Sweden, 1988
Review:
JA Kerswell
A late 80s slasher that was all but lost until recently; SACRILEGE is an oddity that was directed by veteran adult movie innovator Joseph W. Sarno. After joining a religious sect, a young woman returns to her homeland to confront her twin sister over their mother’s death and her satanic beliefs. Once there, someone starts decapitating people in the woods with a hand scythe. Filmed in Sweden in English, the film is surprisingly gory and has some pretty interesting things to say about repression, delusion and religious zealotry, but risks outstaying its welcome at an almost two-hour running length.
In the United States, a young woman called Sara (Christine Moore) arrives at a religious sect called the Church of the New Disciples asking to be ordained. She is befriended by Sister Naomi (Shannon McMahon), who she tells about her wayward twin sister back in Lapland who practises satanism and may have given birth to the antichrist. She also tells her that her mother was decapitated by someone with a scythe and her head put on a spike in the forest - but that her murder was never solved. Talk about making first impressions!
Meanwhile, George (Kurt Sinclair), a young reporter on the local paper, is instructed by his editor to visit the sect and see if he can dig up any dirt on them. However, as soon as he visits their commune he is instantly smitten with Sara. The attraction seems to be mutual, but Sara tells George that she will not leave the order for him. Rather she informs Naomi that she is compelled to visit her homeland and try and save her sister from her wicked ways and asks her and some of the other disciples to join her as missionaries. Naomi, who has repressed sapphic feelings for Sara, readily agrees.
George discovers that Sara and the others have left the country and persuades his editor to let him follow them - because he thinks there might be a story in it and he is still besotted with her. He tracks them down and tries to win her heart, but Sara is obsessed with finding her evil twin who supposedly lives deep in the forest. As sexual tensions rise amongst the missionaries and blouses ping off at regular intervals, someone is skulking through the woods with a scythe and is intent on collecting heads …
Repression and madness are central themes in SACRILEGE. It’s a heady brew that sometimes works, but the plot struggles to sustain its near-marathon length. The performances - especially from Moore and McMahon - are committed, if a little overwrought and stagey probably because of the melodramatic script. However, a handful of the other performances are as wooden as the setting - especially Sinclair who sounds like he’s reading a shopping list much of the time. The first half is a little talky, but once the action moves to the woods it has a cheapjack, but demented gonzo intensity. For a group of religious folk they sure are horny and everyone gives over to some forbidden desire or other - with one saying she wants to rip off all her clothes and spin like a demented Maria Von Trapp. Although, even though the director was making hard-core porno at the same time as this was lensed, the film is coy with its nudity and only features a number of brief topless scenes. The gore, although a little hokey is surprisingly effective; with multiple heads being lopped and rolling through the undergrowth.
Unfortunately, SACRILEGE currently only exists in low-quality VHS quality - so it is difficult to judge the film on its visual merits. Presumably original elements are now lost and a Swedish DVD rescued it from utter obscurity with a release that features tape rolls, static and all the other fun things many of us will remember from our VHS days. At least the fuzziness of the picture makes the special effects look a little more believable.
Shannon McMahon had something of a horror pedigree at this time - she appeared in PLEDGE NIGHT the same year and also Roberta Findlay's BLOOD SISTERS (1987). She went on to become a producer on shows such as TODDLERS AND TIARAS! Christine Moore shared a Roberta Findlay connection; she was in the director's LURKERS (1987) and PRIME EVIL (also 1988).
Sarno directed hundreds of movies and pioneered sex films (both soft and hardcore) from the 1960s onwards. Surprisingly, he was influenced by Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman's arthouse films - which certainly set him apart from the usual smut peddlers of the time. Perhaps because of his admiration for Bergman, Sarno directed many films in Sweden, including his breakout hit INGA (1967). Many of his movies feature strong or tormented women who are liberated from their repressions by sexual epiphanies - a theme very much carried over into SACRILEGE. Seemingly an obvious choice for the home US home rental VHS market, it is something of a mystery as to why this movie remained unreleased in his homeland.
Whilst no classic, Sarno's film is a unique take on the slasher genre and that makes it worth a look. Although it is doubtful we will ever see it how the director originally intended.
BODY COUNT 6:
Female 4 / Male 2
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