The Sacrifice Game Review Cannily Cast Christmas Horror Keeps You Guessing
Gene Wexler's second film, which first brought what seemed like a Manson Family-style crime thriller, was the popular Blackwell Catholic Girls set in Christmas 1971. Boarding School. school. Samantha (Madison Bynes) and Clara (Georgia Aiken) stay at a school over winter break, run by a pair of incompetent student teachers Rose (Chloe Levin) and her boyfriend Jimmy (Olympian-turned-actor Gus Kenworthy). Neither girl is happy to sit there kicking, but when the facts come out, that's the least of their worries.
While different genres have different rules, there is an art to keeping the audience guessing. Wexler's screenplay, co-written by Sean Redlitz, understands the need to balance narrative surprises with overall cohesion between story and world. You would never suspect that The Sacrifice Game was made by filmmakers with a love and respect for horror films, but it may not be the horror film you think it is at first glance.
It is very well recorded and the actors' performances help maintain these tonal shifts. Mena Massoud is full of Christian Slater's energy in Heather, is treated creepily like the alpha dog of the cult, and is funnier than Disney's Aladdin. Laurent Pitre is impeccably entertaining as Doug, the closest thing to a good guy the gang has, filling the social space in the group if the gym/office team got a job with a murderous cult instead of a corporation commercial. Last but not least from Paper, Aken recalls Christina Ricci's early work as a quiet isolation that belied her obvious social status and age. It deserves to go away.
