Sacrilege (2020 film)

Last updated
Sacrilege
Directed byDavid Creed
Written byDavid Creed
Produced byMark Kenna
CinematographySarah Edwards
Edited byRoss McFall
Music byColin McGinness
Release date
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Sacrilege is a 2020 British folk horror film written and directed by David Creed and produced by Mark Kenna.

Contents

Plot

Kayla is a young woman struggling to put her life together while dealing with the heartbreak of a cheating ex, Trish, and the memory of being assaulted and beaten into a coma by a mugger named Jimmy. When she learns from Trish that Jimmy is no longer in prison, Kayla and her friends decide to leave town for the weekend. They choose to go to Mabon, a remote village. They allow Trish to come, which surprises her since she had not been allowed back into their group after the breakup. While on route, the group picks up a hitchhiker, who tells them that the village will be celebrating the Summer Solstice with partying and a ritual. Once they reach the house, they discover that the house contains several marijuana plants, much to the delight of everyone but Trish. She is also reluctant when the same hitchhiker appears at the home to take them to the festival, as she would have preferred to stay and relax.

Once at the gathering, the group learns that the area dedicates the ritual to the goddess Mabon and that each year they offer up their fears. Each member lists their own fear: Blake's is dogs, Stacey's is aging, Trish is afraid of bugs, and Kayla is afraid of Jimmy. While they find this ritual strange, they eagerly take part in order to also partake in the later partying. They're warned by a local woman, Mrs. March, to flee Mabon before the end of the ritual as they are intended to be sacrifices to the goddess Mabon. She is dismissed as a lunatic by the local priest, Father Saxon. The friends soon discover that the warning was accurate, as they begin to experience strange hallucinations. Trish and Kayla reconnect romantically and rekindle their relationship. March appears again to warn them, telling them that the hallucinations cannot harm them but can drive them to harm or kill themselves. If they face their fears, they will survive.

Blake and Stacey both die from their hallucinations; Stacey accidentally impales herself on gardening tools while Blake is killed by running into the road and becoming impaled by stag horns on a local's truck. Trish covers her arms in cleaning fluid, as well as gargling with the chemical in an attempt to rid her body of imagined bugs, but is discovered by Kayla before she can die. Kayla is able to help Trish into their car, but is stopped by the villagers when she tries to leave the village. She's horrified to see her attacker among the crowd. Kayla is initially overpowered by him, but manages to muster her inner strength. She declares that she is no longer afraid of him, causing Jimmy to disappear as he is a hallucination. Kayla also sets fire to a nearby effigy of Mabon, fully breaking any power that is being held over her or Trish. Now powerless, as any attempts to kill Trish or Kayla would be rendered meaningless, the villagers part and allow the two women to leave the town.

Cast

ActorRole
Tamaryn Payne Kayla
Emily WyattTrish
Sian AbrahamsBlake
Naomi WillowStacey
Ian Champion Father Saxon
Emma Spurgen-HusseyMrs March
Rory WiltonThe Groundsman
Jonny GlasgowVinnie
David EnglishTyler
Conner McKenzyJimmy

Release

Sacrilege premiered on 5 March 2020 at Empire, Leicester Square, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom the next day. [1] The worldwide rights on Sacrilege were subsequently picked up by Devilworks who were then able to sell the film virtually in places such as Cannes. [2] The film was released on Blu-ray and VOD on 16 March 2021 in the United States and Canada and on 27 September of the same year in the United Kingdom. [3] [4]

Reception

Sacrilege has a rating of 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews. [5] Film Threat and Starburst were critical of the film, both criticizing it as having a lack of originality and for its characters. [6] [7] Horror magazine Rue Morgue was also dismissive. [8] Metro UK was more favorable, praising it for its tension and CGI. [9] Film Threat was also favorable, stating that "The search for the ever-elusive why may blind audience members to what Creed is interested in exploring with his film: one woman's journey to overcome past trauma and finally have the strength to stand up for herself." [10]

Related Research Articles

Gina Philips is a former American actress. She may be best known for portraying Trish Jenner in the horror film Jeepers Creepers (2001).

