The Sacrifice Game Is a Gory and Fun Christmas Gift

At a boarding school in the early 1970s, a student who’s been eagerly awaiting winter vacation gets a call with bad news: they’ll be spending Christmas at school instead of with their family. Is it Alexander Payne’s new Oscar-buzz movie The Holdovers—or Jenn Wexler’s new Shudder release The Sacrifice Game?

Suffice to say, similarities between the two don’t extend much beyond that broad set-up, which manages to envelop both a coming-of-age drama and an eerie yet empowering tale that involves human sacrifice. As its title suggests, the latter description refers to director and co-writer (with Sean Redlitz) Wexler’s film, which offers a reminder that there’s always room for another entry in the well-stuffed genre of holiday horror movies—particularly when it’s as enjoyable and well-crafted as The Sacrifice Game.

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The collision course between these two groups—one chaotically cruel, one almost too wholesome—is set early on, with The Sacrifice Game casually tossing in a local history lesson about a tragedy that was blamed on witchcraft for good measure. But since this is a movie that rewards viewers who enter unspoiled, we’ll just say that the plot takes some surprising turns and gleefully subverts expectations. We can, however, safely praise the gore effects—which are used in service of the movie’s clever story, but also take it over the top enough to please slasher fans—and the cast, especially young actors Baines and Acken. Both flawlessly convey the awkwardness of adolescence... and deftly rise to the occasion when The Sacrifice Game shifts its menace from high-school mean girls to something exponentially darker.

The Sacrifice Game arrives on Shudder December 8.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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