User reviews

Most people seem to dislike the "found-footage" genre, though I personal like to see what stories filmmakers can create and develop it as a found-footage (mostly horror). I did like the first 3 installments of "Paranormal Activity," I absolutely loved "Cloverfield," and "The Blair Witch Project" did scare me. Thus, if you found more than one of these repulsive, ignore my review. I will also warn that this is obviously not a movie for everyone. After watching this movie, I can say that I came out very disturbed and mortified, which was Ti West's intentions (I presume). The whole film feels very real, and I did enjoy Gene Jones and Amy Seimitz's terrifyingly surreal acting. Most people will see this movie knowing how it'll end since it's based on the Jonestown massacre (don't look this up if you don't know it!!!), but that doesn't mean there weren't other aspects of the movie that weren't entertaining. For what the movie is about, I was surprised to still be jumping in my seat and breathing heavily at moments of great suspense. My only complaints about the film were some of the choices Ti West chose to move the story (those moments where the audience knows they are doing something very stupid and it feels unrealistic that they would do that to begin with). Some criticism I've heard is that it takes forever to get to the "good" parts. I'm going to argue that that is false criticism unless you are only looking to watch a 95 minute movie filled with terror and suspense. Yes, the first half of the movie doesn't have very much suspense, but there is still a chilling mood creeping up every minute. Plus, the chemistry between the actors is great and entertaining!

I was born in 83, so anything I know of Jonestown has been gleaned from podcasts, documentaries, or anniversary television broadcasts. Even that is much more than some.

And that's how it works, right? As much as we hate to admit it, as time moves on, everything (and I do mean *everything*) fades from memory. Go ahead and ask a 16 yr old nowadays who Jim Jones or David Koresh were - I bet they'll roll their eyes and assume you're talking about an 80s rock band lead. That fading and moving on of time is exactly why the remake/prequel/sequel/reboot industry is a thing of the Millennial age that never was before.

In order for history (good, bad, or indifferent) to continue to be passed along, the stories have to be retold and reincarnated in ways that are more appealing to those who come after. So maybe The Sacrament doesn't come right out and say, "Hey, we remade Guyana," but I sincerely doubt any of the filmmakers involved thought that viewers of the right age were going to mistake the story for anything else. Another movie that tells a variation of Jonestown without acknowledging it is "The Veil" btw.

As far as found footage films go, this one is high quality cinematography-wise. I thought the casting was actually fairly impressive, and despite knowing exactly where the story was headed, I did find the second half hard to watch; it did give me insight into Jonestown in a way that was truly shocking.

Worth a watch. Won't blow your mind, or bring home an Oscar, but Ti West is always hit or miss with me (mostly miss) and this one wasn't too bad. If you would rather see Jonestown through a less modern, less horror-genre lens, then by all means, go watch the stuff made in the 80s.

The Sacrament is a fairly straightforward movie. It's about a group of guys who are part of a documentary film group and one of the guys' sister moves into an isolated commune and the film crew wants to know the full scoop. You'll know exactly where this movie is going as it progresses, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It gives a chance for director Ti West to establish some character background and vague insights into the religious group while slowly turning the creep dial up until the movie's climax. The acting is good across the board, the standout being the Father (Gene Jones) who is suitably charismatic as the cult's ominous leader. For a found-footage movie it's shot well, but of course there are the typical issues that come with the turf - impossible angles, how the footage was even found - but these are things you'd know going in. The movie itself is a well executed, suspenseful slow burn.

The biggest fault in The Sacrament is its predictability. Again, it's not a bad thing, we just know what's coming at every turn. Creepy cult, innocent people poking their noses in places they don't belong, an underlying dark scheme that slowly unravels to the protagonists. If that kind of stuff interests you and you're willing to forgive the tropes that come with the genre, The Sacrament is a worthwhile watch.

Ti West's latest horror opus has the viewer following a man going to visit his sister at a remotely hidden commune with 2 internet documentarians in tow to film and follow the story. It turns out to be more of a cult though ruled by an enigmatic leader named Father who seems to have a tight hold over his flock.

It doesn't take long before they realize things aren't exactly as they seem as they are drawn into the horror surrounding Eden Parish.

