Thoughts on Carl Abrahamsson’s Anton LaVey: Into the Devil’s Den
Many years ago I was a sad and easily offended guy, constantly talking shit about myself and blaming others for my situation. A psychic vampire, as the good doctor LaVey would called them, who didn’t take responsibility for my own life. My self-destructive behavior affected everyone around me, including those I was in love with, friends — and I lost many dear ones. Then one day, after yet another rant about how ugly and untalented I was a friend gave me Anton LaVey’s The Satanic Bible. I read it, found it interesting — but it wasn’t until after reading it three or four times I finally got it. The final piece of the puzzle found its place — and it changed my life.
The Satanic Bible is very much a child of its time, and reading it today it seems filled with common sense. But this was the sixties and self-help books wasn’t — in my guess — such a big time at the time, so everything in it was quite new (especially the things regarding how to look at yourself, the rituals and magic was inspired by many other sources). The Satanic Bible and LaVey’s Satanism is basically a form of positive thinking and through magic shaping your present and future. The stories about LaVey is many and plenty and it’s difficult to separate fact from fiction — but that’s part of the plan, as it’s all about shaping our own reality and be the one we want to be. LaVey surely did this, so it really doesn’t matter what’s true or not; he followed his path.
Carl Abrahamsson’s Anton LaVey — Into the Devil’s Den is probably the best doc made on LaVey so far. Ray Laurent’s Satanis: The Devil’s Mass is a great and fun doc from 1970, more focusing on the public version of LaVey, including rituals, nudity and wonderful and sarcastic one liners by the titular hero. Nick Bougas’ Speak of the Devil from 1995 is good too, but more abstract and — dare I say it? — amateurish in its execution, but still a good insight into the man and the myth, with a lot of great quotes from LaVey, basically sitting down talking about his philosophy and life. But in this new doc Abrahamsson, a friend of LaVey, have gathered friends and let them talk about their personal relationship with the black pope himself and becomes a wonderful journey into the person behind the cape, the horns, the shaved head and the rituals — this is about the human LaVey and it is a fascinating and sympathetic trip into a life of someone who refused to conform.
Blanche Barton, Peter H. Gilmore, Kenneth Anger, Peggy Nadramia, Mitch Horowitz and many more (including, of course, Abrahamsson himself) gets a chance to talk about their perception of him, and for me, on a personal level, it all confirms what I’ve always felt; he was a great man, loving and caring, and with a deep respect for everyone’s individuality. LaVey himself is featured in many clips, many unseen, both being interview and from TV-shows and in documentary footage. So this is it friends, this is THE documentary on the founder of The Church of Satan.
The Satanic Bible taught me to trust, love and respect myself, something I hadn’t done for 20 years. But why LaVey? Why didn’t I end up with Ram Dass or Alan Watts? I love those guys too, but LaVey… he’s such a different breed of character. I believe in the reason is that he was — and still is — so deeply rooted in pop culture. He decided to stand in between conservatism and liberalism; creating his own space of humor, sex, magic and self-fulfillment. An outsider who didn’t see himself as being on the outside, but on his own level of existence. I’ve written two books on the subject of Satanism and healthy individualism (a good friend jokingly calls my philosophy Cheerful Satanism): Homo Satanis: How I Learned to Love Satan and other Insights from my Childhood and Homo Satanis 2: The Devil Made Me Do It, and those have been part of the process to understand myself from the core viewpoint of LaVey. I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved, because it’s my own achievement — I did it, but it wouldn’t have happened if The Satanic Bible hadn’t been given to me. That’s for sure.
Anton LaVey — Into the Devil’s Den is available on Vimeo and hopefully, one day, it will also get a physical release. As I see every movie as magickal artifacts I need to have it on my shelf!
