LouHomey
From my favorite movies..
Catangro
After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Lachlan Coulson
This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
ranentrudgett
As a movie on it's own, it is very weak, it isn't scary nor suspenseful, some may enjoy it based on the simple fact that it's based or "influenced" by a true story. Thats it.
kalelakia
This isn't a bad film, Its actually an OK cult movie. The main problem with the film is it lacks any actual new ideas. If you have seen or read anything about the Jim Jones cult you will automatically see this is a movie that took almost the whole story from that actual event. From the time the VICE crew gets off the helicopter to the point when its flying away, theses are all ideas and scenarios taken straight from the actual event. The film is fun to watch and the pacing is well. The actors do a good job and the leader of the cult does a great Jim Jones impression. The movie just suffers because you can watch an actual documentary of the Jim Jones cult and get a way more shocking story. But if you want a decent fun movie, give it a watch, I wouldn't say you would be wasting your time. 6/10.
Nick Walker
Shot well, great cinematography. Steady, solid story, though it can get a bit wonky at times (as a found footage film, there were sometimes more camera angles than cameras).So that's the good out of the way. The problem lies in the "scary" part of the film. It's essentially the Jonestown Massacre. About half the film or so consists of the mass suicide, showing the effects of cyanide poisoning from start to finish, with some gory gunshot suicides for effect. The other half is literally a VICE- style documentary which gives us the back story.(As a side note, this adequately satisfies two FF requirements: why the camera is there, and why the people are still filming as dangerous events transpire.)But the deaths feel voyeuristic, and it left me uncomfortable. The way it was treated was almost... gleeful, at times. You cannot shake the fact that this stuff actually happened. The filmmakers (Ti West, who I usually adore, and Eli Roth, torture porn peddler) expect us to flop around in the death with them. It made me feel queasy. The movie makes a point to tell us the victims are the downtrodden, and they have nothing to live for outside the commune. Why spend a good twenty minutes on closeups of them realizing they've been tricked into dying?Ugh. Still. Shot well, clever premise for FF, and a great performance from everyone (except the lead VICE guys, I just didn't feel it with them). Just a little too gleeful about real-life tragedy. This kind of stuff, I thought, was supposed to be fantasy. When it gets too real... I guess gore/horror has an uncanny valley of its own.
Finfrosk86
This is yet another found footage-movie that is actually pretty decent. It's not exhausting to look at, because the one filming is supposed to be a camera-man, thus eliminating the most shaky of shaky cams.But what puts this above the rest is the fact that it is based on the true and terrifying Jonestown massacre. If you haven't heard of it, either google it, or just watch this movie. (I think I would recommend just watching it, since you'll keep guessing what is going on).The Sacrament is a pretty tense, and quite chilling movie. I like the feeling of something being a little off. The acting is good and mostly seems natural and realistic. The movie is not super action packed, and grounded in reality. It plays out kind of like a documentary of sorts.
