The Sacrament

Up until the sixty minute mark I was pretty satisfied and thought of giving it four stars, but the moment “that” (which should be clear to any viewer) begins, the film lost me. At first, West manages to portray the atmosphere of an idyllic community or sect that hides something rotten under the surface, thanks in part to the stifling sunny southern environment where the sect lives. It has just the right shabby feeling of an exotic town full of brainwashed people and gave me an unpleasant and anxious feeling; and I could also relate to the protagonists, the journalists. But the moment “that” begins, all those feelings go to hell. The film loses all its atmosphere and tension, exactly what needs to happen happens (plus several improbably shot deaths), and The End. And I rather not talk about the questionable and surprising alternating between found footage, mockumentary and classic film… I still think that West is a very talented horror director, but the truth is that he hasn’t made me very happy lately. First it was his weak bit in the first V/H/S, then the utterly lazy contribution to ABCs of Death, and now this average mockumentary, and he wants to make a western next? What happened with the upcoming horror sci-fi Side Effect? That sounded ten times better than The Sacrament and a hundred times better than a western. Hopefully, he’ll recover. (03/05/2014)

Great satisfaction. A projection that is absolutely undemanding. A beautifully digestible story and character actions. West bet on simplicity and didn't venture into bigger projects, and sometimes less is more. The impression is slightly spoiled by predictability, but the atmosphere balances it out. It's a fact that West's climax may have escalated too quickly, introducing a rather abrupt twist, and didn't make a big deal out of it. Everything rushes by quickly and nothing is sugar-coated here. All neatly done in a hurry. It's certain that this won't lift West any higher than where he is now, but I'm glad that The Sacrament reached a successful conclusion because his points usually surprise me, not exactly in a good way. (31/05/2014)

Ti West has actually pleased me only once, with House of the Devil, so I consider him a purely mediocre director, and The Sacrament is unfortunately no exception. It's quite an interesting found footage project with classic shaky cam, but I'm not too excited about it. For an hour it's basically all talk and nothing interesting happens, then suddenly the film picks up and occasionally impresses with a functional atmosphere, but that's it. I could count the horror elements here on one finger. I wonder where the 4 million went. 50% so maybe next time. (03/05/2014)

Certainly, with a film like The Sacrament, you might have an idea of how things will escalate, maybe you'll even guess how it will all end, but it doesn't change the fact that even the expected is very well filmed, and it sends shivers down your spine. At times, you feel scared as if you were trapped in the community yourself. Ti West manages to film a fairly classic subject in a way that makes an impression on the viewer, which is the film's main asset. The found footage format doesn't bother me in the slightest. (06/11/2016)