User reviews

The movie touched on some cult recruitment practices and attempted to address the why people get sucked into groups with some slightly on the nose dialogue dressed up as academic banter.

Unfortunately I'm familiar having directly experienced a real cult and it's terrifying groupthink. The use of psychedelics is a cult trope but mostly not the case. Maybe the cult this was based on used them but that's a generally held misbeleif. It doesn't take much to suck the unguarded in. We're social animals and crave community and acceptance.

None the less it did expose some cult standards. Being made to feel special. Group acceptance. False dilemmas to instil fear and compliance. A sociopathic cult leader. Etc.

From a movie/narrative perspective the story was a little flat and one dimensional. A splash of colour should have spruced it up visually. Sub plots were thin and the twist foreshadowing tipped its hand.

Eric did a good job as did his co-stars but I had the feeling they weren't buying the dialogue here and there. Still it was watchable and there wasn't that feeling you'd just wasted two hours of your life.

I just wish it had that extra something.

Well I just got done watching this movie and I feel like I've seen this movie before because I have seen this movie before.

Positives for A Sacrifice (2024): The performances from Sadie Sink and Eric Bana are pretty good for the most part. I did have some investment in what was happening in the story. And that's about it for positives.

Negatives for A Sacrifice (2024): Like I said before, this is a movie and a premise that I've seen many times before and it's plays out the exact same way as those other movies. It also feels like this movie could've been directed by anyone and yet it was directed by Jordan Scott, the daughter of legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott.

Overall, A Sacrifice (2024) is as generic as these cult thriller movie can get and nothing new is brought to the table.

This movie is 96 % talking....not character development talking, not building a plotline talking, just talking. Randomly. There are many conversations that goes no where and does not enhances the story.

Motivation: The movie never establishes the motivations to make people do what they do. They make decisions to satisfy the story without letting us know why they are making that decision.

Direction/Acting...in the few scenes that do contain some level of drama, the actors overact the scene which means yelling, gesturing loudly and walking out of rooms.

Lastly...boring. The first 20 minutes did little to pique my interest and even make me want to finish the movie. I should have gone with that instinct and saves myself 90 minutes of my life.

Eric Bana and Sadie Sink sulk their way through Berlin Nobody, a drab cult thriller given the far less tantalizing title "A Sacrifice" for North American distribution. Bana is an American professor in Berlin working on a complicated thesis about cult mindset and dangerous groupthink, unaware that his teenage daughter (Sink) is slowly orbiting the very same deadly cult via a German boy (Jonas Dasser) she's started seeing. Bana is a brilliant actor who doesn't always choose the best scripts and this is unfortunately one of them, Stranger Things' talented Sink also falling into the same trap. They try to do honest character work but the writing lets them down hard, attempting some complex thematics regarding the cut angle that get left completely open ended like they just gave up in fully exploring their ideas and let the credits roll. Skip.

Ultimately. The Story line here is how people get sucked into CULTS. Sophie Rois plays HILDA a Cult Leader in Berlin who uses the Environmental World coming to an End Card to recruit new members. She gives an Jim Jonesian performance, scared me almost as much as the Wicked Witch of the West from THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Father Daughter Ben and Mazzy are the victims set up by Martin and Nina. The Movies climax is a little far fetched but still effective. The Berlin setting and psychological underground Music scene are grinding. Directed by Jordan Scott of the SCOTT Family has the Closed Caption run thru out so you can read along too as in German some scenes. If you want to Experience the Cult sacrifices I recommend going to See for Yourself, but stay away from the Cyanide tablets and Magic Mushrooms on the way.. I am Fan of Eric Bana (The Dry) and really impressed with Sadie Sink from (The Whale) she shines.

Don't waste your money or time. I try to give movies a chance. I really do. And I never spend the time to rate a movie, let alone comment on it. But this was genuinely just horrible. Atrocious writing. Atrocious directing. Completely unrealistic dialogue and overreactions to everything that leave you rolling your eyes thinking "who freaking really says or does that!" No one is THAT naive. Huge jumps in the progression of the story that ruin the genuineness, I think, of where it was trying to go. Zero character development.

Pissed I paid to watch and be irritated almost from the very beginning.

6.4 stars.

