The Sacred (2012) User Reviews

Horror??

[jimmerw · 3/10 · 25 January 2014]

This was billed as a horror. Really? So much of the story had been done before. Possessed doll. Cabin in the woods. Etc.

Now if you are looking for topless women and some lesbian action, this is the movie.

A poor attempt at horror, a mediocre attempt at soft core porn.

I did give it a 3 because the camera work was pretty good. The story, acting and weak attempts at horror were all quite poor.

If you get to watch this for free, go ahead, but don't pay hard earned money for it.

We need some more creativity in horrors out of Hollywood.

There is nothing sacred about this movie.

[msalman-shamim · 3/10 · 29 January 2014]

This movie is .... flat out uncoordinated, boring and a total waste. The lead heroine lacks any charisma, and the sudden focus on nudity and sex makes it like the director was having fun with the actors. Things make no sense at all, they don't relate. Not to mention that sleaze on an aunt who left a haunted property off in her will, not to mention an entirely useless benevolent entity. Bad acting, misdirection and not to mention whats with all the emphasis on the retard music in the beginning? Playing love songs doesn't make a moment romantic, not to mention whats with that vile running/ loud music playing shot. Why is this movie called the Sacred is beyond as this is just a desecration of the haunting / possession sub genre. 2 words Shadeed Loser! P.S. Nudity doesn't make a movie likable!

You have crap and you have utter crap ... This movie goes beyond the last ...

[peterp-450-298716 · 1/10 · 25 July 2014]

Are you someone who has never seen a horror in his life and who just has decided to make the big step and it should remain fairly soft, then you should definitely watch "The Sacred". But if you want to start up already with something more heavy in this genre, then you better forget about this movie. I don't want to feel guilty about the fact that a new horror fan would drop out because they came to the conclusion that the horror genre isn't that special anyway after watching this film.

Relating "The Sacred" to the horror genre is as ridiculous as claiming that the little snow man in "Frozen" is a real living snowman they have recruited in Lapland. Sheer nonsense! Indeed there is an evil spirit and you can see a ritual of an exorcism in the opening scene. But like one swallow does not make a summer, those elements won't make this film a horror. I'm sure the creators watched a lot of horror movies about cabins in the woods and possessed people, with their notebooks ready. Because virtually every conceivable cliché has been used. One follows after the other in such a pace that it looks like "Am laufenden Band" with Rudi Carell. But instead of a conveyor belt with prices, it's one with overused horror elements.

Jessie (Heather Roop) is a writer who suddenly faces the well-known phenomenon of a writer's block. Not to worry. Jessie has a cabin inherited from her aunt, who obviously deceased under mysterious circumstances, and uses this opportunity to stay over there and confront herself with her past and so regain some inspiration. So she moves to this secluded cabin in the woods. Soon strange things start to happen etcetera etcetera etcetera .....

First there is the ridiculous oversupply of used horror elements: self-opening doors, a clock that's always showing the wrong time, a falling vase, sudden appearances, a radio getting smashed, shadows in the mirror, a doll that appears somewhere all the time, the staring villagers, scary sounds and creaking floors, banging on the door, friends appear and eventually become victims ... You can even hear a priest doing an exorcism. The technique of filming in a way as if it appears that someone is spying on you from behind a bush or from the upper floor, has also been used infinite times. And something that starts getting on my nerves over and over again, is the fact that everyone knows nothing or they don't want to talk about it, and then suddenly they come up with some story about something that happened in the past.And of course Jessie responds to these phenomena as if nothing is going on and it's just kind of weird. Naive girl! About the performances we can brief : that was for me the greatest horror element. Totally unbelievable and amateurish. When Jessie started crying, I also almost started crying spontaneously myself. Not because it was so touching, but because it looked so miserably. Besides, it was also laughable how Jessie was portrayed. In the beginning, she looked like a frigid old aunt, and after wards when she starts cleaning in that cabin, she looked like a sexy pop artist with an ultra-short cut-off jeans and a translucent t-shirt swinging around with her ​​mop. My conclusion after seeing all these scenes (because she is shown regularly bra-less while wearing a see-through t-shirt) is that it was really cold in that forest. It looked like some Darts Tournament in London. "One Hundred and Eighty" times I've looked at those erect antennas.

