‘The Sacrifice Game’ Review – A Worthy Holiday Horror Entry That Is A Love Letter To 70s Terror

Some horror films set around the Christmas holiday use the festive season to shape their stories (check out the recent It’s A Wonderful Knife or 1974’s Black Christmas), while others use Christmas more as a decoration (the underrated P2 comes to mind). The Sacrifice Game is an example of the latter because it’s more of a love letter to 70s horror rather than a frightful Christmas experience. The movie owes a debt to 70s cult scary movies and it does wear its inspirations on its sleeve. The movie doesn’t get everything right but director Jenn Wexler, working from a script she co-wrote with Sean Redlitz, has an understanding and love for the genre that is evident in her execution.

The story begins in 1971 as a group of four nefarious figures enters a home and terrifies its occupants with what turns out to be a deadly home invasion. The incident leads to them being dubbed the “Christmas Killers” but they prefer to call themselves a demonic cult. The group consists of leader Jude (Mena Massoud), his girlfriend Maisie (Olivia Scott Welch), and two less-than-smart members, Grant (Derek Johns) and Doug (Laurent Pitre). In what feels like it was inspired by The Last House on the Left, a road mishap makes the group have to improvise and they find themselves at a girl’s boarding school. Even though it’s the Christmas break, students Samantha (Madison Baines), Clara (Georgia Acken), and faculty member Rose (Chloë Levine) are staying at the school for the holiday and now their seemingly festive Christmas is about to become a deadly one.

The biggest asset of the film is not only the Christmas setting, which is more of a plot device to explain why three people would be left behind at the school for the holiday but its 70s aesthetic. From costumes, to how the film is shot, to the look of the boarding school, you are transported back in time for a film that feels like it could’ve been released alongside other 70s horror classics in terms of its atmosphere. It gives the movie a less polished feel that benefits it as some of its twists and turns unfold.

Speaking of how things unfold, a lot of the film isn’t what it appears to be and Wexler and Redlitz have fun toying with that notion within their script. Even though it looks like the inhabitants of the school are in for a terrifying time when the cult arrives, it eventually becomes clear that the student and faculty trio are more than they bargained for. To give anything away would ruin the surprises but the writers have fun subverting expectations.

This is also a film that is aided by a cast that is 100 percent committed to their roles. Perhaps the most surprising is Massoud as cult leader Jude, who is a long way from his most notable role as Aladdin in Disney’s live-action remake. Massoud is wonderfully wicked and seems to be enjoying playing against a personality that most would know him for. He’s certainly not afraid to go to the limit on several occasions and it makes him one of the most fun to watch.

Baines and Acken, two fresh-faced newcomers we should definitely see more of, play off each other well as polar opposites. Baines has hopes and dreams and a brightness that is obvious the moment you meet her while Acken plays things a bit more mysterious and guarded. Despite this, their union also proves to be a surprisingly moving portrayal of friendship wrapped in a coming-of-age story. Levine is also a bonus with the pair and all three must band together to survive.

If you’re looking for gore, the film plays its hand pretty early that ramped up bloodletting will be on display, although the movie has more than that or jump scares in its arsenal. Practical effects are used effectively throughout and it doesn’t really hold back in terms of showcasing the violence. What makes the violence more palpable is that the film has more going on than what’s on the surface. It would be easy to just please the gore hounds but it’s the movie’s fun reveals and tight script that wins out in the end.

While the ending won’t be revealed here, it should be noted that Wexler and all involved truly stick the landing here. This is the kind of film that could easily fall apart if the ending felt like a cheat or was lackluster but everything leading up to it is so well-plotted and paced that it comes to its natural conclusion with surprise.

The Sacrifice Game is worthy of being added to your annual unconventional Christmas movie list. The movie is much smarter than it initially appears and it has fun unveiling its intentions without showing its hand too early. It’s also a compelling story about three women who are forced to find themselves in the face of true evil. Horror is known for having these life lessons and this is a family that wraps them up in a holiday package that should make any fan of 70s exploitation horror very happy.

The Sacrifice Game is now available to stream on Shudder