Many comparisons to real life cult situations of the past are being drawn here in a lot of other reviews and comments which kind of give the ending of the movie away, maybe aptly so, but it really just plays out like a horror movie. A.J. Bowen plays a different kind of role than he's used to and does a great job of it.

Fun cult movie has West moving in a new direction and he does a good job of it. There is quite a bit more action than his previous 2 films as the action moves along at a fairly steady pace. The soundtrack throughout the latter half of the movie detracts a little from the found footage experience as it takes a bit of the reality out of the situation.

What starts out as a promising look into a religious cult, quickly turns into a jumbled mess of incoherent storytelling, baffling motivations, and annoying camera work.

The problem is none of the characters are well rounded or defined beyond the absolute basics (and they do incredibly stupid things throughout the film, especially in the second half). So when things start going bad, it's hard to care. The film seems to want to offer a deep, nuanced look into the world of cults, but West doesn't seem to be able to paint anyone with more than a primary colored brush. Everyone is a caricature ...especially "Father", who is little more than a mouthpiece for religious mumbo jumbo.

The decision to make this found footage becomes the film's biggest flaw, as the extremely limited use of the camera gives every scene a flat incomplete feeling, totally stripping the film of any gravitas or meaning. Found footage has become a lazy, tired cliché in the horror genre and West is no where near talented enough to make it work. West is quickly becoming a hackneyed presence in the world of horror, and it's a mystery why people make such a big deal of him.

And I am wondering where the hell the $4 Million budget went, since the cinematography is bare bones, we're only ever in a single location, and there are no explosions or huge actions scenes. I mean you could've made this for less than a million dollars and it would've been exactly the same movie.

All in all a disappointing film.

I feel like they wanted to tell the Jonestown story but for some reason had to make it fictional... but this is Jonestown through and through... there is a really good scene when Sam does an "Interview" with Father and it is excellently done .... Well written and well acted, that scene .... It fell apart after that to hop skip and jump to the Big Jonestown stuff and from that point it's just a reenactment of any documentary you've seen about it.

Well.. We all know what an amazing talent this guy Ti West is. 33 years of age and he has done almost everything a film maker dreams of. Actor, director, producer, screen writer and what not. But lately he has been in dumps mainly because of some sloppily made films (Cabin fever 2, The Innkeepers, The A,B,C.s of death) but with The Sacrament he's back with a bang. And now lets come to the story.. Yes it is based on Jonestown Murders, which in itself is a spine chilling incident and to portray that on celluloid with such realism is in itself an achievement. Performance wise AJ Bowen and Amy Seimetz rocked but the way Gene Jones carried himself in that devilish character of a "father" is simply astonishing. Good one for a surprise thriller. My vote 7 out of 10.

So...it is much harder for an European to imagine a lot of this as plausible than for an American. Yes, I know what inspired this. However, it was a long time ago, even if I know that nowadays the cults are still strong in America, which is very rare in almost every other developed country. I think that susceptibility from Americans to cults (probably based on their extreme beliefs in religious elements, which usually are not that common anymore in developed countries) makes this a much more terrifying experience for them, while most of us will see it as "oh c'mon, can't you see the red flags?", "c'mon, do you really believe in heaven and that it is the way to go there?" Or "why the hell would you let a white old man decides your death and future"...

Having said that...the film is mostly good, tense and effective. It's well constructed, with a good build-up, good acting and you feel something in the air even when nothing is happening. I've some issues with the found-footage elements (yeah right, you are running away from cold killers with your camera in your hand to slow you down) and with the stupidy of some characters (not only the cult members, but...that guy coming back to the place after seeing armed security officers trying to kill him??? And screaming while there are killers around looking for survivors? Jeez...). Nonetheless, I can say more good than bad about this.

When it comes to the new sub-genre, found film footage's this one does what a lot of them don't do. It takes us into a remote location where we see a fictional crazy Christian cult. One of the character's sister is involved in the cult, which is what brings our protagonists to their current location.

At first everything seems great, the people are happy but there is somehow a darkness you can't quite put your finger on. Producer Eli Roth is very good at doing this when it comes to his films, but so does a little corniness, but thankfully he's not the director so his corniness is not seen in this film.

