The Sacrifice Game (2023)

 

Genre: Thriller/ Crime

Time: 1h 39mins

Director: Jennifer Wexler

Quick Summary: It's bad enough that boarding school students Samantha and Clara can't go home for the holidays, but things take a deadly turn when a murderous gang arrives on their doorstep - just in time for Christmas.

So nobody at all noticed. Like seriously nobody?

I think the only really good thing about this is that it is set up really well. It's just most of the runtime feels like set up for it to go in a really bizarre way. Sure, it was an interesting way to go, but I don't think this was the correct type of film to do that like it did, or even they didn't show the right stuff to warrant how it went. This somehow feels like it was going to be a gruesome grindhouse type of horror, but got told no. 

My main issue with this is that the plot twist is shown I think I bit too early, or I don't think it was the best way to show it. I wish they kept it hidden for much longer. Maybe it's just we didn't have enough time with specific people to make the reveal as shocking as it was I assume supposed to be. As well, the actors in this weren't the greatest, especially the younger girls. So when it came to them carrying the scenes more, you could tell they weren't that experienced.

 Being this is set in the 70s, it does it really well and I can give it credit for that. Most films make their chosen era really over the top or stereotypical, but this was a generic version which I actually agree with for this film. 

For the story, there are a lot of plot holes which I won't go into, but they really don't make sense when you think about it. Sure you can put it down to "Magic", but I don't believe a single person didn't notice it. But sadly the longer this went on, the more I was just waiting to see how it would end. 

I did like one character admittedly, Doug, who was honestly so funny to listen to. He would sarcastically react to things around him, or just be the complete opposite of the people he was with, questioning things in a funny way. There was something real about his character and that gets a point for that.

Bit of an easy watch, but don't really expect anything satisfying. I guess it's a taster to get into cult/demon-orientated films, but it's not the greatest way. I wouldn't even say it's scary at all. Bit of an underwhelming experience really. 

4/10