The Sacrament

R

Released Jun 6, 2014

1h 39m

Mystery & Thriller

List

65%

71 Reviews

Tomatometer

47%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Found footage reveals the events surrounding an investigative team's visit to a remote commune, led by a dangerous fanatic who maintains an iron grip on his followers.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Mar 05

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent The Sacrament on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

While it may be a bit too slow for some, The Sacrament offers enough tense atmosphere and intriguing ideas to satisfy discerning horror buffs.

Read Critics Reviews

Logan D

Two documentary filmmakers journey to a hidden compound to help their friend locate his sister. First, let me say Kentucker Audley may be the best name I've ever heard. Seek out his film Strawberry Mansions for an odd treat. As for this film, it's a slow moving effort from West but it does feature his talent for atmosphere. The story is obviously influence by Jim Jones and Waco and their aren't many surprises knowing that fact. The actors are engaging, however. For a found footage film, however, I wasn't always sure who was filming.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/26/23

Full Review

Alec B

Yes it's an ambitious and sometimes frightening film, but it suffers from some really unconvincing performances and a dud of a finale.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/10/23

Full Review

Emma S

Idk how to explain how many things are wrong with this garbage. Total ripoff of Jonestown tragedy except it was real and this was horrible worrying and acting. Ridiculous individual death scenes overreacting, even to the Bic lighter scene. I just can only assume there's a generation not familiar with the event so don't truly under stand just how poorly this film was done. Even in the last moments of the film they are still pretending it's not Jonestown.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/02/23

Full Review

Ana O

It's... ok. Kinda disappointing. The movie is made well, acted well, everything is done well, except that it's just... not interesting. There are no twists. Everything that happens is extremely predictable. It's basically just the Jonestown story. Honestly if it had explicitly stated that or said "based on a true story" I would've enjoyed it more. I was just expecting it to be something different, because there have already been a ton of Jonestown movies made.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/12/23

Full Review

John B

Don't waste your time, basically copied what actually happened in Jonestown. Watch a real documentary regarding that tragedy, not this poor excuse for a movie. Bad acting, bad dialogue, bad movie.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/03/23

Full Review

H W

Why not call it the Jonestown massacre if that is what is?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/01/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Ti West

Director

Joe Swanberg

Jake

Amy Seimetz

Caroline

AJ Bowen

Sam

Kate Lyn Sheil

Sarah

Kentucker Audley

Patrick

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

40%

38%

The Tall Man

61%

50%

The Frozen Ground

TRAILER

for The Frozen Ground

0%

36%

A Dark Truth

55%

45%

The Company You Keep

50%

27%

Holy Ghost People

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on Prime Video and Freevee in September 2022

Now Streaming: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Sacrament, and More

Critics Consensus: Edge of Tomorrow is Certified Fresh

View more photos

Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

West's found-footage structure doesn't always entirely make sense, but it's easy to forgive "The Sacrament" its flaws.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 26, 2014

Full Review

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

The first half is a cautiously dread-inducing tour de force... The second half, however, when all hell breaks loose a little too quickly, is the disappointment.

Jun 13, 2014

Full Review

Peter Keough

Boston Globe

Everything that happens is what you'd expect, and the choice of subject and the modifications West has made to the generic conventions don't add much to the suspense or thrills.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 12, 2014

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A tense thriller about religious extremism and a promising step into a more advanced brand of horror filmmaking for West.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 15, 2022

Full Review

Allen Almachar

The MacGuffin

The worst thing about The Sacrament was how unapologetically exploitative it was

Rated: C-

Jul 20, 2020

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

The Sacrament might not quite be a breakout for West, as the concept might not fly with mainstream audiences, but it still establishes him as one of the only consistent horror filmmakers working today.

Rated: 7.1/10

Jun 26, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Found footage reveals the events surrounding an investigative team's visit to a remote commune, led by a dangerous fanatic who maintains an iron grip on his followers.

Director: Ti West
Producer: Maria Cestone, Stuart Ford, Hoyt David Morgan, Sarah E. Johnson
Screenwriter: Ti West
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Arcade, Worldview Entertainment
Rating: R (Brief Drug Use|Bloody Images|Disturbing Violent Content|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 6, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.0K
Runtime: 1h 39m

Most Popular at Home Now