"That's the duality of rock and roll."
The modern day rock band The Relentless, helmed by 23-year-old Johnny Faust and comprised of members half from the US and half from England, are thrust into the seedy underbelly of rock-and-roll as their mysterious benefactor, Mr. Capricorn, elevates them into icons. The only catch?
He's the Devil, and he's got some plans with The Relentless.
American Satan is the directorial debut of the indie-metal record label Sumerian Records's CEO, Ash Avildsen, and stars Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack, Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria, Booboo Stewart, John Bradley, and Malcolm McDowell. It premiered in theaters in October 2017 with a limited release.
American Satan also serves as a Pilot Movie to the series Paradise City, which follows the aftermath of the events of the film. The series began streaming on Amazon Prime in March 2021. Ash Avildsen has stated he has six seasons planned, and while a second season is anticipated, the future of the show is unknown after the death of Cameron Boyce. Now has a Character Page and a Recap that need help.
American Satan includes the following tropes:
- Actor Allusion: A lot of the cast members that play musicians
are, in fact, musicians.- Johnny Faust is played by Andy Biersack, the lead singer of Black Veil Brides.
- Leo Donovan is played by Ben Bruce, the guitarist of Asking Alexandria.
- Drake Bell is also a musician.
- All Women Are Lustful: As with any retelling of Faust, almost all the women in the film are shown to be heavily attracted to Johnny, to the point to where a mother straight up offers her daughter's virginity to him.
- Amoral Attorney: Damien's father, who isn't really given a name. Not only is he a high powered lawyer, he is connected to the group that controls most of the clubs on Sunset Strip.
- An Aesop: Be Careful What You Wish For with a dose of Celebrity Is Overrated.
- Anguished Declaration of Love : Johnny tries to win Gretchen back.
- Anti-Hero: Johnny.
- Artistic License – Law: The bar altercation that leads to a man's death would mostly likely get all of the band members jailtime in Real Life, especially Lily. It's not self-defense when the attacker is on the ground and helpless, and Lily torturing him to death would be grounds for First Degree Murder. The fact that there are multiple witnesses makes this even more unlikely.
- Asshole Victim: Damien.
- Author Appeal : The Writer/Producer/Director Ash Avildsen owns a record label and the film is a love letter to LA's metal music scene over the decades.
- Bait-and-Switch : Ricky and Leo get the drummer to LA on more of a promise than anything else. He's not happy.
- Berserk Button: Hawk seems content to let the band confront the homophobic rednecks in the bar, but the racist comments are over the line.
- Blatant Lies: How Dylan is hoodwinked into joining the band and moving to LA.
- Break the Cutie: Poor Johnny. Poor Johnny? Poor Gretchen!
- Breaking the Fourth Wall : The last shot of the film, Johnny looks directly at the camera as the end theme, "Me Against the Devil" starts.
- Bystander Syndrome: After Johnny O Ds, his fans take his picture instead of calling 911.
- Chewing the Scenery: Malcom McDowell isn't just chewing the scenery, he is voraciously devouring it.
- Choosy Beggar : Capricorn bums a cigarette, then drops it because he doesn't like the brand, much to Johnny and the others' annoyance.
- Copycat Killer : In addition to the "Stand Your Ground" incidents wherein bullied teens kill their attackers (as Johnny and Lily do in the bar), the interview with Elias mentions other incidents where it appears Life Imitates Art .
- Deal with the Devil: This is the entire plot.
- Depraved Bisexual : Zig-Zagged with Lily. She's allowed in the band because she claims she doesn't like boys (she has a girlfriend), and it works...until she convinces Johnny to shoot heroin and have sex with her.
- Descent into Addiction : Johnny does this after Gretchen leaves him.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Discussed in the context of a rash of "Stand Your Ground" killings that happen after the band get into a bar fight that leaves a man dead. Johnny is acquitted because of the law that says if one is threatened it's okay to respond with violence.
- Double Standard: Rape, Female on Female : Subverted hilariously. The mother of an avid groupie interrupts the band during something of an orgy, catching Lily and the girl in the act. When the mother runs to the media and tries to claim she will charge Lily with statutory rape, the girl takes the mic and hollers that seventeen is the age of consent in that state and her parents don't have sex anymore, leaving both Mum and the newscaster speechless.
- Driven to Suicide : The Virgin's father, leading Elias to cancel the tour and send Johnny to rehab.
- Drowning My Sorrows : Vic starts drinking heavily after Ricky's death. Both Johnny and Lily start heavily using heroin at the start of the third act, with Johnny's reason partially being Gretchen leaves him for sleeping with Lily..
- Expy: Johnny Faust is both one for Johann Faust and for the actor that plays him. Johnny dropped out of college and moved from Ohio to Los Angeles to start a band with the hopes of big success. Andy Biersack was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles to achieve fame with Black Veil Brides.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job : During the poverty montage early in the film, Johnny is shown washing dishes. Vic works in a record store.
- Faustian Rebellion: Natch, this happens during the climax.
- Foreshadowing : Elias warned Ricky not to get involved in the party.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: Gabriel and Mr. Capricorn, respectively.
- Hard-Work Montage : Since The Relentless are a band on the rise, there are a couple, backed by their songs.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners : Leo and Ricky.
