The Sacrament (2013) #391

"The Sacrament" is an mediocre offering from director and writer Ti West, with horror fiend Eli Roth serving as one of the producers. The film stars regular Ti West collaborators A.J Bowen, Joe Swanberg, and Amy Seimetz. The film might be a little too polished for a first person perspective film but at least the viewer is saved from an overly shaky and nauseating experience. The film doesn't offer anything new to the material that it covers but it does present that content in an entertaining fashion.

"The Sacrament" is a simple, effective, straightforward, and yet predictable horror film about two independent web-journalists, Sam and Jake,  and a collaborator, Patrick, who go to an unnamed country to make a documentary about Parish Eden, a possible religious utopia for former drug addicts and social rejects. Patrick wants to find his sister Caroline, a recovering drug addict, who wrote a letter to her brother asking him to come. When the three first land, they are taken to the parish by armed locals, giving them quiet concern. While the sibling reunite, Sam and Jake interview the parish residents about their new life and what their leader, Father, is like. Sam and Jake begin to see the positive aspects about the simple life that the parish residents are living but when they meet Father, their fears and concerns quickly return. Soon they realize that there are secrets that are being kept from them and that their lives are in grave danger.

Father being interviewed by Sam and filmed by Jake

Sam and Jake

Caroline holding her brother Patrick