Sacrifice: Written Review

October 2, 2018

Sacrifice

Written Review

Stream Film on Unearthed Films' Vimeo on Demand Channel

Hi everyone, and welcome to MyIndie Review Vlog, The show that gives you spoiler-free reviews of indie films. My Name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions, and today’s review is 2017’s gore horror feature film American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice, directed by MyIndie featured artist Poison Rouge, and produced by Matteo Cassiano and MyIndie featured artist, Domiziano Cristopharo.

Thank you guys, for sharing your film with us.

Under another MyIndie featured artist, Stephen Biro’s Unearthed Films, Sacrifice is the fourth instalment in the American Guinea Pig Series, which is comprised of 2014’s Bouquet Of Guts and Gore, 2015’s Bloodshock and 2017’s The Song of Solomon, which was reviewed by yours truly in episode 18 of this very show.

The series pays homage to the infamous Japanese Guinea Pig series which was designed to push the limits of graphic visuals inspired by Snuff Porn. Sacrifice correlates with the Japanese Guinea Pig: He Never Dies instalment.

While part of the American Guinea Pig Series, it initially was not by design, as Sacrifice is part of Domiziano Cristopharo’s Trilogy Of Death, along with Adam Ford’s 2017’s Torment, which was covered in episode 15, and Domiziano’s 2018’s Xpiation, also to be reviewed in the near future.

It appears that Sacrifice, originally titled: Like a Guinea Pig: Sacrifice, which isn’t even an American film, was made with the Guinea Pig spirit by mere chance. The title was initially changed to simply ‘Sacrifice‘, so as not clash with the series. Biro, who originally planned for The Song Of Solomon to be the fourth instalment of American Guinea Pig, came across Poison Rouge’s Sacrifice and found it to perfectly fit the series’ style. That, and having a production fall through of a different film planned to be the third instalment, allowed Stephen to assign The Song Of Solomon as the third one and add Sacrifice as the fourth.

As a customary warning for all Guinea Pig related films and horror gore in general, this one is not for the faint at heart, so viewer discretion is advised.

The story follows a disturbed young man, Daniel, portrayed by, Roberto Scorza. Daniel is tormented by a troubled past following the death of his father and other pre-existing psychological trauma. He returns to the home where he was raised and goes into the bathroom. In front of the mirror, he then proceeds to execute a very planned self-harming ritual, mutilating himself, to supposedly achieve enlightenment and please the Goddess Ishtar, played by Flora Giannattasio.

Equipped with various cutting tools, a couple of screwdrivers, and an electric drill. Daniel performs nasty acts of self-mutilation, including trephination; the drilling of a hole in ones skull, exposing but not harming the brain tissue.

Among many beliefs, trephination is a practice thought to help individuals achieve a certain level of euphoria. That, in my mind, relates to the enlightenment Daniel was looking to achieve.

This film is extremely graphic and relentless, holding nothing back. I must say, as a fellow film enthusiast and filmmaker, I’ve seen my fair share of horror gore, but I can usually “see the strings”, so to speak. I can usually spot the technical aspects for what they are, knowing how the filmmakers create the illusion. There were several parts in Sacrifice, where I was simply dumbfounded. I couldn’t see the strings. It looked disturbingly real. For an independent film, and Poison Rouge’s feature directorial debut, That was extremely impressive.

On a deeper level, I found many layers to this film. My interpretation, however, is my own and doesn’t necessarily mean what Rouge intended. It is just my take my personal viewing experience.

Within Daniel’s gruesome ritual, there are moments where he can’t resist the compulsion to flaunt his audacity in doing these things to himself. He takes pictures of his mutilations to post them online, bragging on the amount of attention and ‘likes’ they will yield. As apposed to most of us showing only an edited version of ourselves, the best parts (which may or may not be real), letting everybody know how happy and great our lives are, Daniel craves attention by doing the exact opposite. He shows himself raw and unfiltered, bloody and disgusting. Stating that people will not be able to resist viewing the carnage of another human being is by itself, social commentary of the general public of today.

After letting the viewing experience percolate for a bit, I believe, the enlightenment motif in the film, correlates with a desire to connect to everything. So what must we do to feel connected? Tear down our mental barriers, guarding us from change. Give up certain aspects of ourselves in order to let new information in. Put our ego in check and pay respect to what we don’t know or don’t yet understand.

The antitheses of that, of course, is to isolate one’s self from everything, which is what most of us tend to do as a sense of preserving our identity and not daring question our way of life. By isolating away from new possibilities, we get to reassure ourselves that what we believe to be true or real, is undeniable. It meets mankind’s primal need for certainty. We feel safer around things we think we understand, so by default we’ll tend to disregard, or alienate anything beyond that.

Daniel is on an extreme mission to connect with everything. So he violently tears down the very fabric that defines him, turning his back on the most basic primal need every living creature possesses. The need for self preservation, because in his mind, only when he sacrifices himself fully, will he be able to become one with everything, become Godlike, the ultimate prize.

The film also deals with the theme of death and what may exist beyond. Daniel may believe that our current existence is inferior and wishes to ascend to a higher existence where the goddess that sometimes seems to possess him, exists. The film toys with the idea of whether such an existence is real and whether finding out is worth losing what we currently have.

To sum up, this is a fascinating piece of work that will lodge itself in your mind once viewed. It probably has a lot more layers to it than this review can even attempt to reveal. I guess it is for Poison Rouge to know, and for us to speculate on.

The production value is great, cinematography by Domiziano Cristopharo is immaculate, the lighting and color grade, very professional. The practical and special effects were excellent and the performances were highly convincing.

American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice gets an 8/10 on the Look At Me, I’m A Film Critic scale!
Go check it out for yourselves. The film is available on Amazon and on the Unearthed Film’s official website, as well as Unearthed‘s Vimeo on Demand Channel.