Anyway, it's also a bad omen when they throw in some lesbian sex scenes and some explicit images of Jessie taking a shower. Usually this is done to embellish things and to hide the fact that this is a terrible movie. The denouement is so incredibly far-fetched using terrible looking special effects. If this was a movie from the 70's, then I would understand. And you don't need to be clever to guess the open end. Is there anything good to say about this movie? Yes, the performance of Brighid Fleming as Leah, is admirable. But that couldn't save this disaster.

More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be

Yaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwnnnnn..........

[davannacarter · 1/10 · 28 February 2014]

*yawn* Oh, you're here. And you're reading my review because you're wondering if this movie is worth watching. Well, if you're a horror fan, you've already seen this movie. The movie jumps from one cliché to the next every five minutes. You'll already be predicting what happens in the movie when you're 1/10th of the way through. You won't even need to read the screenplay.

Synopsis: Basically, we have your clichéd horror flick where the yuppie chick has decided to move out to a house in a rural area to "get away from it all". This is one of those small town horrors where the townspeople are aware of the demonic entity. But instead of talking to the protagonist they act cryptic, standoffish, and frightened with the usual "I've said too much already" type of behavior you see in these movies. There's also the obligatory grizzled redneck who knows a lot about the demonic entity. He acts shifty, scared, and distant. And, instead of telling the woman from the get-go about the demonic being, he decides to wait until after she's been haunted to break the news to her. These rural horror demonic ghost type of horror movies always have these townspeople who know about the local demon. But it's never explained why they continue to live in a town possessed by a demonic being.

What's equally perplexing is why these yuppie women continue to stay in these demonic houses after they experience strange things? The main chick hears noises she shouldn't hear; she sees the reflection of people walking behind her and catches ghostly visions staring at her but disappearing when she blinks; things crash and break abruptly; etc. And all she ever says to these occurrences is "Huh. That's funny." and then continues to live in the house as if nothing important is happening? There are also a plethora of other clichés that bombard the horror fan: newspaper clippings to tell the back story; character says, "Don't leave me" and other character says, "stay here. I'll be right back. Everything will be okay." after they hear something strange out in the dark woods; guy goes out to check after hearing strange noise; etc.

Other clichés I didn't like: swaying cam, where the camera isn't shaking like the camera man has seizures but the camera isn't steady either (apparently, tripods are too expensive to buy these days); annoying "BOOM!" jump scares; and the inappropriate music at the wrong time. I'm really tired of this amateurish junk that gets passed for film-making in the indie community.

By the end of the movie, I lost count at the number of clichés I saw. The only thing that made me stay awake was the scene with the chick who came out of the rain. That scene made me raise my eyes and say, "Whoa. That came out of nowhere. That was a pleasant surprise." I gave this movie 1-star because the filmmakers didn't flood the review section with phony shill reviews like you see on so many other indie film reviews on IMDb. So congratulations on that. Everything is was a waste. I've seen everything in this movie. It wasn't suspenseful for those who like atmospheric horror with little to no gore. Nor was it gory enough for the gore/exploitation fans. Without the nudity, this movie would be PG-13 horror.

Am I Watching the Right Movie??

[chloekristina · 1/10 · 3 March 2014]

When I came across the synopsis for this movie, I was into it. Sure, it didn't sound original, but I was looking a comfort movie - something I could settle into and enjoy without too much effort. I mean, we've got all kinds of classic elements at work here - vulnerable young person alone in a creepy cabin? Weird small-town residents? Some unspoken secret horror just beneath the surface of a wholesome pastoral setting? Yes, please!

Maybe If I had fully realized what a joke this film is instead of giving it even a modicum of respect, I could have had more fun while watching it. Dear reader, don't be as foolish as I.