But with his name being attached you do sort of hope to see a lot of violence and gore, something this film was lacking. It was sort of a more realistic view on cults, nothing like we saw in Kevin Smith's Red State. This is one is a little bit more subtle, but that's what makes it way more disturbing in my eyes. The final scenes are very intense in what kept me at the edge of my seat. The ending isn't what you normally get in these types of films and that is always refreshing.

As of this review this film is currently on Netflix and I highly recommend it to those who want to watch something scary and something a little different in terms of horror.

Already out there that stands as legitimate information. Try reading "Raven,"try viewing a quality documentary and understanding the historical context from which this "movie" came from. I'm sorry but people really died in this horrible ordeal and it clearly wasn't a film. Sometimes spending 4m on a project is just a bad idea outside giving work to actors and film crews. It's not a mystery that opening weekend seemed to bring in less than $550 USD. This effort would have been better served by the creators simply retelling the original story perhaps from a different view point. I thought it was in poor taste to put up that 167 lives were lost and that only two survived. Try over 900 with no movie stars involved. 3/10 was for how things looked at the outset. Don't pay any money for this.

Fashion photographer Patrick (Kentucker Audley) has lost contact with her drug addicted sister, Caroline (Amy Seimetz) following her stay at a sober living facility that lead to her abandoning her life in the United States and joining a religious commune called Eden Parrish run by a man known as Father (Gene Jones). Accompanied by Vice reporters Sam (A. J. Bowen) and Jake (Joe Swanberg) the trio are given a tour by Caroline of the seemingly idyllic Eden Parish as a dark undercurrent permeates the atmosphere over time.

The Sacrament is a found footage horror film written and directed by Ti West and produced by Eli Roth that takes inspiration from the Jonestown Massacre involving Jim Jones and the Peoples' Temple. The movie sees West deal with relatively more grounded horror as West wanted a film that would be genuinely upsetting and I think West is reasonably successful even if I feel like the film is held back a little.

I think Ti West does a good job of utilizing the found footage format to solid effect and the opening half of the film where we tour Eden Parish and interview the various citizens is quite interesting in creating engaging character and unsettling tension as it feels like an innocuous veneer is slowly being pulled back. Gene Jones is very solid as the Jim Jones esque leader of Eden Parish, "Father" aka Charles Reed and you buy he'd be charismatic enough to convince people on the fringes of society to follow him. Our trio of characters aren't especially rich in character, but they do enough to make for solid proxies during the course of the film's events especially Audley who has a chilling scene during the climax where he acts out a dynamic scene that will stop the heart of anyone who watches it. I think this brings us to the weakest part of the film which is the climactic scene that mirrors the one from Jonestown in that it never feels as large as the movie tells us it is and it feels like it's held back from showing this at the scale it wants to. There's also the impetus for this climax being different in that in real life it was a U. S. congressman who investigated the Peoples' Temple with two representatives from NBC. Without that level of status it feels like the route taken doesn't make as much sense in spite of how strong parts of it are.

The Sacrament is an ambitious film from Ti West, but also a flawed one. While it's well acted and well made it doesn't really capture the enormity of the Jonestown massacre and feels like its reach exceeds its grasp.

Without revealing too much of the plot, suffice to say this is a reimagining of an actual event.

No idea why other than to introduce the event to a young audience, but who understands the logic of why some films are made? And why the storyline was altered to make it appeal to that younger demographic.

The reality is that the actual event is even more horrific than this film, despite some of the graphic footage you are subjected to here.

I guess the idea was something like a mashup of The Blair Witch Project with the substantive portions of the actual event was the elevator pitch, but for anyone who is familiar with the actual event, this film will simply bore you to distraction until the inevitable happens.

I think the less you know about the Jonestown incident before seeing The Sacrament, the more effective the film is. I actually knew about the real-life incident before viewing the film, however it still came across in the film as something shocking and disturbing. After seeing Ti West's flat effort at a ghost story in, The Innkeepers, I was keeping my expectations low for his feature length follow-up, however I was actually very pleasantly surprised. The Sacrament is one of the best found footage films we've seen from America in quite a while.

