Review of The Sacrament (2014) by Sander M — 14 Jul 2017

I must say that I have been greatly deceived by this film, as well as the special features provided by the DVD. At first, I was fascinated by this film and would have effortlessly provided a five-star review. I liked how "unique" it was. And, I am a sucker for anything even remotely disturbing. However, I now know that the creativity that I loved so much about this film is a big fat lie. This has soured my opinion entirely, and it has tainted my respect for those involved with this film. Why? Well, I researched Jonestown.

Eli Roth notes that Jonestown inspired this story. Yet, this inspiration is actually nothing but a complete rip-off of history. I looked up Jonestown since I liked this movie so much. I found out that Eli Roth copied real life, every little detail of Jonestown, and has tried to pass it off as his own idea. Just watch the extra features. They go on about how interesting his idea was and his creative vision, and the mention of Jonestown feels like a throwaway line.

"Father," clad in his dark glasses, IS Jim Jones. Not a clever character. Jim Jones was called "Dad" and wore dark glasses almost all of the time. The set (which was described heavily as Eli Roth's vision) is the same as Jonestown, down to the picket fence of the daycare, the chair and table featured on the DVD cover, and the elevated huts. If that weren't enough, "Father's" final monologue to his people in the pavilion is nearly identical to that of Jim Jones' on the infamous "Death tape" provided by the FBI. Which also took place in a pavilion.

Not to mention the media aspect. Not to mention the heavy focus on seniors, African Americans, and poor. Not to mention that the metal vat used to mix the potion (which Jim Jones called the poison too) looks just like the metal vat used at Jonestown. You know how "Father" ends a lot of his sentences by calling Sam "friend"? Jim Jones uses the same phrase in an interview on the day that 909 people lost their lives. I could go on and on.

At the very least, Eli Roth should have paid respects to Jonestown. He should have been upfront with how closely he followed history instead of trying to pass his "unique and horror filled" plot as his own. Even if I did like the acting somewhat, it's not enough for me to overlook the serious disregard and disrespect this has for Jonestown.

Why not just make a Jonestown movie? It'd have saved him the trouble of thinking up the one or two original points.