First of all, the summary for the movie is not accurate. I spent the first 15 minutes wondering if I was watching the right film. "Marie" is actually Jessie, the "young writer" in question in the summary (there IS in fact a Marie, a throwaway character who doesn't show up until the last 10 minutes of the movie - but I could see how the synopsis writer could be easily confused). We know she is a "young writer" because she calls herself this, however she is actually a 40-something MILF straight from the set of All My Children. It is painful to watch her try to act the babe-in-the-woods character. I grant you, she does have a hot bod, but cut-off jean short-shorts do not a young person make. Any attempts at creating a tense or eerie atmosphere are instantly ruined by "young" Jessie's mom-like behaviour and person.

Anyway the point is, Jessie, who at some point wrote a successful horror novel, is trying to follow up with another, but has serious writer's block. She decides to go up to the cabin that her dead aunt (who she can't remember of course) left her, to hopefully spark some inspiration. But the town residents aren't telling her something, and weird things start to happen........ like a door opening on its own when she's washing her naked boobs in the shower omg!!

And, that's basically how it goes. You know this is a Serious and Gritty Horror Film not only because boobs, but also the characters - including children!- use Bad Curse Words.

This movie is bad, but it's not even fun bad. It's like watching a Lifetime Network production of "A Scary Movie starring Your Friend's Hot Mom". Half the time it's boring and entirely lacking in any atmosphere (the scary cabin is scary and derelict because there are dishes left in the sink, and cobwebs! Cue the sexy-dancing housework montage with some Rock n' Roll!), and yet also, there are boobies, and naked lesbian make-out scenes put in because of course there is. The lesbian stuff could have been interesting rather than pointless - if, say, Jessie and Boyfriend were having troubles because she's bi or, hell, even a closeted lesbian who feels she must repress her sexuality, but no, silly, they have a perfect relationship and there are just sexy girls making out and it's really hot okay??

If you are a 13 year old boy of any age, I think you will really enjoy this film, because it has the F-word, someone Smokes a Doobie, and someone Even Has Sex.

"The Stupid" would be a more appropriate title.

[tmccull52 · 2/10 · 16 October 2020]

The protagonist of the film is Jessie, a horror novelist with one successful novel to her credit. She is under contract to write another, and has already spent the advance for the book, but she's struggling to come up with an idea. Jessie's boyfriend, Brian, suggests that they take a trip to a remote cabin that Jessie's late Aunt Jean had left her. Jessie declines the idea, saying that she needs to concentrate on the book. Brian reluctantly gives in and agrees.

The next day, Jessie decides to go to the cabin alone, hoping that the location will spark her imagination. Brian has reservations about the idea, but gives in again. He agrees to drive Jessie to a restaurant in the town closest to the cabin, where she is scheduled to meet with George, the caretaker that keeps on eye on the property, even after the death of Jessie's aunt. While they're in the restaurant waiting for George, Brian notices that the other patrons are giving them the stink eye. Jessie blows this off.

George shows up, and is about as personable as a cinder block. Brian again expresses his concerns about Jessie going off alone with a man who has the personality of a turd, and yet again, Jessie pooh-poohs his concerns. She drives off with George, who takes her to the cabin, but who will not go inside. Jessie notices this, and yes, you guessed it, she shrugs it off.

Once inside the cabin, Jessie discovers that it is a mess. It doesn't look like ol' George is taking care of anything. Jessie wanders about the cabin, and even has a few jump scares... which she blows off. Jessie then strips down to a tank top and a pair of short shorts and prances about like a stripper on stage while she cleans the place up. In the middle of her dance, the radio is smashed to the kitchen floor. One guess what Jessie does. Yep, she blows it off.

Later that night, Jessie is awakened by strange noises. As she investigates, she finds an old, somewhat tattered doll. Jessie puts the doll in a closet, but when she wakes up the next morning to go for a jog, she finds the doll on the front porch. She tosses the doll into the trash, and goes for that jog. Along the way, she sees a young girl standing by a stream, but she doesn't approach the girl. As she jogs off, the girl turns and watches Jessie as she's leaving.

After her jog, Jessie goes back to the cabin, and while she's trying to write, she hears a knock at the door. Opening the door, she sees the same girl that was standing by the stream, and the girl is holding the doll. The girl introduces herself as Leah, and she tells Jessie that the doll is hers. Jessie apologizes to Leah for throwing the doll away, and invites Leah inside.

