NOW ON SHUDDER! Director Jenn Wexler’s excellent holiday torture romp, The Sacrifice Game, is the perfect choice for a family Christmas movie if you are a member of the Manson family. Co-written by Wexler and Sean Redlitz, the film starts in 1971, three nights before Christmas. In a quaint house down a quiet street, a husband and his wife enjoy a visit by some Christmas carolers. Afterward, they are promptly slaughtered during a home invasion by Jude (Mena Massoud), Maisie (Olivia Scott Welch), Grant (Derek Johns), and Doug (Laurent Pitre). The next day at the Blackvale Girls Boarding School, everyone is talking about the latest in a string of Christmas murders that has suddenly started up.
On the last day of class, Samantha (Madison Baines) is informed that her stepfather isn’t bringing her home for Christmas. As such, she must stay on campus during the break with Clara (Georgia Acken), a bullied outcast who draws a lot and cuts herself. They will be watched over by teacher Rose (Chloe Levine), with Rose’s boyfriend, Jimmy (Gus Kenworthy), also pitching in.
“Rose refuses to let them in, but Jude starts insisting.”
Meanwhile, the murderous gang hits a church and carves up a preacher. On Christmas Eve, Samantha and Clara get everything ready for the big dinner Rose made while waiting for Jimmy to get back. Then there’s a knock on the door. When Rose opens the door she sees Jude and Doug, who ask to use a phone. Rose refuses to let them in, but Jude starts insisting.
The Sacrifice Game is like a blood-and-guts version of The Holdovers. Both take place at single-gender boarding schools during Christmas break, eerily set only a year apart at the dawn of the 1970s. They both use retro credit titling to maintain that vibe, which is like catnip to us Gen X geezers out there. In fact, these movies could twin for a lovely double bill for the sofa inclined.
"…an ultra-violent Christmas pudding."
