", you know you're not watching high art, or anything remotely subtle.

Recognizable names among the crew are cinematographer Dean Cundey, camera operator Ray Stella, and script supervisor Debra Hill.

Five out of 10.

Satan's cheerleaders seems like an attempt to mix two radically different genres together and it should not come as too much of a shock that it is a inconsistent (though still watchable) film.

Mixing the then popular demon possession film with a Jack Hill like Swinging Cheerleader picture must have seemed like a really good idea on paper but unfortunately neither genre is attacked with the gusto necessary to be completely successful.

The first half of the film focuses on the wacky antics of the Cheerleaders and the football players (in fact until very end of the picture it seems that the entire football team is made up of only 4 players) but the surprising thing is how annoying the film-makers allow these characters to be. Whether forcing people off a public beach or making fun of the stuttering janitor they actually seem like a fairly accurate recreation of high school elite. While heading off to the first game of the season they experience car trouble and are picked up by the janitor and thats when the second movie begins.

The Janitor is a satanist and when he attempts to rape one of the ladies he is struck dead by the devil. The cheerleaders and their coach go to the local sheriff to report but he refuses to allow them to leave and they find out just how wide the web of evil is. The second half of the movie with a rape and several killings does not mesh with the light and goofy first half. People who like horror will be bored by the first half and people who like comedy may enjoy the somewhat tame (compared to other films of the genre) antics of the girls but few will fully embrace the film.

The acting in this film, as in many low budget affairs is very hit and miss. Weak acting by many of the cheerleaders (and all of the football team) is balanced to an extent by a strong performance by Kerry Sherman as the cheerleader who seems just a little bit ahead of the others in terms of understanding the situation and Jacqueline Cole, who while not the strongest actress in the world comes across as quite likable in her role as the Cheerleader's coach. As in many Greydon Clark films the movie is peppered with past their prime actors who are showing up for one last paycheck including Yvonne De Carlo and John Ireland. At least De Carlo seems to be putting a little effort into the film while John Ireland seems to be bored goofy by the proceedings.

Director Clark has created some of the more interesting zero budget films including Wacko, Angel's revenge, skinheads and without warning but I am afraid this film fails to reach the heights of his other efforts. If you read the premise and think the movie sounds like your type of film than you may enjoy it but I think most can safely pass on the film.

This rather strange film begins with an oversexed cheerleading squad in the process of rehearsing their cheers on a beach for an upcoming football game. Fortunately for them, as vapid as they may be their cheerleading coach "Ms. Johnson" (Jacqulin Cole) is even more clueless and as a result they pretty much get to make out with the boys from the football team whenever they like. This changes, however, when they continue to disparage the local janitor "Billy Brooks" (Jack Kruschen) who not only places a satanic curse upon them but goes as far as to drive them to an altar where he attempts to rape one of the cheerleaders by the name of "Patti" (Kerry Sherman). What he doesn't realize is that Satan has other plans in mind and has no intention of allowing this to happen. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an interesting attempt to merge two popular sub-genres into one--a satanic horror film with that of a typical cheerleader sexploitation picture. Or maybe it's the other way around. Regardless, it doesn't work out that well but even so it was mainly cheap fodder for the drive-in circuit--so it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things anyway. Be that as it may, it was difficult for me to decide whether this film should be classified as a comedy or a horror film as there were elements of both to a certain degree. What is not indisputable is the fact that this was a low-budget production which suffered from bad acting and a very poor script which not even veteran actors like David Carradine (as "The Bum"), John Ireland ("The Sheriff") or Yvonne De Carlo ("Emmy") could salvage. In short, it was not a good film by any means but having said that it might appeal to those looking for a campy and nostalgic offering of this sort.

This one is a scream. It's in my schlock hall of fame collection. LOL

If you haven't seen Yvonne DeCarlo in full post-Lily-Munster devil-priestess regalia, about to be torn to shreds by Dobermans named Lucifer and Diablo (the writers weren't trusting us to be capable of interpreting subtleties here) and crying out "Satan, why hast thou forsaken me?" you just haven't lived.

But wait. There's more. How much would you pay for a defrocked Catholic priest-turned-Satan-worshiper who can't seem to shake the habit of crossing himself and who frets prissily over the prospect of the intended Cheap Ho cheer leaders -- who are currently escaping from the clutches of the coven -- being attacked by the killer Dobies ("Oh, we mustn't soil the maidens," he flutters)?

