Sacrament

So it's a low budget, badly acted 'horror' movie. I almost want to recategorise this movie as 'comedy'. I have seen worse from some of the biggest Hollywood 'stars'though. One almost got the feeling that the actors knew how bad the film was but hoped that it was so bad that it would gather 'cult' status. I don't think it will - but as a pure 'horror' movie it is worth a look at least. It is, for me, no worse than cannibal movies like 'The Hills Have Eyes'. As for those who feel that Christianity is given a raw deal - I say too bad. As a Buddhist myself, there is one word I think fits the situation for the miffed Christians - KARMA!

When I did a search for this on IMDb I was offered a film called 'Excrement' and my first reaction was to think they may have renamed this 'film' to more accurately represent what this 'horror' is all about. The plot is seven friends, on a road trip, get stuck in some town in Texas because there is going to be a storm. This town is habited by extreme religious Bible thumpers. Only they like to thump more than just the 'good book'.

There are some good performances here from some lesser known actors, but some of the main characters are cringeworthily bad. There is also a gay slant in that two of the friends are male lovers, but whether that works to add to the watery plot is debatable. The gore is the 'seen it before – done better' variety and there is almost no tension at all. The point of horror films is you should be shocked and at least care a little about the players. Here the characters are all so blandly tedious that you really don't give a monkeys if they become a victim.

Some reviews have criticised the mis representation of religion here too– well this is a piece of fiction so I am fine with that. It is though ultimately a boringly uneventful film that is the sort you just want to end. If you are still masochistic enough to want to see this – then go for the rental option and make sure you have some medicinal alcohol on standby.

Sure, there are some "interesting" acting moments, but take the movie for what it is- an indie horror. It hits that mark for me. I liked the moments of humor too, it was a great contrast to the other parts. There are some good gory parts and a few jumpy moments. I enjoyed that there was a gay inclusion but wasn't the focus of the movie, just a normal part of it. Some parts were a little predictable, but there is a good overall feeling of suspense. I would have liked to see quicker movement of the traveling group into the main story line, but I like the movie overall. At about 80 minutes in it gets very good. My biggest complaint is we don't know what happened to the big girl!! The premise is solid to me and I really enjoyed the film!

So the acting isn't great and the premise is shaky, but it's altogether not that bad. I wouldn't pay much to watch it and I wouldn't go into it expecting too much, but still. I feel the story definitely needs work. The kids go on and on about it being such a small town, but why not drive to the next one for McDonald's or something? There's also a lot of talk about storms in the town where they had originally planned to go, but the weather is perfect in this little town. The religious cannibal townspeople should really have been more sinister and less stereotypical redneck/hillbilly types. The stereotype is played out and boring. I did like that the main characters are gay men because you rarely see that in horror movies. And I kind of liked that the preacher gave them a chance to repent of their supposed sins, although it didn't really make sense when they were killing most of their friends. Also the scene in the barn was confusing and I assume it was just put in for the gore and gross out factor, it really needed a bit more explanation. Also maybe it sounds strange, but I was glad that the townspeople weren't raping anyone. So I think it could have been much better, but it's not total garbage. Lol I do wonder why the seven kids are such great friends when they seem to all kind of hate each other. I understand having issues with your friends and being frustrated with them and yanking each other's chains, but it's too much here.