Reviewed at Fantastic Fest 2013

Writer/director Ti West has made quite an impression in the horror genre where many of his contemporaries have failed. With 2009’s “The House of the Devil” and 2011’s “The Innkeepers,” West successfully reworked formula to fit his own vision for chills, showing a healthy amount of invention in an industry that’s content to refuse such ambition. “The Sacrament” is a slight detour from the boogeyman routine, taking on the reverberation of a real-world nightmare as West dramatizes the Jonestown incident from 1978. However, instead of pushing the heavily reported story in a fresh direction, the helmer clings to the basics of manipulation and sacrifice, keeping “The Sacrament” predictable, cranking up violence and extended scenes of suffering to help the picture leave the audience with a lasting bruise. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com