Or a cheer leading sponsor who seems to have stepped out of some bizarre Oral Roberts University parallel universe where she just can't IMAGINE the idea that wearing short skirts and tight sweaters and jumping high enough to show your underpants might be construed as provocative to the males of the species?

Or a speech-impaired school janitor (who spends his off hours slathered in the worst seventies polyester leisure outfits ever manufactured) who makes a stammering vow to avenge the students who make fun of him by turning them over to the high priest of the devil coven for justice?

How about a sheriff named "B.L. Bubb" (again with the aversion to subtlety) who has to be the most wooden performer since Adam West in "Batman" or Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments" -- maybe since he and Charlton shared the divine Miss DeCarlo as a wife, something in her aura caused them to be stricken with Over The Top Acting Syndrome?

Now how much would you pay? But then, I can't fault anyone, since I did shell out five bucks for this one on a remaindered supermarket video rack. And I probably would have gone as high as fifteen to claim this gem of Drive In Infamy for my personal collection. LOL

One day at my good friend,s house, we came across Satan's Cheerleaders in the closet. We soon discovered it starred my friend's mother (not the girl who gets naked). So of course we had to watch. It started out cheesy and a funny B horror movie. By the end our smiles had faded and we were left quite disappointed at how terrible a feature film could be. It is probably the worst movie ever created. As for my friend's mom, she never knew we saw it and is something we are avoiding ever talking about.

Four high school cheerleaders—pretty blonde Patti (Kerry Sherman), brunette babe Chris (Hillary Horan), busty bird Sharon (Sherry Marks), and man-eater Debbie (Alisa Powell)—are travelling to a football game with their tasty physical education teacher Ms. Johnson (Jacqueline Cole) when they are abducted by Satanists who hope to sacrifice a 'pure maiden' to their master.

The first half an hour of this comedy/horror is a whole lot of cheesy fun, focusing on the Benedict High cheerleaders as they bicker with their rivals from Baker High, take a shower under the watchful eye of pervy janitor Mr. Brooks (Jack Kruschen), and fraternise with the jocks on the football team. There's plenty of female flesh on show, crazy pranks, a water fight, and some rough-housing, all accompanied by a cool and funky wakka-wakka guitar soundtrack.

However, once the girls fall foul of the devil worshipping cultists while on the road, the fun slowly dissipates. The action becomes extremely repetitive—the girls get get caught, they escape, they get caught, they escape, they get caught....—and despite lots more sneaky up-skirt shots and Ms.Johnson revealing some cleavage, it all becomes very tiresome indeed.

It's been a long time since I laughed so hard while watching a movie. The first thirty minutes are unbearable (boring teenagers fooling around on the beach) but then it gets interesting. The janitor of the high school is so frustrated with the unruly kids that he joins some Satanists. What's more, he lusts after a girl who could well be his granddaughter, and he expects that his new affiliation opens new perspectives in that field.

The janitor has to drive the cheerleaders and their coach to a road game. Of course, he takes the wrong road leading to a kind of an open air altar in the undergrowth. His attempt to „freeze" his passengers and then get at the cheerleader who is the object of his lust fails miserably. The cheerleaders escape, leaving the janitor for dead. They ask a bum for directions and end up in the house of the nearest country sheriff and his wife. Little do they know ...

I always suspect that this kind of American movie has the purpose to assuage a natural hunger for myths and fairy tales of which the USA has not its own „national treasure" like more ancient nations. As a matter of fact, Satan's Cheerleaders is structured like a traditional fairy story. The cheerleaders are Red Riding Hood, the Satanists are the Big Bad Wolf. It's clearly a conflict between old and young. The old actually get a pretty rough deal here whereas the young come through as pretty – and above all: clean – yet bland, uninspired and with an utter lack of any imagination. Interesting is the cheerleader's coach, an infantile, good hearted, innocent and disarmingly helpless woman who in a weird way represents eternal youth. It is actually quite a well played and interesting part.