Inside, Leah demomstrates an intimate knowledge of the cabin's interior. She also seems very familiar with Jessie, even though they've only just met. When Jessie asks about Leah's familiarity with her, and the cabin, Leah explains that she had frequently visited with Jessie's Aunt Jean. Jessie, who has the survival instincts of the proverbial lemming going over the edge of a cliff, readily accepts Leah's explanation.

Jessie decides to walk into town, as she has no car, and invites Leah to go. Along the way, they pass the cemetery where Aunt Jean is buried. Of course, Leah knows the exact plot and headstone. Jessie reflects upon her aunt, whom she has very little memory of, and while she's doing this, a vase and flowers at the headstone is mysteriously knocked over. When Jessie attempts to set it upright, a large crow seems to fly up and out of Aunt Jean's grave. This scares Jessie, causing her to fall to the ground. Leah helps her up, and they go into town.

While Jessie and Leah are shopping in the town grocery store, the other customers give Jessie the stink eye. There is a woman cashing out at the register, and she seems disturbed by Jessie's presence. Leah identifies this woman as Aunt Jean's former nurse. Intrigued, Jessie tells Leah to go pick out anything that she wants from the store, and as Leah scampers off, Jessie approches her late aunt's former nurse. The nurse refuses to speak with Jessie about her aunt, or the cabin. The only thing that the nurse will say is that Jessie should leave immediately.

Let's recap up to this point, shall we?

Jessie declines going to a remote cabin on vacation with her boyfriend, Brian. Jessie then decides to go to the cabin, but by herself, to work on her book.

Jessie then asks Brian to drive her to a place that she barely knows, to meet a man that she has never seen before, George the caretaker.

Despite Brian's objections, Jessie agrees to go off with George, leaving hereself completely dependent on a man that she has known for all of five minutes.

George refuses to go into the cabin, even though he's been the caretaker there for years, and Jessie blows this off.

The interior of the cabin is a mess, even though George was supposed to be looking after the place. Jessie blows this off.

Doors open and close by themselves. Jessie blows this off. While she's prancing around the kitchen like a stripper, the radio that she was listening to is hurled to the floor by unseen hands, smashed to bits right in front of her. Jessie blows this off. More odd things happen in the house. Jessie blows them all off.

Leah shows up out of nowhere, and Jessie blows this off. Leah claims that she recovered the doll from the trash. How did she know it was there? She wasn't around when Jessie threw it away. Jessie blows this off.

Jessie invites Leah into the cabin, Leah evinces Intimate knowledge of the cabin, and Aunt Jean. She walks around like she owns the place, and even starts to look at what Jessie had been typing on her laptop computer. Jessie blows this off.

The next night, Jessie is roused from her bed by someone knocking at the door. Opening the door, Jessie finds a cold, wet, scantily clad woman standing there. The woman asks for another woman by name, asking Jessie if this other woman is in the cabin. Jessie invites this stranger into the cabin, and has her warm herself by the fireplace. Once they're settled, the stranger gives her name as Alix, and she claims to have become separated in the woods from her friend, the one that she asked Jessie about.

Jessie goes off to get Alix something dry to wear. While she's away, Alix strips nude and waits by the fireplace. Jessie comes back with a robe, sees that Alix is now stark naked and she blows this off. Alix, who only moments before was so worried about her missing friend, moves in close and kisses Jessie on the lips. Jessie does not blow this off. Instead, she returns Alix's kiss, and they start to make out... even though Jessie has a boyfriend. After a moment, Jessie breaks contact with Alix and says that she can't be intimate with her. While Jessie is in the midst of regaining her composure, Alix disappears. Jessie blows this off.

Jessie finally starts to feel creeped out by being alone in the cabin, and she calls Brian and asks him to come up and stay with her. Brian says that he can't come to the cabin that night because he has to show a house to clients the next day, but he promises to come to the cabin right after that. Jessie turns in for the night. While she's sleeping, she dreams of being seduced not only by Alix, but Alix's missing friend, too.

