The Sacrament (2014) - Ti West

Jake and Sam, two journalists from Vice, set out to document their friend's journey to find his missing sister, who lives off the grid in a foreign country.  They arrive at "Eden Parish", a self-sustained utopia run by a mysterious man known as "Father", who leads this religious, socialist community.  As their friend reunites with his sister, Jake and Sam begin to slowly realize that Eden Parish is not the paradise it seems.  What begin as a documentary intent on exposing this fundamental community quickly becomes a fight for their very lives.  Ti West's The Sacrament is a well constructed horror film that relies on atmosphere and tension to create its horror.  So many horror films these days simply throw violence and gore at an audience in an effort to shock and scare them but The Sacrament is a film that perfectly illustrates how more often than not less is more.  This film is a dark and disturbing experience because of the geniune evil it exudes, not relying on the violence but rather the mere threat of it as we fear what "the father" is capable of. Shot in a documentary style, The Sacrament feels quite real and genuine for much of its running time, getting really strong performances out of everyone involved, most notably Gene Jones and Amy Seimetz.  The Sacrament is a film that captures the power and harm which blind faith can have, delivering a twisted and eerie narrative that reminds me what horror films are capable of being.

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