Satan's Sadists (Al Adamson, 1969)

At a diner in the California desert, owner Lew (Half Past Midnight's Kent Taylor), waitress Tracy (Jacqulin Cole, credited as "Jackie Taylor"), ex-military policeman in Vietnam Johnny Martin (The Black Klansman's Gary Kent), and cop Charlie Baldwin (Gremlins' Scott Brady) and his wife Nora (Evelyn Frank) are taken hostage by the Satans, a group of degenerate bikers consisting of psycho leader Anchor (Twin Peaks' Russ Tamblyn), his lovesick old lady Gina (Regina Carrol, wife of director Al Adamson), mohawked half-Native American Firewater (Nightmare in Wax's John "Bud" Cardos), hearing aid-using LSD enthusiast Acid (screenwriter Greydon Clark, future director of such cult classics as Black Shampoo and Angels' Brigade, both featuring Jacqulin Cole herself, who had by that time become Mrs. Clark), eyepatched Willie (Deadwood '76's Robert Dix), and the not-as-distinctive Muscle (Bigfoot's William Bonner) and Romeo (Bobby Clark, who may or may not be related to Greydon, and oddly is credited on IMDB for his stuntwork in the film but not his acting).

Satan's Sadists is the third film I've seen by exploitation legend Al Adamson, and without a doubt the best of three, far outstripping The Dynamite Brothers, which is still a better blaxploitation-martial arts hybrid than The Tattoo Connection, and Dracula vs. Frankenstein, featuring J. Carroll Naish, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Angelo Rossitto at an all-time career low. As crazy biker movies go, it's not on the level of Russ Meyer's Motor Psycho, and in terms of flicks about loonies menacing diner patrons, it's probably not up to Ray Dennis Steckler's The Thrill Killers, but it's still damn entertaining. The Satans are drinking, drugging, raping, killing machines. Russ Tamblyn in particular is his usual delightful self, portraying Anchor as a giggling maniac who has absolutely no value for human life. John "Bud" Cardos delivers a fine performance as the only member of the Satans who has any compunctions about Anchor's ruthlessness. Regina Carrol, billed as "The Freak-Out Girl," does a sexy dance over jukebox music, and puts up with some pretty horrendous abuse from Tamblyn, which finally drives her over the edge... Gary Kent makes for a pretty bland hero, but it is cool seeing him use his 'Nam experience in fighting the Satans. Jacqulin Cole is a real looker and a pretty decent actress - it's easy to tell what Greydon saw in her. The film, ironically, was shot at the Spahn Ranch, where another mentally ill gang sadly would soon help end the Love Generation. Greydon's script has some memorable lines, such as Johnny saying "If you're a person, you're somebody?" or Romeo remarking about Nora, "She's sure got nice boobs!" Keep in mind, the person saying this is not 10 years old. There're some cool death scenes, including the first known toilet drowning in a film (interesting to see where that got started!), and psychedelic songs written by Harley Hatcher and performed by the Nightriders. Satan's Sadists is a groovy gas that all exploitation cinema fans must see! If you have a Fandor account, you can check it out there, but if you're still undecided, dig the trailer!