Disc Reviews

The Sacrament Review

14th Jul 2014

Ti West returns to the slow burning horror-chiller with this excellent new piece of work.

Two online documentarians Sam and Jake (AJ Bowen and Joe Swanberg) follow Patrick (Kentucker Audley – sound like the name of a horse to us, but whatever!) who is on his way to be reunited with his sister (Amy Seimetz) who is living in a religious commune called Eden Parish, cut off from the outside world.

Sam and Jake hope to get video and interview exposure of the group so they can provide an honest take on it to the rest of the world. But hostility is in the air from the moment they set foot off their helicopter taxi.

The group are introduced to the natives there and are granted permission to speak to a lot of people and what they find is a bit of a mixed bag of reasons for why people have decided to come and live out their days there together under their leader “Father” (Gene Jones).

The film is given the documentary look, not straying really outside the parameters of what is being shot by the actual cameras the characters are using. It isn’t really “Found Footage as it isn’t footage that was found. If anything, it’s mere “Shot Footage.” But this isn’t style for style’s sake. It fits logically in with the narrative and the characters given – and is key to the outcome of the story.

Bowen and Swanberg (who have worked previously with West – All three in fact have worked in front of the camera in the recent You’re Next).

The Sacrament is a prime example of a film putting its money where its mouth is and delivering upon its premise without ever feeling the need to chicken out at any time, but also without delivering scare, jumps or thrills just for the sake of it. Ti West has for several movies now started with the basics of concept and character building before he lets loose with the tension or horror. It is credit to him that he chooses to avoid early black cat scares which more streamlined films think they are supposed to incorporate to get a better audience response.

Instead the talking gets to do the walking in the opening of West’s films and then when it comes time to walk, he struts it like few other horror film makers do, and the response is all the more satisfying.