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Created Sep 01, 2014 06:28AM PST • Edited Sep 01, 2014 06:29AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   Zombies. Ghosts. Vampires. Natural Disasters. Aliens. Bumps in the night. Demons. Grotesquerie. Clowns. Enclosures. What do they have in common? All tropes of horror that define fear in many ways to people. Everyone seemingly has that THING that freaks them out like no other; that SOMETHING that sends chills into them unlike anything else in the genre. The Sacrament, played with a documentary format and presented as a true story despite being fiction, suggests that potentially the worst type of fear stems from the unknown facets of human nature, the leadership of the too powerful and hungry, religious zealotry, and the imminent danger inherent in what happens when the evils of the powerful force the weak-minded and malleable many to follow them blindly. This is an unnerving film in many ways. There are no jump scares or musical cues to let you know when to laugh/cry/scream/pee a little, and there are no moments where once the action happens you get a chance to take a breath and say “Well that was kinda crazy.” Its a divisive film that will certainly not be for everyone (which can be said of horror as a genre entirely, such a subjective category) as its documentary format and slow build up to create tension will honestly leave some wondering when the “movies gonna start”. but when it does, the payoff will be worth it and will leave you mouth agape muttering “wow.” The only reason I couldn’t rate it higher was because as a film i know that i couldn’t possibly recommend it to everyone (my mother will not be watching this, is what i’m saying.)

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   As is customary, horror isn’t always known for its acting accolades and big stars (you may get Chloe Moretz as Carrie, but you also gotta wade through….umm…well, 90% of the genre is various shades of wooden and/or overacting. So murky) but Ti West (director) has a way of getting performances out of people. AJ Bowen and Joe Swanberg play the documentarians of the film and their performances feel VERY real. They wont be winning any awards (or have they?) but yes you will truly believe them as fully fledged characters and follow their journey as if you’ve known them your whole life.

   The rest of the cast is serviceable and work well withint the confines of the plot (and wow theres a member of this cast with the name “kentucker Audley”? that man’s parents win a creativity award) but the truest praise of acting goes to Gene Jones, known in this film as “Father.” Because this man gets under your skin in ways never thought possible. His every word and vocakl inflection burrow into you and leave your mind spinning at how believable he is in the role. You truly understand how a man of such slight stature and seemingly pleasant demeanor (but oh believe me theres a devil spark in his eyes that the documentarians seem to notice nigh immediately) can so easily manipulate, read, lead, and completely devour (metaphorically, its not that kind of movie) the people of his little slice of “paradice”. Therer is a scene where AJ Bowen is interviewing “Father” and the scene is so completely taken over and aback with his charisma and manipulation of words that when it ends you have to remind yourself that its just a movie because if you read too far, you may be brainwashed yourself. The performance is THAT GOOD.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    The director’s name is Ti West. Admittedly im biased because he is a favorite independent horror director of mine (starting with “house of the Devil” the man has steadily been one of the most reliable and creative genre filmmakers in the independent scene) with an output that basks in a return to atmospheric tension instead of WHIZBANG scares (although when he wants to he can squeeze out one helluva surprise out of you) and in this, his 8th film (if you count his shorts in VHS and ABCs of death), his style has changed somewhat with the faux documentary feel and the movie is all the better for it. There were glimpses of this in some of his other films (Triggerman felt similar despite actually working withint budgetary contraints) but this is the first time hes worked with such a format. the natural lights and use of shakes when necessary make the film feel real and the world lived in in ways that a more traditional feel couldn’t have possibly done. Everything about the film served to create the most tension and thrills for the buck but unwilling to sacrifice style and substance in order to wring the scares out. I wouldn’t say its a new classic along the lines of his earlier “House of the Devil” but with every film he is showcasing a masterclass in classic filmmaking tropes that a lot of newer directors could learn. the film works because everything works to allow the film to unfold, as if there is nary an ego behind the scenes, but a collective whole wanting to tell a story as well as possible.

11. Direction Really Great 4.5

12. Play Really Great 4.5

13. Music Really Great 4.5

14. Visuals Really Great 4.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.3

    Do not get me wrong, this film may start slight but it ratchets as far as possible before unloading a massive current of violence and brutality that for many should be seen through fingers covering eyes. More than once i muttered a “WTF?” withint the second half of this 90 minute film. There is not much sexual to speak of (a couple of implications but nothing overt) and the “rudeness” is minimized until it becomes and services the wave of violence toward the end, but when it hits the fan, it really digs deep into you and unleashes in ways that, much like the original texas chainsaw massacre 40 years before it (WOW!!!!!), feels so much more horrifying, grue soaked, and savage than it really is. There is not really the amount of blood that one would expect and that is because its used only when necessary, and for some reason that is scarier.

17. Sex Titillating 2.4

18. Violence Savage 4.4

19. Rudeness Profane 3.2

21. Reality

    Glib 1.7

    Done in a very realistic documentary feel, with characters that are fleshed out and realistic (when the film makes the claim that its genuine documentary footage, you never really get that instance where your brain shuts down and says “Yeah thats not true these are actors”), using natural lighting and exterior locations, basing the story off of a realistic encounter, refusing to pull punches with the gravity of traumatic events unfolding as if watching with your very eyes, and making everything feel as real as possible (zero last minute heroics or people who seemingly power through pain to overcome.) Perhapos the most frightening part of this film is exactly how REAL it actually feels, from start to finish. Its not a snuff film or made to be “lost footage recently discovered”, but a cameras account of a tragedy as it unfolds. Highly NOT recommended for children (moreso than the brutality of the end, i find that i would spend far too long answering questions than anything!), the easily offended, people who dont like shaky camerawork, or folks who like to be dropepd into action from the start.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.9

23. Biological Glib 1.9

24. Physical Glib 1.2