The Sacrifice Game is a Christmas horror set in 1971 in a boarding school for girls that borrows from genre favourites such as The Strangers and The Devil’s Rejects.
Christmas is bad enough for students Samantha (Madison Baines) and Clara (Georgia Acken) who are stuck looking at the drab and dutiful corridors of their school during the holidays. But, as it turns out, there is worse than Christmas dinner with their sympathetic teacher Rose (Chloe Levine).
And, although you mightn’t believe it, there’s even more disagreeable things than uninvited in-laws turning up to your festive shindig unannounced.
Deciding to make the most of their lot, Samantha and Clara strike up a bond and decide to make the most of their Yuletide predicament. But when things take a deadly turn and a gang of cult killers arrive at their doorstep on Christmas Eve, the festive cheer is somewhat dampened by murderous proceedings.
A bunch of all-grinning Manson Family-esque loons turn up at the Blackvale Catholic Girls’ Boarding School for a night of devilment and debauchery like none this educational institution has ever seen.
The Sacrifice Game, new to Shudder, brings a number of different elements together to create a rather nefarious seasonal romp mixing hostage thriller, home invasion, cult sacrifice, and coming-of-age drama. Think horror’s answer to Once Upon A Time in Hollywood with a Black Christmas twist.
Director Jenn Wexler has gone for a more stylised retro feel from the Quentin Tarantino school of cool with turtle necks and tan leather jackets aplenty, instead of focusing on producing a truly creepy seasonal slasher.
The dialogue, plot, and performances are ham-fisted at times and leave a lot to be desired, but there’s enough imagination along the way to keep us invested and entertained.
There’s also a really clever twist at the end of Wexler’s film which comes as a pleasant and truly wicked surprise.
(3/5)
