'I Sold My Soul to Satan'

Actually, no I didn't... but given how my career has been going in the past few years, it may be an option I should look into. The headline is the title of a documentary which was provided to me for review by start-up distributor Chemical Burn Entertainment.


I Sold My Soul to Satan (2010)
Starring: Kai Blackwood, Jymie Darling, and Maja d'Aoust
Directors: David Gaz and Alex Vazart
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Follow would-be rock star Kai Blackwood as he embarks on one last attempt at achieving fame... by selling his soul to the devil.

The focus of this documentary, Kai Blackwood, has a lot in common with me. We're about the same age and we're both faced with careers that are on the skids, but Blackwood is willing to go that extra mile for success. Or at least for a shot at fame through "reality television."

Directors Gaz and Vazart's cameras follow Blackwood around the Los Angeles area as he collects the ingredients needed to perform the ritual to sell his soul to Satan, and has he consults with various experts in the occult, first and foremost Jymie Darling who says brilliant things like "I've learned everything there is about the Unknown". Darling is actually a more interesting character than Blackwood, and she vascilates from mildly creepy to mildly goofy (but always very sincere) as she tries to explain the reasons for why the rituals to sell your soul to demons are what they are, and tries to stress to Blackwood that he needs to be serious about what he is about to do.

I never get the feeling that Blackwood is serious, however. The interviews with him interspersed with scenes of him shopping for or collecting the items he's going to need for the ritual show a guy who isn't following Darling's advice, but who seems like the typical, flaky "reality television"-type wanna-be. Although this does lead to some great viewing, such as when he's making the ink needed to sign his demonic pact.

Both fun and informative, this is a documentary that should appeal equally to you whether you have an interest in occult matters and whether you love or despise "reality shows." The only complaint I have is that the film only follows the path of Blackwood toward his pact with Satan. According to comments from David Gaz during the film, there were two out of the thousands of applicants for the film whom he thought were suitable subjects. We get a few snippets from the screen-test of that other person. a fashion designer named Sarah, and I would have liked to see how the same routines went for her.

"I Sold My Soul to Satan" receives its wide release on DVD on November 8, 2011.