At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

I'm watching 'The Sacrament' on Netflix and finding myself increasingly infuriated with its fictional account of Jonestown. After Vietnam a lot of Americans were feeling hurt, angry, powerless, and disillusioned with their government. The "free love" of the 60's was a distant memory, making way for the sheer capitalistic hedonism of the 80's. Isolationism was so appealing, and a man promising all the answers according to God's will was spectacularly enticing to people with a need to belong and be loved, especially with the surge in secularism as evidenced by the Time cover in 1966. A return to a simple life. Who doesn't want that?In the FBI's notorious death tape, recovered from the compound after the fact, the phrase, "revolutionary suicide" comes up a lot. It was a profound, deeply-held paranoia by most of the members of Jonestown that the entire world was out to stop them. This belief helped them feel special, necessitated their utter isolation, and perpetuated their feeling of almost warlike disdain for the outside world, as well as cementing their need for Jim Jones. The Jones philosophy was so deeply held that most of the members willingly drank Flavor-Aid laced with Valium, chloral hydrate, and cyanide to protest, according to Jones, "the conditions of an inhumane world".For the children too young to drink from a cup, they used turkey basters.Also the only Congressman to die in the line of duty: Leo Ryan.Nine hundred and nine people died... but whatever. This movie just wanted the frosting, eg. crazy people poisoning themselves in the middle of nowhere because some guy in aviator sunglasses said to. There was no regard to HOW someone can end up in such a position, which to me is far more horrifying.Leatherface, Buffalo Bill and Hannibal Lecter all had some passing resemblance to Ed Gein, but I still find Gein to be, in his own way, more terrifying. So too do I think the facts of Jonestown will trump any half- cocked attempt at fictionalization.The facts of the story are enough... they really are. The only way it could have been more hokey is if it was presented by Vampira. Also, if a movie is going for the off-the-cuff, POV angle, the illusion is shot to hell when you introduce a constant and inexplicable, painfully hackneyed soundtrack. See: 'Cloverfield' for the way it should be done.Having vented my spleen, off to bed.I'm washing the taste of this movie out of my mouth by rereading, 'Seductive Poison'.

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.

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.

The Sacrament feels like the gathering of the independent filmmakers, which, on that basis alone, makes it sound like nothing more than a gaggle of pals, who had the urge to shoot something, getting together, making a film, and cherishing a few laughs. However, The Sacrament is a crafty slowburn horror film by the same man who made The Innkeepers, one of my favorite horror films from a few years back. He's Ti West and, for the last couple years, has directed several different films along with acting in various horror films as well. In a time when so many forget the craft to go straight for the scare, West knows it's all about articulation, suspense, and artistry when it comes to making horror films, which is why he takes the first forty minutes of The Sacrament to allow for dread to loom and almost engulf us on screen before allowing the insanity to flow.The film is loosely based on the real life murders in Jonestown in 1978, concerning two VICE reporters, Sam (AJ Bowen) and Jake (independent filmmaker Joe Swanberg), and their fashion photographer friend Patrick (Kentucker Audley, another independent filmmaker). One day, Patrick receives a letter from his drug addict sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz) who states she has been recovering for several months and is living in Eden Parish, a utopian commune boasting sober living and Christian values. She offers Patrick to spend a day in the commune, which he must access by helicopter, and, in a bout of uncertainty, agrees to let his pals Sam and Jake tag along to film the experience. Upon arrival, the gang is initially unsettled by the presence of guards with large assault rifles guarding the commune until Caroline appears and looks refreshed as ever. She apologizes for the alleged misunderstanding and invites them in, revealing a beautiful, open community of small homes, gardens, a medical center, and practically everything one would think a small, seceded society would need to thrive.Caroline speaks of a man by whom they call "Father" (Gene Jones), whose voice can be heard over the loud speaker quite frequently, initiating meetings or informing his community of events occurring in Eden Parish. "Father" is the godlike figure of the commune, with everyone praising him for his ability to create, sustain, and cherish the community he has built. While Patrick spends most of his time with his sister, Sam and Jake do what they do best, which is circle around the community and speak to various individuals living in the community, all of whom seem happier and more refreshed as they praise the nonjudgmental, connected community of Eden Parish while denouncing and criticizing America and their sensationalized, media-reliant culture.Ti West clearly has a great deal of fun shooting in the limitless, outdoor environment of Eden Parish, as most of his films up until this point (The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers) took place indoors). West moves his camera(s) liberally through the wide open meadows of the commune, with the commune itself evoking an eerily suburban feel, where everything seems carefully calculated and the positioning of homes and gardens seems meticulously micromanaged. The environment of Eden Parish plays a big part in why the film is so fun to watch, since you know never know where you're going to end up or what will be revealed.In addition, West has already established himself as a fan of slowburn horror filmmaking, and with The Sacrament, nothing changes with his approach; the first forty minutes of the film carefully set up Eden Parish, digging deep and asking questions about the commune's location, code of ethics, structure, and so on, much of which is covered during Sam's interview with "Father." During this time, a frightening sense of dread builds, which hovers over viewers throughout the entire film as we see what this location reveals and what its characters are doing for one another.West is a storyteller, above all, functioning in a genre that either negates the story lines it provides or projects them in a twisted web of confusion and ridiculousness. The Sacrament is where West can finally show that by creating a film in which no paranormal entities, a topic he has handled in the past, can be found and the evil at hand comes straight from the people. Thanks to a cast of champions, many of whom independent filmmakers - and a wickedly haunting Gene Davis - and a methodical approach to a rich story, West overwhelmingly succeeds, officially solidifying him in my book as one of the strongest men in horror working today.Starring: AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Kentucker Audley, Amy Seimetz, and Gene Davis. Directed by: Ti West.