The Sacrament has been making the rounds at festivals for a while, as these smaller films will do. It will finally be coming to homes (the VOD date is May 5) and theaters (the limited theatrical run begins June 6) soon, and its coming is presaged by the requisite red band trailer.

As director Ti West’s game is suspense and slow-burn, it’s fair to be a bit suspect of the mock documentary format and the genre-standard trailer. The trailer doesn’t sell those best aspects of West’s previous films, The House of the Devil and The Inkeepers. Perhaps producer Eli Roth’s fast and frequent gore has inspired him.

Though the trailer serves more as exposition than tasty tease, the names involved alone make the film an enticing one. Besides West and Roth helming it, The Sacrament stars a number of notable actors who have worked together in some capacity between You’re Next, A Horrible Way To Die, and V/H/S already: Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz, AJ Bowen (also of The House of the Devil), and Kentucker Adley, with Gene Jones as the sinister Father.

An extended synopsis, as quoted by Bloody-Disgusting:

 “The Sacrament follows two Vice media correspondents as they set out to document their friend’s search to find his missing sister. They travel outside of the United States to an undisclosed location where they are welcomed into the world of “Eden Parish,” a self-sustained rural utopia comprised of nearly 200 members. At the centre of this small, religious, socialist community is a mysterious leader known only as “Father.” As their friend reunites with his sister, it becomes apparent to the newcomers that this paradise may not be as it seems. What started as just another documentary shoot soon becomes a race to escape with their lives.”

It’s a familiar idea (a not-so-utopian utopia) with a modern twist (Vice media correspondents?). The trailer gives off a sense of familiarity as well, though Jones seems imposing enough to be as magnetic as the character needs to be. That’s where West’s signature style comes in, one would think.

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Tyler Hanan

Tyler raves about movies on the Let The Right Films In podcast. Listen to him make jokes over his beleaguered cohost Kayla St. Onge and their more qualified guests who deserve so much better at soundcloud.com/ltrfipod. Find him on Twitter @tylerhanan.

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