The Sacrament (2014)

Updated: Aug 3, 2021

The Breakdown: A news crew gets caught up in the chaos while doing a piece on Eden Parish, a commune where their colleagues sister lives.

Watch If: You really love cult films.

Not If: You've already seen literally any other cult film.

SECONDARY FACTS

Overall Rating: 2.8

Length: 1:39

Country: USA

Language: English

Scare Factor: 1/5

Gore Factor: 2/5

REVIEW

THE QUICK AND DIRTY

It's an okay watch, but there isn't a single original idea in the entire film. It feels like a mismatch of almost every overused cult trope ever made.

PREMISE:2

A 'news' crew heads to a commune where their colleagues missing sister has been living, and everything happens from that point on exactly as you think it would. In fact, I'm convinced that, whether you've seen it or not, you already know literally everything that happens. It's still watchable, but more as a generic, cult themed background film than an actually Movie Night Flick.

ACTING:3

The acting is fine, and in several places, down right good. Father is an interesting character and the Actor who portrays him does a good job doing so. I am, however, still salty that they didn't cast John Goodman, because I would watch the hell out of "John Goodman, Cult Leader."

AUDIO AND VISUALS:4

The Sacrament manages to maintain an interesting visual style without sacrificing quality or the found footage premise. The use of darkness and light in a lot of the nighttime shots is well done and visually stimulating. The sound design is also well done, with moments of tension conveyed only through the stylistic decisions of sound and cinematography, rather than through the story itself.

ATMOSPHERE:2

The pacing is good, things progress evenly and in a clear direction, at least until the crescendo, which takes up a good third of the film. The derivative nature of the film, however, makes the story itself incredibly predictable.

DELIVERY:3

The Sacrament is not a bad movie, it's just not an original one. It's certainly watchable, and if cult films are your thing, then there's really nothing outlandishly bad about this one.