The old actors rule supreme. This is probably not surprising as they are experienced pros with distinguished careers. The longer I watch movies the more I admire those actors like John Carradine (who plays the bum) who are not choosy about the parts they accept and deliver a good performance whatever the circumstances. Yvonne de Carlo gets the most laughs. The teenagers make her desperate and she starts praying to Satan for their annihilation. The prayer she repeats all over starts with „howdy" – so at least I know now how to address the devil, should the occasion arise.

The sheriff's two dogs are a major asset (there is also the cameo of a goat without consequence). They are called Diablo and Lucifer and should be fierce, but they are not. The biggest convulsions I had to suffer from came as Yvonne de Carlo runs up to them, unexpectedly leans forward and gasps „kill". The nearest dog instinctively draws his head back, disapprovingly raising an eyebrow. A cartoonist couldn't have done it better!

I suppose Satan's cheerleaders will never make it into the Library of Congress. But maybe it should.

Many of these types of movies can be fun to watch, but the main plot about the Satanists didn't even kick in until halfway through the film. The first half plays like a very bad version of Porky's. Most of the second half is concerned with a group of Satanists trying to catch the girls, who have escaped their evil clutches. Literally walking through the woods "they've got to be here somewhere..." Don't waste your time.

I read through all the other reviews and I can tell some people get it and some don't.

This is definitely one of those "so bad it's good" movies. Matter of fact, this may the best of those types of movies.

If you are thinking of watching it to get scared, don't. It was made in 1977 and it's a B-movie. You are not going to be scared.

If you are going to watch it because of cheerleaders.. well maybe. There are half naked bumbling cheerleaders in it. But again.. it was made in 1977!

But if you like really campy satanic B-movies, you are going to love it.

The first time I saw this was when I was just a kid and TV's still had UHF. Back then, scary movies would come on late at night. This came on during one of those times and I saw at a very young age. It stuck with me my whole life.

Later, when Amazon.com started and DVD's were not yet common, I had Amazon find this movie for me. They did, and I have a really old copy on VHS.

Basically, if you look at the people on here that rated it bad. They still watched the whole thing. If it was really that bad, they wouldn't be able to finish it.

So the truth is that it is a bad movie, but still a totally watchable movie and a fun movie to watch. So in that case... it's actually a good movie... actually a great movie!!

Randi

Whenever I want to explain to someone great camp B-movies, I hold up a DVD of Satan's Cheerleaders. Still one of the best.

Never before have cheerleaders made me so mad! I've unfortunately had to put up with my share of cheerleaders with their annoying and gratuitous cheers, overly peppy outlook on everything and utter ditziness. However in this movie, I don't have to smile politely and keep my mouth shut. It's time for me to speak out.

If I see one more cheerleader make any sort of inane sexist comment and strike some kind of sexy-like pose, I will rip my hair out. After watching this movie, I have reached my limit of idiotic cheerleaders making sex related comments. Alright. Now that I have that out of my way, I can get on to the movie.

THE MOVIE WAS BAD! Bad, bad, BAD! Bad to the max, bad to the fourth power, bad to the level of a dog who pees on the carpet, bad to the level of an Enron executive, bad to Vanilla Ice bad. This movie was B-A-D. The acting of all the minor characters made me want to put a bullet between the eyes of every insignificant actor of every movie. The coach of the football team and the dean of the school were the worst. Down on the beach, when the coach came down to find his football "stars" the facial expressions he made could be equaled to that of a baby eating sour food. If he has a football team to coach, why did he let them stay? Would you trust the chaperone of the cheerleaders to take care of things. She was just as dimwitted as the cheerleaders themselves. Moving on to the Dean of the school, what kind of horny bastard runs a Christian University like that? Being exposed to the bareness of women, he immediately becomes as giddy as a school girl and doesn't stop peeking around the corner at the completely open and unabashed cheerleaders. Grr. It's either bad writing or bad improv.

I'm going to leave the movie alone now. I don't want to get too in depth and lose my temper. There were many scenes that needed two viewings to get everything out of them. For example, on the beach, one of the cheerleaders takes Stevie (I think) into the bushes in the background while the coach is on the beach, and the coach makes a comment about "preserving precious bodily fluids." However, only three minutes later, the same cheerleader gets excited an exclaims that "Stevie's here!" and takes him off to the same bushes as a few minutes earlier, using the same footage, and the same coach all of the sudden acts all distraught over it, acting as if he wished he wouldn't do that. It's these kinds of things, these discrepancies, that make movies bad.