This film is very well made, but the execution is clumsy. The music is outstanding and I have to comment on it, because it evokes a pretty scary feeling. The acting is tolerable and the direction is wonderful, the lighting and camera work is without fault. Okay, so what could be wrong with this movie if I've just praised every aspect of it? Well, I didn't give any accolades for the script and the story itself. The story is repetitive, and so this is just the same film done a million times, but the only difference for me is that it was done in Germany, which gives it just a smidge feeling of something "different". The script is atrocious and there is no way they could make this a very entertaining film. Some of the characters are not believable and just too weird, so there is no sense of authenticity. It's too robotic at times and wooden at times.

I assume since the setting is Germany that most of the actors are German. However, the two main characters are Americans.

It's a movie about a cult and it's obviously a Satanic one. There are some apparitions and after life visions and odd stuff like that and it's an eerie experience for sure. I think the whole film was done so well, I just wish they had a better script and a bit more originality.

Bana's character is supposedly an absentee father, but unfortunately he was a bit absentee with his acting. I said most of the acting was good, but strangely enough, the Americans left something to be desired. The Germans stole the show.

This film is not quite good enough for me to want to ever see it again, therefore it must fall below 7, but I can't say it's any less than 6.4, because it's a really accomplished presentation outside of the flat script.

Most boring monotone movie in every aspect from script,dialog,cinematography,locations & attire.

Sadie may of did well in Stranger Things however,based on this & other performances I'm really not a fan.

Although the rest of the cast,even their acting was average to poor.

This topic of cults is beyond clichéd & has been done,so much better in the past.

I guess because it took place internationally it apparently was more unique,they could of used more locations or something.

Still got over 100 characters to go & frankly,there isn't anything else that is worth talking about.

Finally.. Watch is you need sleep!

Traditional cult movies involve satanic or religious cults. Out with the old in with the new. As those two previous mentioned categories fade further and further away from the forefront of people's minds, the more relevant environmental cult, is more fitting for a modern audience.

Unlike some cult movies the leader's sole purpose isn't necessarily gathering as many followers as possible to do slave work, make her rich or even powerful. The environmentalist cult agenda is that Earth comes first and people are killing the earth. Therefore, people need to die quickly so that the earth can heal. A Doomsday Cult.

PRO: The movie does a good job at showing you how people that feel lost and are searching for something, can easily fall prey to people who just want to further their cause.

CON: The movie progresses way too fast. You barely get to know the characters and then boom the end. The ending is also predictable, although there is a slight twist with some characters.

Genuinely awful script and direction that makes you wonder how anyone agreed to pay for any of it. Next time there's accusations of the movie industry being used as a tax break and for money laundering, this will be Exhibit A.

Bana woefully miscast, thankfully he gets enough awful dialogue and worse directing to pretend he was trying and blame the mess on others. Sink is actually solid, she's got skills but this train wreck wasn't the vehicle to sell them. Hoetz might have been good, don't know, I get blinded by how attractive she is. Jokes aside, she's fine, but no one gets out of this swamp alive with any dignity intact.

Thinking it's far more clever than what it is, it's hard to pull apart the worst offenders. The script, the direction, the editing, the plot beats, the dialogue are all working in harmony to deliver a 'wtf is this garbage' movie experience. Turgid tripe that should never have been made. Just awful.

The description of the movie plot sounded so mysterious and intriguing! With the the topics of cults & murders, i was expecting an exciting & mysterious movie. Sadly, this is more of a slow-paced drama than a thriller. The first hour was the worst, with no intrigue or mystery building. I'm not sure if it is the story, dialogue or action (or lack thereof) that makes the viewing so darn dull. But it's quite bland. Now admittedly, the last 20 minutes were more exciting, and the last bit does rather make some sense of what you were watching in the hour or so previous. The last 20 minutes, however, is not enough to redeem this movie. Unfortunately, despite the good acting & production overall, the story just falls flat.

I just couldn't get into it and Erica Bana is kick ass actor has some great movies that don't make me wake up 25 mins at the beginning and having to scroll back finding where I fell asleep 8 x before it gets good BUT, it never gets good! Sadie sink, she's ok growing into her own but this wasn't her role I felt like she was nervous around Eric bana like she had a high school crush on a teacher lmao her cheeks were always super pink she was always giggly looking down. When I woke up once I thought the restaurant part at the beginning that they were on a date LOL the whole movie just seemed like they tried so hard to make it unique tge it Uber failed hard! I am passing I can't even get into it! Too bad it could've been better! If u need a movie to fall asleep to THIS IS IT !!

