The Sacrifice Game (2023) - Movie Review

What do you get when a group of Satanic Panic serial killers invade an all girls school on Christmas?

A fun if uneven ride.

Let’s discuss.

The Sacrifice Game is a 2023 supernatural slasher film brought to us by writer/director Jenn Wexler and writer Sean Redlitz.

Don’t know their names? Neither did I, but there’s fewer than 3 writers on the film—so we dodged that bullet.

It’s obvious these are talented filmmakers and even though their concept is as cliched as an old Christopher Pike novel. And while the execution may be uneven to say the least, it’s still a fun homage to the Satanic Panic era of 70’s horror.

The film focuses on Samantha, a student at the all girls boarding school who finds herself stuck at the school over the Christmas holiday when her stepfather reveals that he never had any intention of letting her come home. Heartbroken, she tries to make the most of it with her loving teacher Rose and her class’ weird girl, Clara. Just when things are looking up, there’s a knock at the door and unwanted guest’s decide to impose. Unfortunately for the girls, these visitors are less than cordial. As bodies begin to drop, and blood fills the halls, will our heroines find a way to keep this band of killers at bay or will they be consumed in the devilish game at play? Find out in the Sacrifice Game.

The premise is simple.

And what’s our rule when things are simple?

The execution must be perfect.

And while this film’s execution falls apart halfway through the second act, it’s still an admirable attempt.

Let’s start with positives.

The film is shot beautifully. The lighting is impeccable and gives every shot that uncanny, 70’s feel. It’s very similar to Rob Zombie’s techniques—but done much cleaner. Somehow this makes for a creepier effect. The use of angles, lack of jump cuts, and masterful execution of practical effects makes the film feel like its budget is much bigger than it is.

This is a brutal film. The bloodshed is visceral and you see every drop spilled. This is not a cut-away from the action horror. It’s for more grind house than art house.

All this being said, the film wouldn’t be half as good without the actors knocking it out of the park.

Mena Massoud gets top billing, as this came out just after his starring turn in that terrible Aladdin remake from 2019 (which I never saw and never will). And while he is a standout and is obviously super talented, and chews up the scenery with his pitch-perfect, and over the top performance.

The real star of the show is Georgia Acken. She is the spitting image of a young Linda Blair and her eerie performance is what really drew me into the film.

But to be fair, everyone in the movie performs their roles well. Madison Baines plays her role of the suffering innocent deftly, avoiding many of the pitfalls actresses fall into when playing a pure soul, especially paired with the heart punch of a performance by the hauntingly beautiful Chloë Levine.

It’s not a perfect movie, and definitely could have done with a few trims here to tighten the scope—It’s still at a respectable runtime of 99 minutes.

It’s a fun movie to add to the Horror Holiday playlist and a respectable slasher entry to the genre.

Check this one out streaming exclusively on Shudder.