Sell It to the Devil

Tastyland Pictures

R1 DVD

Sell it to the Devil, directed by David Gaz, sets out with a simple premise. The director searches through the many denizens of Hollywood for someone who is so eager for fame, fortune and the good things in life that they will undertake an ancient rite of Medieval sorcery and sell their soul to the devil. Gaz finds his star in Kai Blackwood, a goth heavy metal singer who is an aspiring rockstar but just not close enough to grasping fame that he will take the risk.

Now how serious we are to take all this is a matter of debate. Some Christians and theistic Satanists certainly believe in a personal devil and assert it is possible to make a pact with him. As the rather informed employee at the Philosophical Research Foundation notes, whether you are a Christian or Satanist, to attempt to give your life over to someone else displays a rather marked desire to get rid of personal responsibility. Another angle popular with Jungians and members of Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan is that Satan is simply a psychological archetype or image of taboo and hence a pact is more symbolic than actual. It is a process of attempting to awaken a dark side of the self rather than evoke a non-existent external deity. It is strange that statistically more Americans believe in Satan than in god, it seems that the image of the devil still has the ability to evoke fear even when science has disproved the existence of the old man in the sky with a beard.

To sell his soul Kai meets all sorts of strange people including receiving dire warnings from Christian priests and evangelists. It is decided he must follow the instructions of “Le Grand Grimoire” so be begins his path to the pact. Guided by the eccentric Jymie Darling, who seems to enjoy her time in the spotlight just a little too much, he begins to collect the specialized items the rite requires. It is a far cry from the long and harsh journey the Medieval sorcerer would have had to make, Fedex can deliver many of the supplies and the would-be spellcaster can visit any number of stores to pick up everything from graveyard dust to that rare and unique incense or scent in neatly marked packages.

As the day draws close Kai has the jitters but continues on his path. Bluntly it seems to me that his guide Jymie is more on edge than he is and this is certainly proven to be true when the rite is finally undertaken. They begin their sorcery at an isolated location with invocations, a pact written in blood and lots of candles and fanfair. But as things progress dear old pagan Jymie takes a “high and mighty” stand against what is occurring frightened that the candles will not hold the demon in place and that she must preserve Kai’s “higher self”. Never mind that this is Kai’s decisions and his ritual; I always love the pomposity of self-appointed authority. The rite ends in an anti-climax and so does the film.

A strange and intriguing documentary it is an interesting journey into the world of the dark arts, how serious you should take it all is up to you.

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