Story: Remember the Jonestown Massacre? Well, The Sacrament is Eli Roth’s weak attempt to make that tragedy into a horror movie.

Scares: Not a one. A decent sense of dread in the beginning, but then it all peters out.

Splat factor: A few drops of blood, but otherwise, it’s all death by Kool-aid. Yawn.

Closing scene “shocker”: Surprisingly, no.

Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul): Though this feels like a Jim Jones docudrama, this is an original.

Trick or Treat: Just like Jonestown Kool-aid, this bait and switch film is deadly disappointing.  The film starts out promising: moronic Williamsburg hipsters head outside of the USA and onto a compound full of of religious cultists, in search of the sister of one of the hipsters. Yet, these chuckleheads act like they’re entitled to be assholes, asking pompous questions and poking around even though there are armed guards around and things don’t seem kosher. They warm up to the compound though, but then a little girl passes them a note, “please help us”. That’s all you get as far as slow buildup and chills; the next morning? Hey, Kool-aid!

As soon as The Sacrament reveals itself to be a Jonestown ripoff – which is less than half way in – it’s a suckfest. And Sacrament is a total ripoff of the Jonestown cult and mass suicide/murders, right down to the Kool-aid & Jim Jones’ “Father”‘s ombre shades. The only thing that separates Sacrament from is the found-footage angle. Big deal.

There’s not enough back-story to feel the menace of the cult; they go from partying to mass suicide and murder in less than 12 hours. Poof!  So what’s supposed to be horrifying, instead is WTF. The big, “shocking” climax feels rushed and underdeveloped. It’s as if Roth just wanted someone to make a film where he could peek into the last moments of the Jonestown cult, and really enjoy the ride. Sigh. The really sad part is director Ti West knows how to turn up the chills; V/H/S was creepy-cool, and so was The Inkeepers.  I’m hoping this was a hiccup on his resume. Funny that Cabin Fever 2 was the one he wanted to Alan Smithee, rather than this snoozer.

Oh, and that still on Netflix, with Father holding a beaten, bound reporter? Nowhere in the film. Sike!

Score: 

2 out of 5 pumpkins. I’d give it zero, but that’d just be my anger and disappointment.  So one for the sense of dread at the beginning. And one for Gene Jones’ brilliantly low-key performance as “Father”. Otherwise, it’s just disappointment in celluloid form.