SYNOPSICS
The Sacrament (2013) is a English movie. Ti West has directed this movie. Joe Swanberg,AJ Bowen,Kentucker Audley,Amy Seimetz are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2013. The Sacrament (2013) is considered one of the best Horror,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
The journalist Patrick works at the VICE, a company dedicated to cover bizarre news. When his sister Caroline joins a community, she travels abroad with her new family. Out of the blue, Caroline invites her brother to visit her in an undefined country and Patrick travels by helicopter with his friends Jake and Sam that work with him at VICE. They find weird that the men that have come to guide them to the Eden Parish have guns. On the arrival to the camp, Patrick, Sam and Jake find a community of happy people that worship Father. They interview Father but soon they realize that people are not as happy as they seem to be. Further, they find that they are trapped in the Parish Eden and they want to leave the place with the newcomers. But the Father does not have intention to let them go.
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The Sacrament (2013) Reviews
"This is the last sacrament."
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!
Terrible movie filled with missteps; you want to know about
Jonestown? Wiki it. Just reading about it is about a hundred times more disturbing than this film. First things first. Adding the VICE imprimatur made this all the more unrealistic; do you mean to tell me that VICE, who introduced me to General Butt Naked, is not going to have any knowledge whatsoever of a creepy reverend operating out of some unnamed backwater? Or that they're not going to do any research before they go where they're going? Stupid. AJ Bowen is a good actor when he's doing homages to eighties horror or even playing an asshole; he doesn't have the weight needed to pull his role off. I had problems with all the actors. The guy playing Jim Jones--why bother pretending this isn't what's going on in this movie--was decent with the 'material' he had, I suppose. The speeches Father gave were neither chilling nor all that informative. There's no real slow burn here either, which is what Ti West is known for. One second everything is cool, the next it's shot to hell. If you read any book about Jonestown or watch the many documentaries which exist, you'll see how the People's Temple did start out as a fairly benevolent organization, one which existed for many years before Jones finally lost it. That 'fairly benevolent aspect' is why Jones was able to draw so many in. Aside from this being a movie about Jonestown from start to finish, there's a lot more we see in the film that's a pastiche of things which have actually occurred. I didn't like the Budd Dwyer call out at the end that "Father" performs, or sister Caroline pulling a 'Buddhist monk immolates self in a protest against treatment by the Vietnamese'. The sudden pull of the gun and the manner in which Father bleeds out is exactly the same as Budd's suicide, Caroline's ghoulish dance is a fair bit different, but if you have the references, the movie just feels like a ripoff of things which already happened and in all cases are far more horrifying than this film. Most people have heard the Jonestown tapes, and unless you're living under a rock, you've seen pictures of the aftermath. This movie did nothing to otherwise illuminate the story of what happened there, so why make it? Just make a Jonestown film instead. You know you're in bad shape when a thirty year old TV mini-series starring Powers Boothe is a better representation than the four million dollar movie you just made. In closing, I thought the inter-titles telling us that "167 people died in the massacre at Eden Parish" and "It was one of the largest mass suicides in recorded history" were in stupidly poor taste. You see, in contrast, 913 people died at Jonestown. That was the largest mass suicide/murder in recorded history. This movie is for a generation who can't be bothered to look at the past--much like the eerily prophetic sign which hung over Jones's chair. Oh, you don't know about that either? The internet, she is your friend.
If you're gonna steal the Jim Jones story, at least call it what it is
My opinion of Ti West continues to dissolve as I sample more of his work. I love HOUSE OF THE DEVIL and thought that this was a bright new director who had a grasp on the "slow burn" style of film making. I felt that THE INNKEEPERS was a great movie ruined by a rushed, poor ending, but was still good enough to maintain my opinion of his future. Then, I saw his phoned-in entries in VHS and THE ABC's OF DEATH, but willing to chalk those up to being short stories. With this movie, he's now officially making me question whether he is a one-hit wonder. I'm actually struggling a little bit with exactly what my opinion of this movie is and what my rating should be. I'll start with some of my issues with the movie. I had heard a lot of talk going into this movie that it was influenced by the Jonestown Tragedy and I was ready for a movie that explored the nature of fanaticism and religion in the framework of West's slow burn style. What I was not prepared for was an EXACT simile of the Jonestown events. Except for one of two creative liberties, West never strays from the story, at all. By the midpoint of the movie it is clear that he's not going to offer anything new and, as a result, all tension is lost because the viewer now knows exactly what is going to happen later. If he wanted to do a Jonestown movie, why not just do one? Why not use the character's names and just call it what it is? This feels like a blatant attempt to disguise his thievery for a younger generation that may not know any better. As someone who's interested in the more macabre side of life, I've seen a half dozen documentaries on this subject already, including prior dramatizations of the events, including a recent one on cable television that was pretty much just as good. My other major issue is the "found footage" attempt. I have no inherent issue with found footage, at all. In fact some of my favorite horror of the past few decades would fall into that category and you'll never hear me complain about shaky camera-work or motion sickness. The problem, is that it just doesn't work at all and comes across as a crutch used by West to try to hide some of the cracks in the foundation. The quality of the film itself, the camera angles, the cinematography...all of them are too well done to be believable in the context of found footage. You know he wants you to believe that's what it is, but it's just not believable. There are even moments in the movie that are just plain impossible within this framing device. For instance, the climax with the two reporters and "Father". Anybody who could possible be filming is in the frame, so who exactly is taking the shot? So, I started the review by stating that I wasn't sure of my opinion and how to rate it, but until now I've pretty much bashed it, so where's the confusion, you may ask. Well, let's assume for one second that I'm 20 years younger than I am and don't really have a base of knowledge on the Jonestown events, or am not aware of the prior versions of this story, that maybe this is new material. Let's also assume that I'm not very critical of film style and don't care about the found footage attempt. If you can put those two things aside, the movie is entertaining. Yes, I knew exactly what was going to happen, so tension was shot for me, but West's directorial style still saves this somewhat. Gene Jones is very good as Father, though definitely needed more screen time. AJ Bowen is decent as our main character and elicits a sympathetic reaction from the audience. There are brief shock moments, mostly in a few of the deaths. Those things keep this from being rated lower, for me. As many have suggested in prior reviews, it's probably time for West to give up complete control. No matter who you are, in what business you work in, most suffer when given complete reins. It helps to have other opinions and thoughts. Maybe it's time for West to direct someone else's story and let someone else edit. And, for the love of God, stop casting your friends in movies. Joe Swanberg cannot act and should not be given roles.
Starts promising, completely falls apart in second half
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.
A predictable, creepy found-footage romp that is a cut above many.
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.