Movies
[Stanley Fest ’14 Review] ‘The Sacrament’ Is Highly Effective and Suspenseful!
Which is why it has always felt incredibly reductive to me when people dismiss films that draw inspiration from real life events on the grounds that “they already know the ending.” What movies do you not know the ending to? And for that matter, which movies built solely around twist endings are actually good?
When The Sacrament made its festival debut some months ago it was very well received, but there was a smattering of talk from a vocal minority that the film “doesn’t add much” to its Jonestown inspired depiction of a cult (this isn’t a note for note retelling – though it does recreate a surprising amount of that tragic event). Finally having seen the movie, I’d argue that it wouldn’t matter if The Sacrament added much to the tale as long as it was good (it is). I’d also argue that it in fact does add a crucial contextual element that makes the whole thing more worthwhile than even its early praise would indicate.
That element? The assertion that these kinds of acts aren’t mass suicides, but mass homicides. It’s not an original notion on my part. Writer/director Ti West and star AJ Bowen have been pretty vocal about this. But watching The Sacrament with that in mind really made me appreciate the film’s rather strict adherence to the details of the Jonestown event. Instead of exploiting the tragedy for genre fodder, it feels like the film provides a voice for the hundreds of people who lost their lives on that day. It defuses the “drinking the Kool-Aid” punchline and makes you consider the fact that these people were trapped in an untenable situation with no escape. Sure, the act of lifting a cup of poison to your lips is, neurologically speaking, a conscious decision. But when there’s a gun to your head and there’s miles and miles between you and any recognizable civilization, is it really a choice?
Beyond this added context, it doesn’t hurt that The Sacrament is probably the best film Ti West has made to date. It’s surprisingly cinematic (refuting the aesthetic “out” given by the docu-drama style) and undeniably suspenseful. The cast is impressive. Bowen is freed from the amiable villain angle explored by his some of his more recent work and it turns out he can play decent and conflicted just as well. Amy Seimetz really sells the initial allure of these communities as Caroline, a recovering addict who has found what she thinks is salvation in the confines of Eden Parish. Joe Swanberg and Kentucker Audley deliver solid supporting turns. Of course, no cult is complete without a charismatic leader and Gene Jones (ironically named) knocks it out of the park as “Father” – a character so sufficiently manipulative and malevolent you don’t think twice when his disciples commence his horrific bidding.
If this sounds like a flat out rave, it’s worth noting that some minor elements of The Sacrament nagged me. I’m increasingly at odds with the POV conceit in feature length movies, and when Jones says to Seimetz, “film this, it’s important” I wished that the film had been pitched and greenlit six months later, when such things were more evidently on the wane. It rings a bit false within the context of Father’s distrust of everything media. Still, The Sacrament is more than strong enough to overcome this and a few other related hiccups.
It’s also worth noting that West delivers a hell of a third act, which is something of a reversal for those who felt that House Of The Devil and The Innkeepers were a bit long on slow and short on burn. He’s always been great at atmosphere (same case here), but The Sacrament pays off its escalation of dread with an extended sequence of terror at the end of the film. It’s also the point where the synergy between West’s directing and editing is most evident. It’s typically not advisable for directors to be the sole editor on their own work but West makes a case for the exception.
The Sacrament hits iTunes/VOD/On Demand on May 1st before a theatrical release on June 6th.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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