By Tristan Bishop
You wait for one found footage movie about a cult and then two come along together. Three, actually, if you count one of the episodes of V/H/S 2. It seems like an odd subgenre to suddenly blossom – horror films about cults have been surprisingly thin on the ground until now, with the exception of Kevin Smith’s intriguing Red State (2011), and one or two others over the years (M Night Shyamalan’s The Village and Wes Craven’s Deadly Blessing come to mind). But now we have two feature films of the found footage variety (long time readers might be familiar with BAH’s general stance on found footage) being released at almost exactly the same time with the same basic plot: one from hipster horror favourite Ti West (The Sacrament), and another being a micro-budgeted Australian film shot in 5 days (Apocalyptic). Without wanting to accuse the makers of the latter of opportunism (Apocalyptic was filmed this year, whereas West’s film debuted in September 2013), the films share a remarkably similar basic premise. In fact, both seem to be heavily based on the real life case of Jim Jones and the Guyana cult tragedy.
The Sacrament begins with a team from real-life hipster magazine Vice tagging along with one of their photographers Patrick (the oddly named Kentucker Audley) as he travels to an undisclosed foreign location to try and convince his sister to leave the cult she has joined. On arrival they are challenged by men with guns, understandably angered that a documentary crew had appeared along with the person they were expecting, but once they are allowed inside they find that ‘The Eden Parish’ (possibly named after Jim Jones’ ‘California Eden’ commune) actually seems like a peaceful, happy place. Everyone they speak to seems content and balanced and happy to be part of the family, living in huge, scattered cabins that they have built with their own hands (and, it seems, their own funds, as they have all given up their material possessions to the commune). Eventually the team get to meet ‘Father’ (played by Gene Jones), the charismatic leader of the cult, who gives a kind of press conference for the team. However, as the night rolls in, things get stranger, and cracks appear in the seemingly blissful existence of Eden Parish.
If you’re familiar with the real-life facts in the case of Jim Jones, there won’t be many surprises here – in fact, if you’re not familiar, it might be worth researching after you’ve seen the film, as one imagines the climax of the story would be one hell of an eye-opener if you didn’t know what was coming. A possible problem with the film, therefore, is that it might just be too familiar a story, especially for US audiences. There are a few embellishments for dramatic effect, of course: the duplicitous sister (played with some flair by Amy Seimetz) and a mute young girl who the reporting trio attempt to save add some character interest to the plot, which is a good move as, aside from Gene Jones’ excellent turn as the domineering yet somewhat mysterious Father, the three male leads are pretty forgettable. However, the film still works very well.
West’s pacing, which comes in for some (justifiable, in my opinion) criticism in earlier films such as House Of The Devil and The Innkeepers, works wonderfully here, with his slow-burn build taking us up to the hour mark, giving us just enough creeping paranoia before all hell predictably breaks loose. The final third of the film ends up being one of the most gut-wrenching experiences of recent years, and is thankfully lightened by some last minute action during an escape sequence.
Despite my misgivings about it in general, the found footage device is actually used surprisingly well here, the use of a real life magazine in Vice lending an air of credibility to proceedings, and there is at least one sequence where a cameraman is being stalked by armed guards which made me realise that, in the hands of a director who knows what he is doing, there might still be mileage in what is increasingly becoming a cut-price cliché. In addition an excellent, minimalist synth score from Tyler Bates occasionally recalls Riz Ortolani’s more abrasive moments from the Cannibal Holocaust soundtrack, which fits in nicely with the presumably South American setting of the film.
Which brings us to Apocalyptic (couldn’t think of a better title then?), which treads extremely similar ground in a much less assured and gripping fashion. After a brief set-up involving an addiction clinic, an Australian news crew get a tip-off about a cult living out in the remote countryside, and decide to locate and film them. Once they have been welcomed inside the commune (after having to relinquish their mobile phones), they discover a community of women and girls ruled over by Michael Godson (geddit?), a man who claims to have merged with god to become his earthly emissary. Godson is happy to give interviews to the crew, although he becomes evasive when pressed for details of ‘The Prophecy’, which all members of the cult appear to be gearing up for. The news crew discover that Michael sleeps with a different member of his flock each night, but become concerned when Michael chooses a pre-teen girl on the second night. However it soon turns out that they might have even more to be concerned about, and ‘The Prophecy’ is well underway already.
Whereas West’s film retains a sense of dread and the power to shock, Apocalyptic covers exactly the same ground but feels limp and dull. The Amish-style old-fashioned dress and customs of the cult are explained away with Michael’s line ‘We don’t have the internet’, which seems unlikely since most of the residents previously lived in the outside world, and, indeed, for the most part the script (written by director Glen Triggs) is similarly underdeveloped, as is the use of the found footage device (this is a film that could quite easily have done without it, although that may have bumped up the cost of the apparently miniscule budget). But the major problem here is the casting of David Macrae as Godson. Here the cult leader has a lot more screen time and dialogue than Father in The Sacrament, and therefore the film pivots on his role. Sadly Macrae, although possessing a very interesting face, lacks the necessary charisma required both to hook the audience, and to make him a believable patriarch taking liberties with his flock. In fact, the film is so uninvolving that by the time we realise there is a child abuse angle, we simply don’t care enough to be shocked, and it ends up just being mildly distasteful.
The most telling difference between the two scripts is how they approach the climax. In West’s film things build very slowly to a point, whereupon suddenly everything is kicking off before we’re fully prepared. In Trigg’s, the foreshadowing is constant, with characters murmuring about ‘The Prophecy’ mysteriously, not to mention the revelation about why there are no men (save Michael) in the commune. Some reviews have slated West for this apparent sudden shift in tone, but for me it feels far more realistic and effective.
In conclusion then, avoid Apocalyptic – it’s a rare film that I really can’t find anything positive to say about, but The Sacrament turns out to be, in my opinion at least, Ti West’s best film by quite some way, and I am certainly intrigued about the direction he’ll be taking in future.
The Sacrament is out now on DVD from House, whilst Apocalyptic hits DVD on 28th July from Monster Pictures.