The Sacrament isn't about zombies, ghosts or trolls. Instead, it's the intriguing story of an isolated cult which manages to avoid a lot of the cheap thrills and clichés which found footage films have associated with them. I actually really liked the found footage angle it had as it heightened the feeling of isolation. It makes the audience feel like intruders, thus adding to the sense of mystery. Of course there are a few occasions where the victims pick up the camera before running for their lives, but it's a contrivance which is difficult to avoid and luckily it isn't actually too distracting.

Ti West is known for his slow-burning horror films, however I don't think The Innkeepers worked well as a slow-burner at all so I was preparing myself for boredom. Conversely, I didn't find one minute of The Sacrament boring at all. The first half does a fantastic job of building intrigue and atmosphere. From the moment we arrive on Eden Parish we know that something is menacing is lurking. We chat to the cult members who all seem jolly about the life they've created for themselves and it is interesting to watch. At times, The Sacrament does feel like a genuine documentary which adds to the disturbing reality underneath it.

Things take proper turn for the sinister when we meet the mysterious leader played by the coin toss man in No Country for Old Men! Gene Jones plays him splendidly creepily and comes across a genuine religious nutter. The dialogue Ti West creates for him also feels very authentic which makes for chilling viewing. It's the final half hour which is the most disturbing to view though, as the film goes down a route you wouldn't really expect and breaks typical horror movie conventions.

I can't say that the idea is original because it's quite clearly based on true events, but it is original to use it in the way it's done here. There are some very unsettling scenes which managed to get right underneath my skin. I found the music very effective too in creating a depressive atmosphere that is difficult to shake off. When the film was over I felt genuinely unsettled which is something I don't feel with most modern horror films from America. It also manages to be disturbing without feeling gratuitous.

The Sacrament is a truly horrifying experience, although it doesn't pan out in the way you think it might. It manages to build up a sense of intrigue and realism which makes the third act all the more effective and powerful. I would've liked some better character development and fewer contrivances, but overall The Sacrament is an effective horror film which has the power to unsettle and disturb.

I've seen people mentioning the Jonestown Mass murder and how close the events in this movie are to that. I personally wasn't aware of it but after watching the movie I've documented myself about it and yes... if you've heard about Jonestown, then watching this movie is just a fictional visual representation of what happened there. Sorry.

Regadless, the case was interesting and the movie will most likely get a grip on most people as it makes you more and more curious towards what's really going on. As I've mentioned in the title, the story was credible, the tension building up was also there and done right and from the moment they get to Eden Parish (the community where the events in the movie take place) until things went haywire, you just feel there's something extremely eerie and sketchy about it all. The acting was pretty much great, the guy who was supposed to be the interviewer (AJ Bowen) really had this VICE interviewer personality, the Father (antagonist) was also astonishing both in acting and speaking and mostly every other smaller actor in the movie felt like professionals. Everyone BUT Joe Swanberg (the camera guy). I have nothing against him personally, I do not know him, but you will also probably notice what I'm talking about by the end of the movie. It might be the script too, but I personally found he's acting bad enough.

By the end of the movie you'll feel pretty angry with the events and if you're 'lucky' to know about Jonestown too, seeing this on screen will make you become even more upset knowing that such things actually happened. Great small flick, definitely worth giving a shot. I only hoped the ending was a bit more elaborate and intelligent.

"The Sacrament" builds up its suspense by slowly revealing things are not as perfect as they seem in the little community known as Eden's Parish. While it may be a bit too slow for some, The Sacrament offers enough tense atmosphere and intriguing ideas to satisfy discerning horror buffs. A complex and satisfying psychological thriller. Free on TUBI

okay it started great another Ti West slow burn movie and very interesting I liked that it was a different take on found footage type movies that are being shitted out these days by lazy "film makers" thought the acting was good especially by the guy who played father just a pity the second half of the film went down hill.

I don't understand if its supposed to be found footage why were they so many different camera angles going on i mean there was only supposed to be 2 cameras, it was very notable towards the end but that not the only problem the ending felt pointless left a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions Also i think they could have replaced vice with an actual TV documentary crew it would have been a lot more believable.

Other than that i liked the hole creepy tone and the weirdness of it same as every other Ti West movie I just hope he gets better scripts and bigger budgets to work with in future because I know he's capable of better.