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The Sacrament

Play trailer Poster for The Sacrament R 2014 1h 39m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
66% Tomatometer 71 Reviews 47% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
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.
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The Sacrament

The Sacrament

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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.

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Critics Reviews

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Moira MacDonald Seattle Times 06/26/2014
3/4
West's found-footage structure doesn't always entirely make sense, but it's easy to forgive "The Sacrament" its flaws. Go to Full Review
Robert Abele Los Angeles Times 06/13/2014
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. Go to Full Review
Peter Keough Boston Globe 06/12/2014
2.5/4
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. Go to Full Review
Joe Lipsett Murder Made Fiction Podcast - Bloody Disgusting 11/05/2024
3/5
By focusing principally on the events of the massacre, the characterizations are slightly shallow, but Gene Jones' portrayal of Father and the harrowing use of faux documentary footage makes this intimate and unsettling Jonestown adaptation work Go to Full Review
Grant Watson Fiction Machine 08/08/2024
6/10
A quite potent and provocative thriller with more than enough great moments to make up for its shortfalls. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 08/15/2022
3/4
A tense thriller about religious extremism and a promising step into a more advanced brand of horror filmmaking for West. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Bruce M @BruceMc Jul 1 Just watch something about the real Jonestown massacre, this is boring. Can we just stop already with these ridiculous "found footage"/fictional documentaries? See more Stoner J @Stoner Jun 14 Gotta say my favorite West movie. Wish he would do more found footage flicks. This one’s fairly realistic too like he wrote this fashioned after Jonestown. Kinda depressing watch but a satisfying ending See more John C 10/22/2024 I hate ‘found footage’ films. There’s simply too many of them these days and they’re all basically the same. Just because ‘The Blair Witch Project’ revitalised the genre, it seems that every wannabe film-maker is trying his hand at one. Let’s face it... they’re cheap and easy to produce, not really relying on fancy special effects for scare tactics. Personally, I think all ‘found footage’ horror films should come with a warning on them, letting us – the viewing public – know that we’re in for ninety minutes of shaky camera footage with actors whispering directly into the camera from right up close during alleged times of tension. In fact, if ‘The Sacrament’ did have a label on it saying that it was ‘found footage’ I wouldn’t have watched it in the first place. However, I did. I mainly watched it because it had Eli Roth’s name attached to it and I still think he has some good stories left in him (even though I haven’t really enjoyed much he’s done since Cabin Fever). And, amazingly it’s watchable. That would be how I describe it – watchable. Not good, just watchable. And, based on how much I hate ‘found footage’ films, ‘watchable’ is a reasonable compliment. We get the same old documentary film-makers travelling to some cult’s commune in the middle of nowhere to track down one of their lost relatives. Guess what... all is not what it seems. I won’t go into detail, as you can probably already guess what sorts of perils they run into. You get the same shaky camera-work, chases through woods, characters sticking their faces right up close to the camera and filming themselves. Nothing new, but, when compared to all the truly horrendous ‘found footage’ rubbish infesting DVD bargain bins, at least I managed to sit through this one without turning it off halfway! See more 07/09/2024 Ti West has clearly done his research: it's hard to imagine a better movie could be made about Jonestown. This film brought the absolute horror of that day to life for me. The needless and appalling way all these people, nearly a 3rd of whom were children, died. Horror is the only word I know that comes close. Edit: Many commenters seem confused. The filmmaker has always been totally transparent that this is a simplified retelling of the Jonestown massacre in a modern setting. He's not hiding that whatsoever. I'll bet money that West heard the nightmarish Death Tape, and it got under his skin for good. And so he had to make this. See more Logan D 12/26/2023 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. See more Alec B 11/10/2023 Yes it's an ambitious and sometimes frightening film, but it suffers from some really unconvincing performances and a dud of a finale. See more Read all reviews
The Sacrament

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The Sacrament

The Sacrament: Official Clip - The Worst Idea Ever The Sacrament: Official Clip - The Worst Idea Ever 2:23 The Sacrament: Official Clip - Destroy Us From Within The Sacrament: Official Clip - Destroy Us From Within 2:47 The Sacrament: Official Clip - Quick and Painless The Sacrament: Official Clip - Quick and Painless 2:40 The Sacrament: Official Clip - Don't Be Afraid The Sacrament: Official Clip - Don't Be Afraid 2:51 The Sacrament: Official Clip - You Should've Never Come The Sacrament: Official Clip - You Should've Never Come 2:06 The Sacrament: Official Clip - Everybody Dies The Sacrament: Official Clip - Everybody Dies 3:00 The Sacrament: Official Clip - You're in Paradise The Sacrament: Official Clip - You're in Paradise 2:46 The Sacrament: Official Clip - Welcome to Eden Parish The Sacrament: Official Clip - Welcome to Eden Parish 2:41 The Sacrament: Official Clip - You're Dealing With Their Lives The Sacrament: Official Clip - You're Dealing With Their Lives 2:59 The Sacrament: Official Clip - Your Government is Failing The Sacrament: Official Clip - Your Government is Failing 2:56 View more videos
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Movie Info

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
Molly Conners, Jacob Jaffke, Peter Phok, Christopher Woodrow, Eli Roth
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
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