The very same faith that can drive humanity to build majestic works of art and band together to help those in need is also responsible for some of the most horrific events in our species’ history. This is something that genre filmmaker Ti West seems to understand very well, with many of his projects at least hinting at the darker side of faith.
From the Satanic-Panic-inspired murders of House of the Devil to the bible belt influences behind the X trilogy, it seems like West has been building up to the religious twist in the recently released MaXXXine for years now. However, there’s one underrated entry in the director’s filmography that I think epitomizes his obsession with faith-based horror while also setting the groundwork for much of his future work.
Naturally, I’m referring to the 2014 Found Footage thriller The Sacrament, a criminally underseen film that I’d love to revisit now that West has finally achieved superstar director status. So if you’re up for a deep dive into cults and the charismatic leaders that make them tick, why not grab your pocket bible and join me on this journey down a rabbit hole where religious horror meets tragic True-Crime?
First of all, I think it’s worth addressing that The Sacrament is the only Ti West movie so far to have actually been based on a real story. The film plays fast and loose with its terrifying source material, but the general premise is obviously lifted from the real-life tragedy surrounding Jim Jones and the mass suicide that occurred in Jonestown back in 1978. While I usually avoid dwelling on sensitive real-world terrors when discussing horror movies (especially those that play with our perceptions of reality), The Sacrament appears to have been a sincere attempt at making sense of one of the most senseless mass deaths in history.
The entire production stemmed from West realizing that no horror yarn he could conceive of would ever come close to competing with the disturbing real story that led to 918 people (including children) ending their lives at the behest of a single madman. With this in mind, the director ended up convincing genre veteran Eli Roth (who he befriended during the production of Cabin Fever 2) to help him produce a modernized retelling of the Jonestown Massacre. However, unlike the director’s previous retro thrillers, this project would be presented as a realistic piece of investigative journalism covering a fundamentalist cult out in the middle of nowhere.
Not only would the Found Footage approach allow West to tell a large-scale story without breaking the bank, but it also appears to have been a conscious decision meant to heighten tension as viewers feel just as trapped as our intrepid protagonists – all without resorting to masked killers and ghostly apparitions.
That’s why the execution here matters much more than the narrative itself, with the film slowly but surely chugging along to a foregone conclusion like a classic tragedy combined with a ticking time bomb. We know from the very beginning that things are going to go terribly wrong, and while several critics accused the film of being an exercise in misery due to its excessively bleak storytelling, I think the bleakness is the entire point. This is a cautionary tale, and that means that the viewing experience isn’t exactly meant to be pleasant or even cinematic.
We’ve seen plenty of movies about death cults before, but what really makes The Sacrament stand out is how grounded everything is. None of the fanatics are portrayed as brainwashed zombies, and there’s no obviously satanic imagery hinting at a sinister deity pulling the strings behind the scenes. In fact, Eden Parish initially doesn’t sound all that bad until you realize that their entire belief system hinges on a single unstable father figure.
The real Jonestown story is obviously much more nuanced – and arguably more interesting – than what we see in The Sacrament, with Jim Jones having a warped political agenda (he even preached in Brazilian favelas for a while in an attempt to understand racial and economic divides) while simultaneously believing himself to have been guided by the Angel of Death since childhood, but I think West was more interested in exploring the visceral horror of being at the mercy of radical beliefs rather than truly adapting real events.
Gene Jones’ excellent portrayal of Father is more of an archetype representing the concept of a manipulative cult leader rather than a one-to-one recreation of Jim Jones, an idea that only works due to the actor’s extraordinary performance. Jones’ deceptively warm demeanor is really the most compelling part of The Sacrament, with the character avoiding common villain tropes by disguising Father’s manipulation as well-intentioned religious fervor.
Unfortunately, the rest of the flick can’t quite do this performance justice, with a small collection of logical inconsistencies (like how the protagonists ignore several opportunities to either get the hell out of dodge or arm themselves in order to fight the cultists) and paper-thin characters souring an otherwise thrilling experience. While it makes sense that a Vice documentary wouldn’t exactly develop its journalists as three-dimensional human beings, the shifting points of view often make it feel like the movie is being shot by no one in particular.
Despite this, I really appreciate how the film tackles difficult subject matter without resorting to sensationalism. West even chooses to shoot the climactic deaths as if they’re unfortunate casualties in a faith-based war rather than the ritualistic sacrifice that we’d see in a traditional horror movie. Yes, there’s still plenty of blood and guts here, but none of it feels fun to watch, and having the climax take place in broad daylight makes everything feel even less glamorous.
Ultimately, The Sacrament has no pretentions of solving the problems presented by extremist cults (which would be an impossible task anyway), preferring instead to focus on the deadly consequences of letting others dictate our behavior. And while I understand that the flick’s down-to-earth approach isn’t for everyone, I appreciate the authenticity of it all.
So if you saw MaXXXine and feel like watching West tackle more overtly religious horror, why not revisit his first and only foray into POV filmmaking? At the very least, you’ll be able to enjoy a Found Footage flick that doesn’t rely on ghostly jump-scares or glitches to be scary – something that I think is already worth the price of admission.
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