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THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)

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THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)

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Old 08-28-14, 05:41 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
Watched this today. I dug it. A lot of tension throughout, very chilling. Craziest parts were
Spoiler:
the sister lighting herself on fire and the woman cutting her child's throat


I thought the actor who played Father was fantastic.

And if we're talking about West's filmography, I liked The Innkeepers, but think The Sacrament is better. Haven't seen House of the Devil.

If you've got 90 minutes to kill this is a good way to do it.
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Old 08-28-14, 06:23 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
I enjoyed this one, but the second half's events felt too rushed. Also, West RUINS the nearly-perfect found footage verisimilitude by
Spoiler:
not having Swanberg grab the second camera before they take off.
Totally boneheaded move.
Last edited by islandclaws; 09-21-14 at 07:18 PM.
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Old 08-28-14, 07:59 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
^ that's a really good point, hadn't thought of that.
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Old 09-21-14, 05:29 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
This is on Netflix. More heartbreak than horror. Loved it.
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Old 09-21-14, 07:18 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
Watched this on Netflix, well made and acted, but it was a bit silly that nobody mentions Jonestown. That is, of course, because this is Jonestown...just moved to modern day Africa with the names changed. And I'm not sure how I feel about a real-life tragedy re-packaged as entertainment.

And, of course, like all Ti West movies, you can jump forward about 60 minutes and not miss anything.

I greatly preferred the "Safe Haven" segment of VHS 2 myself.

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Old 09-21-14, 07:29 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
There's also a really good reenacted Jonestown documentary on Netflix. It's called "Paradise Lost". The reenacted parts are very cinematic for a documentary.

Mentioning Jonestown would be like The Walking Dead calling walkers "zombies".
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Old 09-21-14, 09:52 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
Originally Posted by Groucho
And I'm not sure how I feel about a real-life tragedy re-packaged as entertainment.
Ti West said something to the effect of, "Reducing Jonestown to 'don't drink the kool-aid' is more disrespectful towards the victims than his movie could ever be."

edit: here it is for those interested:
Spoiler:

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/ti-w...ry-horror-more
When you were writing it, were you conscious of the handling of these grim subject matters sensitively? Because as you said, they do have a connection to real world events.

A good part of the reason why the movie has to be so confrontational and unpleasant is because of that. If at the end there was loads of shooting and heads being blown off, and the audience is cheering, that would be an incredibly gross, exploitative thing. But with this movie, it's really about showing you that an event that has been reduced to this, "Ho, ho, drink the Kool-Aid" - that, to me, is more insensitive than making a fictionalised movie.

I think it's about reminding people. "Look at what a cult leader is actually like. Look at what someone who is desperate to belong can be manipulated into doing. Look at how graphic it is when this happens."

That, to me, is not exploitative. I feel that were respectful of the fact that something real did happen, and that we were treating it in a way that was honest.
Last edited by Dan; 09-22-14 at 10:44 AM.
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Old 01-07-15, 08:02 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
I caught this on Netflix tonight. I loved House of the Devil, but was lukewarm on The Innkeepers. I went in blind - not watching the trailer or reading about the film - and really enjoyed it. Because I went in fresh I didn't know it was a found footage movie. I'm not really a fan of those mainly due to the shaky cam. It wasn't too terrible here, but during the running moments I looked away.

Originally Posted by islandclaws
I enjoyed this one, but the second half's events felt too rushed. Also, West RUINS the nearly-perfect found footage verisimilitude by
Spoiler:
not having Swanberg grab the second camera before they take off.
Totally boneheaded move.
At the end I was thinking "at least with this found footage movie it can be explained who edited everything together." Didn't even realize this. Curse you!
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Old 01-07-15, 10:51 PM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
^ Honestly, I think it was just a shot where that was the only good take they got, so they had to use it. It's dumb, yes, but it doesn't ruin the movie for me.
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Old 09-04-15, 08:46 AM
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Re: THE SACRAMENT (2013) (dir. Ti West) (Prod. Eli Roth) (Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen)
Originally Posted by Dan
I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than The Innkeepers, which was really good but didn't totally work for me. Neither compares to House of the Devil, but The Sacrament is a solid flick, IMO. Its themes and some of its footage really stuck with me.
I absolutely agree.

4/5
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