**Final Decision: Movies with cheerleaders = bad movies.**

-Scott-

With all the movies that came out in the 70's about satanic cults and sexy cheerleaders it was almost inevitable that someone would make a satanic cheerleader movie. It's only surprising that it took so long. This movie starts out as typical cheerleader sexploitation. It's tamer than most (I think it was originally rated "PG"!) with only brief snatches of nudity in an unusually circumspect shower scene and a lot of up-the-skirt camera shots. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to some of the earlier cheerleader films (which border on softcore porn), but it does have the usual atrocious acting, groan-inducing jokes and sexual double-entendres, and godawful 70's music.

It would be a waste-of-time T and A film (with precious little T or A)if not for an interesting turn halfway through where the cheerleaders'bus breaks down on the way to a game and they have a run-in with a small-town satanic cult(lead by b-movie luminaries like John Ireland,Yvonne DeCarlo, and John Carradine). Hilariously, the cult is looking for an "unsullied maiden" to sacrifice to Satan (if they'd seen one of these cheerleader movies they'd definitely look somewhere else). This satanic subplot is not the least bit scary, but it is enjoyably cheesy and the jokes start to hit more than miss. "They're all of them witches!" one especially dumb cheerleader says, making an unintentional allusion to the granddaddy of all devil movies, "Rosemary's Baby". Another girl is quite indignant that the cult wants to use her as a virgin sacrifice: "I'm no maiden--I've been a cheerleader for three years!".

If you're a pervert with a cheerleader fetish you're probably better off sticking to stronger stuff like the original "The Cheerleaders" (or a hardcore porn movie like "Debbie Does Dallas"), but if you enjoy ridiculous devil movies and/or cheesy 70's flicks like I do, you'll no doubt find this to be a pleasant little diversion.

"Satan's Cheerleaders" is disturbing, all right … It's disturbing how YOUNG the titular girls actually appear to be. Especially the cute blond girl Patti – who wanders around topless on numerous occasions – barely seems to be a day over 14. Apparently, after justification on this great website, the actress Kerry Sherman was twenty years of age at the time of shooting and thus not jailbait at all. Yay!

Actually, the writer and director of "Satan's Cheerleaders" – Greydon Clark – is more than just a sleaze loving horror fanatic. He's a primarily clever marketer! Throughout the gloriously flamboyant decade of the 70's, both B-movies dealing with Satanism and High-School Cheerleaders were immensely popular. Imagine how successful a combination of both, regardless of how decadent it sounds, could be! The plot is quite stupid, or what else did you expect, with a group of cheerleaders and their annoyingly over-enthusiast female teacher on the road for a football game ending up amidst a coven of devil worshipers. The school's super sleazy janitor drives them to a remote little backwoods redneck town where he attempts to rape poor little Patti. The girls seek help in town and end up at the Sheriff's place. The name on his mailbox, however, states B.L. Bub (got it?!?) so you already reckon how much help he will be. Besides the Sheriff (cult cinema legend John Ireland) and his wife (cult cinema legend Yvonne DeCarlo), pretty much the entire community turn out to be Satanists. There's a completely bonkers – but admittedly original and unpredictable – plot twist half way, when blond Patti suddenly turns out to be a good witch who, after her near-rape experience, begins using her powers and knowledge to good purposes.

Hello I am a french student studying in Canada. I am 20. and I was just looking for some movies to watch at nights for when I'm a little bored. and I felt like watching some movies from the 70-80's. I like horror movies. and I wanted to also watch one with cheerleaders because we don't have cheerleaders in France and I am quite intrigued by such pointless "sport". that's how I came into this movie....

So I watched it... 1h 32 minutes... what a waste of time. So the question is : Is this a joke ? I mean when you see such movie, you think the producer lost a bet and he was forced to make it or something... because come on... it's a disaster. you can put a camera in a old people's residence, you'll get a more thrilling action movie... If this is not a joke, if it's a REAL movie, then wow ! I think that when you make a movie, the least to do is to watch it again.

What do I dislike about this movie ??? well, the producer thinks we are stupid. It's a mix of totally opposite styles : Cheerleaders and Horror. Let's analyze all the flaws and clichés that concern those "themes".