- Intrepid Reporter : The film begins and ends with Elias being interviewed by one.
- Ironic Echo: Lily's instructions to Johnny later come back.Shoot it in me. Pull the trigger.
- Kill the Cutie: Poor, poor Ricky...
- Lives in a Van : All the male members of the band sleep in a van.
- Magical Negro: Gabriel (yes, that Gabriel) is an elderly black man that only shows up to guide Johnny through his journey.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane : Is Gabriel an angel or an opportunist? Does Mr. Capricorn even exist? Is Lily a demon or a not?
- Meaningful Name: Several. Elias means "The Lord Is My God."
- Momma's Boy : Johnny was raised by a single mother and most of his motivation away from the dark side is due to her.
-
Moral Event Horizon: For the whole band, it's the ritualistic killing of Damien. For Johnny, he just keeps crossing it. - My God, What Have I Done? : When Johnny realizes Gretchen overheard him having sex with Lily while high on heroin, and she dumps him, he has a meltdown, alongside the reports of kids killing their bullies.
- The New Rock & Roll: The Devil takes credit for all the rock and roll legends, including Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones.
- New Technology Is Evil: According to Mr. Capricorn, the reason the first Mac computer was released for $666.66 and featured the logo of a bitten apple was because Steve Jobs made a deal with the devil.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity : In-Universe. After Johnny shoots Mr. Capricorn onstage, Leo describes it as "A hell of a way to sell records."
- Off on a Technicality : After Johnny shoots Capricorn on stage Elias swears it was all part of the act. This works better than the Insanity Defense Johnny was trying, although he really had lost his mind by the end.
- Organized Crime : It's suggested that most of the clubs on the Sunset Strip are owned by the Mob, and Damien's father works for them.
- Privilege Makes You Evil : Damien is spoiled, entitled, and a real asshole, because of his father's connections.
- Rags to Riches : The early part of the film shows us a montage of the band's scrabble just after arriving in LA. It doesn't last long after they make a deal with Capricorn.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil : Lily won't press charges against Damien because he's too well connected.
- Rockers Smash Guitars : When the headliners kick The Relentless off their tour, Leo and Dylan take the headliners' guitars and use them to smash their tour bus.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here : Ricky runs when things get too intense.
- Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll : Lots and lots, of course showing the debauchery of the rock lifestyle. Zig-Zagged, though in that Gretchen makes Johnny promise none of the first two, only the last. He doesn't keep his promise.
- Shout-Out: So many.
- Johnny Faust and his girlfriend Gretchen. Given that the film is a Whole-Plot Reference of Goethe's version of Faust, this makes sense.
- Mr. Capricorn. The symbol for Capricorn is a stag or ibex, which is heavily associated with Satanic symbols and devil worship (most prominently Baphomet).
- The reveal that Damien is Mr. Capricorn's son is not even slightly surprising to anyone that's seen The Omen.
- Lily is very obviously a shoutout to Lilith.
- The Satanic Brothel orgy is a shoutout to Eyes Wide Shut
- Many quotes from and about various rockers who inspired the film. Elias even compares Damien's past to that of Mötley Crüe 's Vince Neil, who killed Razzle Dingley while driving wasted.
- Ricky with cocaine all over his face might be a Shout-Out to the "mountain of coke" scene in Scarface.
- Sliding Scaleof Free Will Vs Fate : Discussed frequently. Johnny might be influenced by Mr. Capricorn, but his choices are his own.
- Softer and Slower Cover : A cover of Danzig 's "Mother" plays while Lily seduces Johnny. Also Korn 's "Freak on A Leash."
- Stealth Hi/Bye : Mr. Capricorn has a way of appearing and disappearing at odd times.
- Twice-Told Tale: If Johnny's name wasn't enough of a dead giveaway, it's a modern retelling of Goethe's "Faust".
- Vague Age : Lily's age is never stated, but she might be around 27 and the infamous "27 Club, given she states that most of her rock idols were addicted to heroin by the time they were her age.
- Wham Line: There are several, and fittingly, they're all delivered by The Devil.
- "Johnny, you might as well go and phone your mother."
Tropes found in Paradise City
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Zig-Zagged. Played straight with Gabriel, who was an older gentleman in the film and a young, attractive man in the series. While not unattractive in the least, the actor who played Lily in the film is androgynous while TV Lily is much more feminine looking. Fairuza Balk, also not unattractive, is much rougher looking and crazier than her film counterpart. Exaggerated with the recurring character who replaced Malcolm McDowell's role, now a hot younger woman.
- Adaptation Expansion: The series serves as both an adaptation and sequel to the film, including a number of new characters. Minor characters from the film have a considerably larger role in the series.
- Adapted Out: Johnny's mother, Kat Faust, played by Denise Richards, is absent from the series.
- Call-Back : The scenes in the studio with the producer pulling better lyrics out of the singer/songwriter is a callback to Elias doing this in the film, with Johnny.
- Disappeared Dad : Johnny to Faith. Simon has never met his dad, Oliver, and wants desperately to Shed the Family Name.
- Morality Pet : After the events of the film, Johnny is trying to move on and be a better, sober person. Subverted when Vivian shows up and Johnny wants nothing to do with his daughter, Faith.
