Treading the line between gruesome home invasion and dark comedy, Jenn Wexler’s second feature, The Sacrifice Game, is a welcome addition to the Yuletide horror subgenre.
Set during Christmas 1971 at the ominously named Blackvale Catholic girls’ boarding school, The Sacrifice Game follows Samantha (Madison Baines), and school outcast Clara (Georgia Acken), two pupils remaining at the school over the festive break, supervised by their teacher Rose (Chloë Levine), and her boyfriend Jimmy (Former Olympian turned actor Gus Kenworthy). The girls are less than excited about having to spend Christmas in school, but when a murderous satanic cult turns up on their doorstep, staying alive takes precedence over festive cheers.
The film opens with a fantastically gory home invasion scenario in which trigger happy Jude (Mena Massoud), his lover Maisie (Olivia Scott Welsh), Grant (Derek Jones), and Doug (Laurent Pitre), are seen attacking an unsuspecting couple who think they are opening their door to carollers (yet again another reason to knock that ridiculous tradition on the head), and skinning parts of their bodies that all bear a mysterious symbol. After hitting a deer with their car and killing an armed police officer (leaving one of them wounded), the evil foursome make for the nearby school on foot – coaxing their way into the building under the pretence of tending to their injured companion. Chaos ensues.
Their motivations for terrorising the unfortunate holdovers are soon revealed. Maisie is a former student of Blackvale School who was expelled for spending all her free time studying the dark magic books hidden away in the basement – as usually tends to be the case in all girls boarding schools (or so I’m told). Before being sent home, Maisie managed to steal a page of a manuscript detailing the ritual to summon a powerful demon, with the promise of riches and power beyond one’s wildest dreams in return. Understandably, Maisie has spent years scheming to break in and complete the ritual, and now standing just one sacrifice away from all their hearts’ desires, the group wastes no time in spilling the blood of the meek Rose in front of the two frightened schoolgirls – with the promise that they will be next.
Georgia Acken unequivocally steals the show. She’s simply delicious as the quiet loner Clara – her performance reminiscent of Christina Ricci’s Wednesday Addams.
The summoning appears to be unsuccessful however, and as the cultists frantically try to understand what could have possibly gone wrong all hell breaks loose in the most unexpected ways …
These tonal shifts could easily be a disaster in the hands of another director or cast, but this is where the strength of The Sacrifice Game lies. Mena Massoud shines as the self-obsessed cult leader who’s more concerned about his projected persona than the gang’s satanic quest. Laurent Pitre is a treat as Doug – the drunken comedy relief whose only reason to join the cult is because of his unrequited love for Maisie. As a supporting character he ends up becoming one of the greatest assets of the film, providing well-timed, punchy dialogue that helps the more clunky aspects of the film.
However it’s Georgia Acken who unequivocally steals the show. She’s simply delicious as the quiet loner Clara – her performance reminiscent of Christina Ricci’s Wednesday Addams. Along with her co-star Madison Baines, the pair beautifully convey the nightmare of adolescence and skilfully rise above the rest when their characters must face something much darker than high-school mean girls.
Overall, The Sacrifice Game is an entertaining holiday thrill ride with the right balance of gore and suspense, and a genuinely interesting twist at its core. I’m not convinced it will hold up to repeat viewings, but it has enough meat on its bones to keep new audiences satisfied. The Sacrifice Game is streaming on Shudder now, just in time to be added to your advent calendar of seasonal horror films!
THE SACRIFICE GAME IS OUT NOW ON SHUDDER
