By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Prior to renting the film for $6.95 off Amazon, I did a little research as I didn’t want to waste the cash if it was going to be awful. I found out Eli Roth produced it and overall I think he’s a talented guy. I’m not a fan of Hostel, but Cabin Fever was a fun ride.When I saw this on Amazon and read the synopsis, my first thought was that it was going to borrow a bit from Jim Jones and Jonestown. I was intrigued because I find cults interesting and I’ve seen documentaries and countless special reports on all of the most publicized cults. Anything and everything about David Koresh, Warren Jeffs, Marshall Applewhite etc. I’ll watch for hours. Even fictional accounts that explore cult mentality like The Lottery, Population 436 and one of the best films of all time Race with the Devil.
Ti West was the writer/director and had also created the great modern throwback horror film House of the Devil so I had really high hopes for this and decided to splurge.
First, the film wasn’t horrible. It was interesting, the characters were developed, the acting was fine and there were genuinely intense moments. The issue arises with the overall plot. The problem is that this is a retelling of Jonestown. There were so many elements ripped off from the actual story, right down to the kool-aid. I’m sure Ti West knew that people would make the connection. He made the leader Father (Gene Jones) look nearly identical to Jim Jones. The character expressed nearly every sentiment that and philosophical belief that was adopted by the followers of Jonestown and expressed by Jim Jones himself.
Had Ti West and Eli Roth at anytime, whether in the beginning or the ending paid tribute to those who died at Jonestown, it would have made this film far more acceptable. Instead, there is no mention at all as if this story was a complete original creation by West. That simply isn’t true and it’s insulting to those who died. The movie is far beyond being “inspired” by the events that occurred, and it certainly isn’t paying homage to the survivors or those who were not that lucky.
In West’s defense he has said in interviews that he had “used the disaster….as a model for the movie.” That’s all well and good, but it isn’t stated outright and I can’t help but feel dirty for watching what is basically a reinactment of the documentary Witness to Jonestown. For those interested, I would encourage those to watch the documentary. If you want to watch The Sacrament to compare how many similarities there are, you’ll probably be surprised that a lawsuit of the survivors isn’t in the works.
To be clear, I don’t want to be hard on West or Roth. I respect both of them and their work; and again The Sacrament is filmed extremely well. If not for the content and if this was purely an original work with a few elements of Jonestown’s cult like behavior thrown in for realism, I would had enjoyed it much more.
In all honesty, in many ways The Sacrament is a better movie that Population 436 and The Lottery. Still, I hold those in a higher regard as they were original creations. West, as talented as he is, seems to have either read or watched programs about Jonestown (possibly both), and essentially used the copy/paste technique. I just expect more from him.
Had no one died at Jonestown, maybe I’d feel differently. If the movie invoked the dispair and realism that occurred, I’d feel differently. Instead, the tone is moreso like Vacancy. Vacancy is a fantastic film and the intensity of wanting the heroes of the movie to escape is exciting and tense. I’ve watched it multiple times and am sure I’d watch it in the future. Had The Sacrament told the story of a fictional cult and that level of intensity was present, I’d purchase the movie.
If they wanted to do a retelling of Jonestown there are respectable ways to do it. Savage Messiah for example was based on true events and done extremely well. If they wanted to do a serious fictional movie about a cult, take notes from the original The Wicker Man.
I’m just surprised and disappointed that someone who captured the horror feel of the 70s so well in House of the Devil didn’t use that creativity and make a 70s style horror movie about a cult. I hate to say it but in all honesty, the movie just seems lazy. I don’t mean to say the acting or even the directing by West was lazy. That was done well. It is simply the writing that irritated me.
Despite my disappointment, I can’t give score this so poorly as there are elements that are done well. I didn’t feel the need to shut the movie off….so I’m left with a quandaryfor the first time when rating a movie. Thus take the number with a grain of salt as it really depends on the knowledge one has of Jonestown beforehand as to whether or not they’ll enjoy the movie. If I had gone in not knowing who Jim Jones was, I’d call this a masterpiece. That said, I know the story way too well as it interests me as much as it interests West. The difference is the manner to which we feel it is appropriate to pay homage or share the story. I feel if one wants to bring attention to it or tell the story, that’s great, but be honest in the film; not just in articles or interviews. Let the viewers know ahead of time, what they are watching is something that with few exceptions really happened and that people who had families died. Let them know that the child actors they see playing dead represent real children who perished at the hands of those they trusted more than anyone. Let them know that the painful deaths they endured by drinking the poison Kool-Aid isn’t being used just as a mechanism to make money, but as a way to spread the word that this must never happen again.
Scared Stiff Rating: 5/10