<i>Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter</i> 1984 film by Joseph Zito

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Joseph Zito, produced by Frank Mancuso Jr., and starring Kimberly Beck, Corey Feldman, Crispin Glover, and Peter Barton. It is the sequel to Friday the 13th Part III (1982) and the fourth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. Picking up immediately after the events of the previous film, the plot follows a presumed-dead Jason Voorhees who escapes from the morgue and returns to Crystal Lake to continue his killing spree. The film marks the debut of the character Tommy Jarvis (Feldman), who would make further appearances in two sequels and related media, establishing him as Jason's archenemy.

<i>Penny Dreadful</i> (film) 2006 American film

Penny Dreadful is a 2006 American horror film directed by Richard Brandes and written by Diane Doniol-Valcroze, Arthur K. Flam, and Richard Brandes. The story is from Diane Doniol-Valcroze and Arthur K. Flam. The film centers on a young woman, Penny, who has a phobia of cars and ends up stalked by a maniac hitchhiker preying on her fear. The film takes place almost entirely in a car, one-location. In 2016, the film was listed in the top ten horror films of 2006 by 411mania.

<i>The Believers</i> 1987 film by John Schlesinger

The Believers is a 1987 Canadian-American neo-noir thriller horror-noir film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Martin Sheen, Robert Loggia and Helen Shaver. It is based on the 1982 novel The Religion by Nicholas Conde.

<i>Dead & Buried</i> 1981 film by Gary Sherman

Dead & Buried is a 1981 American horror film directed by Gary Sherman, starring Melody Anderson, Jack Albertson, and James Farentino. It is Albertson's final live-action film role before his death six months after the film's release. The film focuses on a small town wherein a few tourists are murdered, but their corpses begin to reanimate. With a screenplay written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the film was initially banned as a "video nasty" in the U.K. in the early 1980s, but was later acquitted of obscenity charges and removed from the Director of Public Prosecutions' list.

<i>House Hunting</i> 2012 American film

House Hunting is a 2012 psychological horror-thriller film that was written and directed by Eric Hurt. The film had its world release on October 2, 2012 at the Virginia Film Festival, and received a DVD and VOD release through Phase 4 Films on March 5, 2013. The film stars Marc Singer and Art LaFleur and follows two families that are trapped within a deserted farmhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calabrese (band)</span> American rock band

Calabrese is an American rock band that is based out of Phoenix, Arizona. The band originally consisted of three faux brothers; bassist/vocalist Jimmy Calabrese, guitarist/vocalist Bobby Calabrese and drummer Davey Calabrese. In 2022 Jimmy left the band and was subsequently replaced by Argyle Goolsby, best known as the frontman of Blitzkid. Calabrese has been described as "Melodic, hook-laden, catchy, fun, Rock with a Punk attitude”. They have cited other bands such as the Damned, Alkaline Trio, Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Turbonegro, the Misfits, the Hives, White Zombie/Rob Zombie, AFI, Danzig, Type O Negative, and the Ramones as influences.

<i>Left Bank</i> (film) 2008 Belgian horror film

Left Bank is a 2008 Belgian horror film directed by Pieter Van Hees, starring Eline Kuppens and Matthias Schoenaerts. Its musical score was composed by Simon Lenski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyla Ward</span> Australian writer, poet, and actor

Kyla (Lee) Ward is an Australian writer of speculative fiction, poet and actor. Her work has been nominated multiple times for the Ditmar Award, the Aurealis Award, the Australian Shadows Award, the Bram Stoker Award and the Rhysling Award. She won the Aurealis Award in 2006 for her collaborative novel Prismatic.

<i>See No Evil 2</i> 2014 American slasher film

See No Evil 2 is a 2014 American slasher film directed by the Soska sisters, written by Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby, produced by Michael Luisi, and starring Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle and the WWE professional wrestler Kane. It is the sequel to the 2006 See No Evil feature film. Unlike the original, which had a theatrical release, the film was released in 2014 on a direct to Blu-ray and DVD form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Izzy Lee</span> American filmmaker and writer

Izzy Lee is an American filmmaker and writer, known for her short films Re-Home (2019), The Obliteration of the Chickens (2019), My Monster (2018), and Innsmouth, which she produced through her company Nihil Noctem. She has written for multiple outlets such as Birth.Movies.Death, Rue Morgue, TwitchFilm, and Fangoria and has also helped program and curate film festivals like the Boston Underground and the Boston Sci-Fi Fest.

