In 2020 (on the second of June to be exact) Severin Films released the massive 14-disc Blu-ray set titled, Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection, which showcased thirty of his films — genre, sexploitation, action, etc. — with the hefty price tag of $549.99 (about $18.00 per film). It sold out and can only be found on eBay these days.
For those genre fans who could not pony-up those numbers or arrived too late to purchase one of the sets, Severin will be re-introducing elements of the collection as stand-alone purchasing options. The first of these will resurface on Dec. 3 as the double-feature Blu-ray presentation of Adamson’s 1969 “biker” flick, Satan’s Sadists, which is teamed with his 1971 rift on the Manson Cult, Angels’ Wild Women (actually shot on location at the Spahn Movie Ranch … see Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood for comparisons).
With the rise of “biker flicks” in the late 60s (right around the time members of the Baby Boom generation were hitting their early twenties — The Wild Angels, The Born Losers, The Glory Stompers, Hells Angels on Wheels … and of course, Easy Rider, plus others) it was only a matter of time for young filmmaker Al Adamson and his distribution partner, Sam Sherman, to get around to producing one of their own.
This would be Sherman and Adamson’s Independent International film distribution company’s debut title, Satan’s Sadists, which starred Russ Tamblyn (Peyton Place, West Side Story, The Haunting, etc.) as Anchor, the psychopathic serial killer leader of the motorcycle gang called “The Satans.”
An extended opening sequence at a remote desert café sets the tone for what is to follow as Anchor (with his cohorts) comes unglued and murders three of the patrons while two others — Johnny (played by stuntman/actor Gary Kent, who was a close friend of Adamson and likely the last person to have spoken with him before Adamson’s brutal murder in 1995 — The Thrill Killers, Ride in the Whirlwind, Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Schoolgirls in Chains, etc.) and Tracy (Jackie Taylor, aka: Jacquline Cole — The Female Bunch, Satan’s Cheerleaders, Angels’ Brigade) manage to escape via a dune buggy into the desert … The Satans in pursuit.
He murders three female campers and sees his entire gang die — either through accidents or at the hands of Johnny. Anchor and Johnny face off in a “duel” to the death at the end of the film!!
Some, incorrectly, label Satan’s Sadists as a story pulled from the headlines of the Tate-LaBianca murders at the direction of Charles Manson, but Adamson’s film was finished in the spring of 1969, several months before the August rampage.
Independent International released the film on a regional basis (limited prints) as early as June of 1969. When Easy Rider became a surprise hit, the film found a second life and additional theatrical dates were found … finally arriving in Los Angeles in the spring of 1970.
There are press and trade reports that the ultimate success of Satan’s Sadists allowed Independent International to produce an additional 18 theatrical releases.
Bonus features include an archival commentary with producer/distributor Sam Sherman and outtakes.
The companion feature, Angels’ Wild Women, is a Manson-like biker tale … and deliberately so on Adamson’s part, who had success rebranding Satan’s Sadists after the Tate-LaBianca murders (hence the confusion over the years as to its original production).
Bonus features include an archival commentary with producer/distributor Sam Sherman.