Directed and co-written by Jordan Scott. A runtime of one hour and thirty-four minutes. Streaming on Netflix with an R rating. Adapted from the Nicholas Hogg novel "Tokyo."

Social psychologist and best-selling author "Ben Monroe," played by Eric Bana, is currently living in Germany. After going through a separation with his ex-wife, he has relocated and is currently working on his next book.

His daughter "Mazzy," played by Sadie Sink, decides to visit him in Germany and attend school there for at least a semester. "Mazzy" wasn't thrilled with the separation and is even less thrilled with "Nina," played by Sylvia Hoeks. She's a German officer who seems to like "Ben" on more than just a professional level.

"Nina" is currently working on a case involving a potential cult and the mass suicide that surrounds the leader of this cult, "Hilma," played by Sophie Rois. "Ben" next book is in this wheelhouse. Making them idol partners.

This potential connection sends "Mazzy" on a downward spiral. She connects with a boy she met down there named "Martin," played by Jonas Dassler. A lot of people aren't who they say they are. Getting "Mazzy" and her father "Ben" caught up in something that could have grave consequences.

"A Sacrifice," wasn't it! I didn't know what it was about, and I just assumed it was a horror film. All I knew was it had Eric Bana in it. He has a lot of equity with me from his "Troy" days.

"Sadie Sink," who I know as "Max" from "Stranger Things," was dealt a raw deal the last time I saw her and God knows when the next season will drop. I haven't seen her in a lot of other things. I figured this had to be good with both of them in it.

I guess I shouldn't have had those expectations. It was short but felt long. It had a storyline, but it lacked direction. This is why, for the most part, I don't like when someone tries to write and direct it. A lot of the time their vision gets lost or they're the only ones that can see it.

This film was simple, and I thought more was around the corner, but it never came. The twist at the end was predictable, and I was annoyed it even got as far as it did with certain characters. Not my favorite topic and not done well enough for me to want to push through it. The way they left it at the end was frustrating. I give it a high two mor fires 🔥🔥.

#CosmoandtheMovieWithin #CosmoMovieBlog #CosmoLanier #ASacrifice.

You can see the faked forced love interest in full view while Mazzy is riding the subway. I lost interest in this debacle shortly after seeing this billboard size advertisement of who the bubbleheaded girl is going to fall for without watching the rest of this lame AF train wreck in progress.

It's like writers and directors have either gotten lazy, or they think that the viewing public consist of brain damaged maganut with the collective intelligence quotient of a eggplant.

Fortunately I took the advice of other reviewers after I paused this to make sure that I was watching something worth my while. And I saved myself an additional79 minutes of torment.

There are so many decent cult movies out there that are so realistic and accurate, why bother with this one? If you're a major fan of cult movies and documentaries like I am, this is a major letdown. It has a budget, but terrible writing, acting and major plot holes. You really have to suspend belief for this one.

The ending is very American. It also takes entirely too long to get there. On the one hand I want to appreciate that they tried to just make something up instead of rely on actual cults. On the other hand it seems they didn't research actual cults, their leaders, or the types of people who join them. Also cults don't have you taking mushrooms because they make you self aware and question everything. Cults just need simple minded followers, not open minded intellectuals.

When I looked at the initial ratings of 5/10, I was expecting just an average movie just to pass some time in the night. Oh boy, little did I expect that I would be into a surprise. My adrenaline popped in this movie. As a father, this movie touched me and the dangers in a teenagers life were well reflected. The movie was suspenseful and the Father in the movie did an great job in displaying how not being engaged in his relationship with his daughter could present huge risks to a teenagers life. The suspense levels of this movie is also quite out of the ordinary. I still don't understand how this movie has ~5/10 average.

Not only is this a poorly made movie, especially in the moment where the main character goes from 0 to 100 to even decide that she no longer trusted the cult - like there was no development of that whatsoever... The TRULY scary thing about this film is that it demonizes positive things like meditation, breath work, the concept of Nonduality, as well as basically making fun of a lot of genuine aspects of enlightened thinking by placing all of it within the context of a cult. So even though the movie's message is an attempt at warning about cult mentality, it actually becomes a convoluted satire in the end. Sorry, but your nepotism isn't enough to grant real talent. You wasted so many opportunities to make a great movie, and I'm left utterly disappointed.