The actual point of the novel is quite different from the film. In the book, Mocata is trying to get hold of the 'Talisman of Set' which is supposed to be the actual phallus of Osiris, who was supposedly a human pharaoh. All of the Satanists activities and rituals, including the kidnapping of Simon are directed towards this end. They need the Talisman of Set for a ritual of high magic which will not only give Mocata power but will also release the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The previous time that the Talisman of Set was used brought about World War I and the Russian Revolution. If Mocata gets hold of it, it is inferred that there will be another great confrontation, (the book was written before the Second World War). Moccata also needs Tanith for the ritual, but when she dies in the place of De Richleu Moccata decides to try to get her back by sacrificing Fleur (the little girl, "Peggy" in the film). At the end of the book, Mocata has the Talisman of Set but is thwarted before he can use it. The film goes at such a pace that we never quite notice that it just a lot of mischief with no real point until the end. Oddly enough, the publicity material always showed Mocata apparently sacrificing Tanith on his alter, which is far from the point of the film, but of course, had they shown him attempting to sacrifice a little girl, which actually happened, the censors would have been down on them like a ton of talismans.
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