<i>The Love Witch</i> 2016 film by Anna Biller

The Love Witch is a 2016 American comedy horror film written, edited, directed, produced, and scored by Anna Biller. The film stars Samantha Robinson as Elaine Parks, a modern-day witch who uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her with disastrous results. Shot in Los Angeles and Arcata, California, it premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. In May 2016, it was acquired for distribution at the Cannes Marché du Film by Oscilloscope Laboratories.

The Terrible Two is an American psychological/paranormal/horror film written and directed by Billy Lewis. The film stars Reid Doyle, Cari Moscow, Donny Boaz, Devin McGee, and Shane Callahan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Chapman (character)</span> Fictional character

Billy Chapman is a fictional character in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise. Created by writers Paul Caimi and Michael Hickey, the character serves as the protagonist and antivillain of the first film, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), and is featured in flashbacks in the sequel, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987).

<i>Our Lady of the Inferno</i> Horror novel by Preston Fassel

Our Lady of the Inferno is a novel by horror journalist and author Preston Fassel and the first officially licensed novel published by Fangoria magazine under their Fangoria Presents imprint. It was originally published by Fear Front, an independent press, in 2016, and was only briefly in print before the company closed in early 2017. In May 2018, Fangoria magazine announced that it had acquired the book and would be printing it as "Fangoria Presents #1," the inaugural entry in an imprint of branded horror novels.

<i>Antrum</i> (film) 2018 film directed by David Amito, Michael Laicini

Antrum is a 2018 Canadian horror film written and directed by David Amito and Michael Laicini. The film is divided into two parts: an opening and closing frame narrative in the form of a mockumentary and a feature film. The documentary purports to tell the story of Antrum, a movie released in 1979 that supposedly has deleterious effects on those who watch it; the bulk of the movie is allegedly the only known print of the film, which has itself been altered by an unknown third party.

Scare Package is a 2020 American anthology horror comedy film created by Aaron B. Koontz and Cameron Burns. It features a series of horror shorts written and directed by Aaron B. Koontz, Courtney Andujar, Hillary Andujar, Anthony Cousins, Emily Hagins, Chris McInroy, Noah Segan, and Baron Vaughn.

<i>The Honeymoon Phase</i> 2019 American film

The Honeymoon Phase is a 2019 sci-fi horror film that was written and directed by Phillip G. Carroll Jr., marking his feature film directorial debut.

<i>Red Snow</i> (2021 film) American horror comedy film

Red Snow is a 2021 American horror comedy film directed by Sean Nichols Lynch. The film stars Dennice Cisneros as a supernatural romance author living in Lake Tahoe who comes into conflict with vampires over the Christmas holidays. The film had its international premiere at London FrightFest on August 26, 2021 and was released on December 28, 2021.

The Brain That Wouldn't Die is a 2020 satirical remake of the 1962 American science fiction horror film of the same name. It was directed by Derek Carl and premiered at the Portland Horror Film Festival. Per Starburst magazine, the film is nearly a shot-by-shot remake of the original.

References

  1. ↑ "World premiere of supernatural horror, Sacrilege, announced". PRnewslink.net. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  2. ↑ Dalton2020-06-22T12:34:00+01:00, Ben. "Devilworks takes world rights on UK summer solstice horror 'Sacrilege' (exclusive)". Screen. Retrieved 2022-01-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Miska, Brad (2021-03-03). "Exclusive 'Sacrilege' Clip Ages Beauty to Death [Video]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  4. ↑ "Face your fear with trailer for British horror Sacrilege". Flickering Myth. 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  5. ↑ "Sacrilege (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  6. ↑ "Sacrilege". Film Threat. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  7. ↑ "SACRILEGE". STARBURST Magazine. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  8. ↑ "Movie Review: "Sacrilege" Is An Affront to God and Cinema". Rue Morgue. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  9. ↑ Adejobi, Alicia (2020-03-06). "Sacrilege review: Suspenseful alternative to Fantasy Island". Metro. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  10. ↑ "Sacrilege". Film Threat. 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.