Unoriginal Cult Horror Lacks Depth And Genuine Stakes

Folk horror, or pagan cult horror, is a genre that stretches back to 1922’s Hӓxan, which delved into the historical roots and superstitions surrounding witchcraft. With the critical acclaim of films such as 1973’s The Wicker Man and the genre-defining Midsommar, folk horror has emerged as a fleshed-out horror genre in its own right, evoking sentiments of unease with regard to lush, idyllic landscapes that appear to be infused with a primordial surge of power that stretches back to many a millennium. David Creed’s debut feature, Sacrilege, attempts to employ folk horror motifs without critically analyzing established historical trends, but manages to create a somewhat engaging mish-mash of formulaic genre-trappings. Uninspired in terms of narrative ingenuity, Sacrilege mimics cult horror tropes with detached superficiality, failing to either scare or compel.

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Sacrilege opens with stunning aerial shots of dense foliage, setting the tone with the aid of its beautiful rural setting and atmospheric soundscape. The camera focuses on a quaint home in the middle of nowhere, from which an affrighted man emerges, seemingly on the run from an unseen source of terror. Inexplicably with nowhere to run, the individual combusts spontaneously, all the while struggling to inch towards a body of water - a swimming pool within the premises of the property. This opening scene lends much promise to Sacrilege’s overarching tone, which is soon shattered when the audience is introduced to the film’s protagonists. Four friends, Kayla (Tamaryn Payne), Trish (Emily Wyatt), Blake (Sian Abrahams), and Stacey (Naomi Willow) decide to embark upon an all-girls retreat, deciding to spend the weekend in the remote hamlet of Mabon, while catching up on some quality time with each other.

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While the premise of a group of friends traveling to a remote village as a horror setting is a trope as tired as time, compelling execution and characterization usually help one surpass latent expectations. A masterful example of the same is Drew Goddard’s Cabin in the Woods, which sets up clichéd tropes only to subvert them and eventually presents a horror premise like no other. This is clearly not the case in Sacrilege, as the characters of Kayla, Trish, Blake, and Stacey are reduced to predictable stereotypes, while not much depth is invested in the film’s pagan cult horror origins. On their way to Mabon, the girls come across a hitchhiker, Vinnie (Jon Glasgow) who informs them about the local festival of Mabon, a celebration of the summer solstice.

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This, in and of itself, points at the historical inaccuracies present throughout Sacrilege, as the origins of Mabon are rooted in a real pagan holiday, which is a celebration of the autumnal equinox, a time of harvest, balance, and harmony. Accuracy aside, it is revealed that the ritual is, in fact, a sacrifice to the goddess Mabon, who seeks to purge the four women of their fears, and ultimately claim them as a sacrifice if they are unable to confront their demons. With a shaky premise, Sacrilege presents the concept of fear in an overwhelmingly one-dimensional manner, except in the case of Kayla, who is terrified about the return of her abusive ex, Tyler (David English). In terms of characterization, the way in which the four women are shown to converse borders on parody, as there is little to no depth in the way in which their concerns, interests, fears, and desires are portrayed. Another glaring issue is the shallow portrayal of the antagonists, the cult itself.

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Apart from a few visual cues in the form of antlered-husk dolls, the eerie foliage figure of Mabon, and animal totem masks, the cult is granted no clear motivation behind their actions, no deep-dives into their belief system. For instance, why are four ritual sacrifices necessary for the harvest? What occurs when the fears of a potential sacrifice are intangible in nature, such as an unexplainable onset of anxiety triggered by a particular set of events, or the fear of an imaginary, eldritch being? Also, on the off-chance that one of the sacrifices is successful in overcoming their fears (which actually occurs near the end of Sacrilege), is the ritual still considered successful? Sacrilege offers no answers, although there is not much to ask within the ambit of the narrative.

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Despite the inclusion of a stunning rural setting, Sacrilege does little to infuse it with genuine atmospheric dread, a lack that is further exacerbated by the film’s lackluster performances. An aura of perpetual inauthenticity surrounds the interactions between the four women, as they seem to bond only over notions of stereotypical femininity devoid of meaning or depth. In essence, Sacrilege fails to imbue a fresh perspective within the folk horror genre, as it constantly meanders within the trappings of flat characterization, uninspiring plot devices, and a largely underused socio-spatial history.