The Sacrament

The Sacrament is a fairly straightforward movie. It's about a group of guys who are part of a documentary film group and one of the guys' sister moves into an isolated commune and the film crew wants to know the full scoop. You'll know exactly where this movie is going as it progresses, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It gives a chance for director Ti West to establish some character background and vague insights into the religious group while slowly turning the creep dial up until the movie's climax. The acting is good across the board, the standout being the Father (Gene Jones) who is suitably charismatic as the cult's ominous leader. For a found-footage movie it's shot well, but of course there are the typical issues that come with the turf - impossible angles, how the footage was even found - but these are things you'd know going in. The movie itself is a well executed, suspenseful slow burn.

The biggest fault in The Sacrament is its predictability. Again, it's not a bad thing, we just know what's coming at every turn. Creepy cult, innocent people poking their noses in places they don't belong, an underlying dark scheme that slowly unravels to the protagonists. If that kind of stuff interests you and you're willing to forgive the tropes that come with the genre, The Sacrament is a worthwhile watch.

Most people seem to dislike the "found-footage" genre, though I personal like to see what stories filmmakers can create and develop it as a found-footage (mostly horror). I did like the first 3 installments of "Paranormal Activity," I absolutely loved "Cloverfield," and "The Blair Witch Project" did scare me. Thus, if you found more than one of these repulsive, ignore my review. I will also warn that this is obviously not a movie for everyone. After watching this movie, I can say that I came out very disturbed and mortified, which was Ti West's intentions (I presume). The whole film feels very real, and I did enjoy Gene Jones and Amy Seimitz's terrifyingly surreal acting. Most people will see this movie knowing how it'll end since it's based on the Jonestown massacre (don't look this up if you don't know it!!!), but that doesn't mean there weren't other aspects of the movie that weren't entertaining. For what the movie is about, I was surprised to still be jumping in my seat and breathing heavily at moments of great suspense. My only complaints about the film were some of the choices Ti West chose to move the story (those moments where the audience knows they are doing something very stupid and it feels unrealistic that they would do that to begin with). Some criticism I've heard is that it takes forever to get to the "good" parts. I'm going to argue that that is false criticism unless you are only looking to watch a 95 minute movie filled with terror and suspense. Yes, the first half of the movie doesn't have very much suspense, but there is still a chilling mood creeping up every minute. Plus, the chemistry between the actors is great and entertaining!

This was an almost exact telling of the Jonestown Massacre. The only differences were the date because it was present day, a film crew came with a parishioners relative rather than a congressman and there were not as many victims.

The journalist Patrick (Kentucker Audley) works at the VICE, a company dedicated to cover bizarre news. When his sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz) joins a community, she travels abroad with her new family. Out of the blue, Caroline invites her brother to visit her in an undefined country and Patrick travels by helicopter with his friends Jake (Joe Swanberg) and Sam (AJ Bowen) that work with him at VICE.

They find weird that the men that have come to guide them to the Eden Parish have guns. On the arrival to the camp, Patrick, Sam and Jake find a community of happy people that worship Father (Gene Jones). They interview Father but soon they realize that people are not as happy as they seem to be. Further, they find that they are trapped in the Parish Eden and they want to leave the place with the newcomers. But the Father does not have intention to let them go.

"The Sacrament" is a suspenseful horror movie with a music score in the beginning that recalls "The Twilight Zone". However this awful "found- footage" genre spoils the creepy story. The Dogma 95 has only 77 recognized movies, but this rip-off of the genre seems to be the easiest means to produce cheap low-budget movies in the present days. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Sacramento" ("The Sacrament")

What starts out as a promising look into a religious cult, quickly turns into a jumbled mess of incoherent storytelling, baffling motivations, and annoying camera work.

The problem is none of the characters are well rounded or defined beyond the absolute basics (and they do incredibly stupid things throughout the film, especially in the second half). So when things start going bad, it's hard to care. The film seems to want to offer a deep, nuanced look into the world of cults, but West doesn't seem to be able to paint anyone with more than a primary colored brush. Everyone is a caricature ...especially "Father", who is little more than a mouthpiece for religious mumbo jumbo.

The decision to make this found footage becomes the film's biggest flaw, as the extremely limited use of the camera gives every scene a flat incomplete feeling, totally stripping the film of any gravitas or meaning. Found footage has become a lazy, tired cliché in the horror genre and West is no where near talented enough to make it work. West is quickly becoming a hackneyed presence in the world of horror, and it's a mystery why people make such a big deal of him.

And I am wondering where the hell the $4 Million budget went, since the cinematography is bare bones, we're only ever in a single location, and there are no explosions or huge actions scenes. I mean you could've made this for less than a million dollars and it would've been exactly the same movie.

All in all a disappointing film.