First, for an horror movie, it's more like an ERROR movie... =/ yeah this is the kind of jokes you can find in this movie. I won't talk about the special effects, it was in the late 70's, so they're forgiven. I just wish I had been living in 1976 to see people's reaction to such awful special effects (boo ! the women gets all red ! boo ! we are scared !). Then, all the clichés... The unbearable repetition of the same sentence (classic for a movie about Satanism). Well there are hundreds of clichés, I don't feel like pointing them all out. But just one piece of advice for the producer : horror movies during the day with a blazing sun... umm there's a little problem. so next time, maybe in the night, it might be scarier... =/ !

Then a cheerleader movie. God ! please. What an insult. 4 brainless cheerleaders giggling 24/7 and thinking they're smarter than everybody. and even the producer shows it as if they're more cunning than the whole world and they outsmart everybody. I almost thought i was watching an episode of "the Bratz" which is some sort of Cartoons for 8-10 yo kids. I cannot put up with any more cheerleaders' giggling. I swear to god, I wanted to punch them so bad. How can somebody be so stupid ? And no need to talk about the sexual details. It's a shame ! well, thank god, the girls are wearing skorts and not skirts because we keep seeing under them. Yeah, the close-ups of their "short" under their skirt is something usual in this movie. Maybe it brings more spectators. Which is a pity, we all agree. It's not a porn movie as far as I know. It's not even a movie... and about the sexual details, I don't understand how they can allow such things that refer to pedophilia. Come on, enough of the 60 yo sheriff staring at the young girls' skirts and almost feeling them up.

OK I stop here. I thought Cheerleader Camp was very bad but this one's worse ! This movie is really bad. However, I enjoyed watching it to pity the guys who made it. No seriously, were they kidding us ???

Complete waste of time. The writing the dialogue the acting are all horrible. None of the cheerleaders are attractive and the other one they show naked is built like a tongue depressor. Has to be one of the stupidest movies I've ever seen.

One of the great cult movies of the 1970s, Satan's Cheerleaders is the kind of exploitation humor horror that set the stage for Scream and future movies of the genre.

Every bad movie I've seen previously has SOME redeeming feature. Maybe a great soundtrack, or stunning photography. Perhaps a strong storyline or (best of all!) a leading lady happy to let the puppies play.

This film has none of them. Not one. It singularly lacks any redeeming features whatsoever, and I urge you not to miss the opportunity to see it! As I watched this film - in a similar manner to which I'd watch an approaching tornado or an aircraft crashing into my house - my jaw dropped wider and wider at just how appalling this film is.

Describing the acting as "wooden" just insults trees. The script? Surely they were making it up as they went along? The photography and direction? C'mon, this must have been a student project, right?? This is a desperately, desperately terrible film. Unfortunately, IMDb doesn't allow negative votes as this movie is missing out on a record!

I remember seeing this movie way back in the 80's and I finally found it. This movie is about a group of teenagers that get kidnapped by a bunch of Satanist that are the local townspeople and soon become the product of a sacafice. One of the cheerleaders possesses a certain power and send mixed messages to the high priestess determined to get rid of her. A big chase goes on when the cheerleaders escape and the rest is worth watching. It's not a big blockbuster, but it's fun to watch on one of those rainy days eating popcorn and sodas. To me..... it's a classic. I miss ol'e Yvonne DeCarlo she always had a way with making a horror worth watching.

Even worse than Plan 9! Even worse than the 2008 American presidential election! Even Yvonne deCarlo can save this!

Imagine a cheerleader, tied up, exclaiming in a dead - flat - voice: "No. don't. stop. no. no."

Imagined it? Now make it twice as boring, twice as dead, twice as flat as you imagined. Imagine an entire movie with that quality of acting being the best you can hope for.

As near as I could figure it, Satan took over these girls because he wanted to bet on high school football games. I could be wrong. But, after watching "Satan's Cheerleaders," I no longer care. About almost anything.

I'll be over here, tearing my eyeballs out of my head, just because they watched this movie.

Tame 70's camp movie about a group of cheerleaders who fall victim to a town full of Satan worshippers header by John Ireland and Yvonne De Carlo who plan on making one of the cheerleaders a sacrifice. Entertaining as long as you don't take it seriously with a great camp cast, especially De Carlo and some funny scenes.

Rated R; Violence and Nudity.