Jessie decides to go into town again an investigate. While she's in town, she visits with the owner of a curiosity shop. They chat pleasantly, until Jessie shows the proprietor Leah's doll. The proprietor becomes unsettled at the sight of the doll, but she admits to recognizing it. She even knows the doll's name, Isabelle.

Jessie shows the shop owner a picture of her Aunt Jean, and asks the owner if that was the person that she'd sold the doll to. The shop owner says no; she has no idea who the woman in the photo is. She sells Jessie a small oill lamp, which is supposed to ward off evil spirits. The oil in the lamp has been consecrated.

Jessie takes the lamp home and sets it on the mantel over the fireplace. Now, she's expecting Brian to show up that evening, and when Brian doesn't show up, what does Jessie do? She blows this off and goes to bed.

Jessie has drifted off when she hears a knock at the door. She goes downstairs to open the door. Along the way, she grabs a poker from the fireplace. She opens the front door, but no one is there. Suddenly a figure shouts and lunges at Jessie in the dark. In response, she hits the figure with the fireplace poker.

This turns out to be Max, Brian's brother. Now, Brian had been doing his dead level best to get some alone time at the cabin with Jessie so that they can get jiggy with it. So, what does Mr. Horny do? He brings his brother and his brother's girlfriend.

This doesn't matter because they all die. As it happens, Leah is a demon who once possessed Jessie through Isabelle. An exorcism was successfully performed, but Jessie has no memory of it. Leah has been waiting for Jessie to come back so that she can possess her again. They battle. Jessie breaks the lamp with consecrated oil over Leah's head, setting her on fire. George shows up and takes Jessie out of the house.

Jessie writes a book about the ordeal, and at a book signing, a stranger asks her to sign something for his daughter... not her book, but Isabelle. The End.

Sexism rules in this movie.....

[annalisanil · 1/10 · 23 March 2014]

Worst film ever !! Bad actors especially Heather Roop and Jeff Fahey. Its not a Horror movie. You don't get scared at all or ... well , you get chills by the film being so bad. The movie is obviously made cos the director seems to have problems to get it on with the opposite sex, so the film has more scenes of a softporn in it than some horror scenes. The movie is about lesbian threesome, a LOT of hard nipples in a see through top, a naked shower scene, Anna McCords sister, naked with a shaved pussy (this movie shows how bad it could be for someone to live in the shadows of a famous sister )a sex scene, and a "sexy dance"scene, Heather is wearing short pants /trousers more than half of the Movie and not to forget the camera is zooming in on Heathers tits and butt AAAAALLLL THE TIME. And no, the film is useless as a soft pornmovie too Heather has no sex appeal at all.

WIFE OF BRIAN

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 7 October 2018]

Jessie (Heather Roop) is married to Brian (Jordan Belfi) and wrote a horror novel. She has writer's block for her follow up novel and opts to go to her dead aunt's cabin in the woods by herself for inspiration. She lived there as a child and has no memory about the place...and we do know an exorcism was performed there.

The creep factor builds rather quickly. It centers around Leah (Brighid Fleming) a young visitor and a one eyed doll named Isabel.

The film is a fairly decent possession tale in by itself. This particular film over did it on the nudity. The one nude scene involving Alix (Angel McCord) was part of the film, the others should have been cut. The problem is that this type of horror film has a large female appeal to them and when the gratuitous nudity becomes too gratuitous, it loses that appeal and in this case distracted from the horror aspect of the film. Note: excessive nudity is great for slasher films, not okay for possession films with a few exceptions.

Sid Haig appears in the film for about 30 seconds at the end. It was a nice walk on, but not worthy of any billing.

Parental Guide: F-bombs, sex, nudity (Heather Roop, Cora Benesh, Shelly Johnson, Angel McCord- full frontal-thank you) 7 stars for a decent horror film and for the same abundant nudity I complained about.

Don't listen to the haters

[dennis-68943 · 8/10 · 13 January 2019]

HI it's me again. This is my second review and I must say, this deserved a little help from the negative reviews. OK the movie isn't a big budget but for a low budget it's great. I'm a fan of supernatural horror so this was nice. Nothing new but a good watch. Acting not bad either.