Film Fests
[REVIEW] Brooklyn Horror Film Festival: ‘The Sacrifice Game’ (2023)
The Sacrifice Game is not the film I expected Wexler to make after The Ranger. Far from the raw punk shout of her debut, The Sacrifice Game displays a level of polish and precision that emphasizes her versatility as a director, without losing the fun. With a stand-out cast, a fantastic score by Mario Sévigny, and a delightfully twisty script that isn’t afraid to breathe when it needs to, The Sacrifice Game is destined to become an instant holiday horror hit when it arrives on Shudder on December 8th. Sure, some of the gore moments look better than others — but when the film bleeds, it gushes.
With a title like The Sacrifice Game, you might think you know what you’re getting into with director Jenn Wexler’s sophomore feature. I promise you, you do not. Blending the instinctual terror of home invasion horror with something altogether more fantastical, The Sacrifice Game slyly dodges expectations at every turn, making for a devilishly fun addition to your holiday horror viewing.
Set in December 1971, the film opens swinging with a slick sequence that oozes Manson-era anxieties. We’re then introduced to our protagonist, Blackvale boarding school student Samantha (Madison Baines), who’s reeling from the news that she can’t go home for the holidays as planned. At least she won’t be alone: reserved student Clara (Georgia Acken), teacher Rose (Chloë Levine), and Rose’s boyfriend Jimmy (Gus Kenworthy) will be staying behind, too.
Unfortunately, they’re not the only creatures stirring in the vast halls of Blackvale on that fateful night before Christmas. The killer cult that has been slashing its way across the state soon arrives at their door with a terrifying plan. And that’s when the fun really starts.
Genres Collide and Blood Flows
The idea of strangers breaking into your home is a fear that cuts deep for many of us. The first act of The Sacrifice Game presses its finger hard into that wound, with Baines and Levine perfectly selling the panic as Samantha cries through her gag and Rose tries to be brave for the girls.
Things begin to turn when the cult reveals why they’re there. Tensions and conflicting priorities within the group, already teased, slowly rise to the surface as snags appear in the plan. Wexler and Sean Redlitz’s script takes the opportunity to flesh out the killers, giving egotistical Jude (Mena Massoud), in-over-her-head Maisie (Olivia Scott Welch), quiet Grant (Derek Johns), and mouthy Doug (Laurent Pitre) plenty to play with as the film gears up to pull the rug out from under everyone.
Because The Sacrifice Game isn’t a straightforward home invasion horror. It’s not a straightforward anything. The script confidently switches genres in the blink of an eye, changing the stakes and shifting the upper hand with each reveal as it propels us toward a bloody climax.
A Strong Supporting Cast Allows the Young Leads to Steal the Show
Levine shone in Wexler’s debut feature, The Ranger, and she shines here, too, her earnest eyes selling Rose’s emotion even with a gag in her mouth. But this is not Levine’s movie. The Sacrifice Game belongs to its young leads, both relative newcomers, who steal the show with the confidence of seasoned stars.
Our first introduction to Samantha makes her seem more grown up than she is as she jogs in the snow. She’s becoming a young lady, demonstrating empathy her peers lack for picked-on classmate Clara, whose hunched posture makes her seem even smaller than she is.
Samantha’s youth starts to show as she receives the phone call telling her she won’t be going home, triggering pleading and tears — the first of many Baines will be shedding in the film. Her energy is perfectly contrasted by Acken, who imbues Clara with a quiet, unexpected confidence that adds to the intrigue of the plot.
This is Acken’s first feature, but watching her performance, you wouldn’t know it. The fun she’s having is contagious; she will grab you by the hand and drag you skipping into whatever danger lies around the next bend.
The Sacrifice Game Will Keep You Guessing to the Bloody End
The Sacrifice Game is not the film I expected Wexler to make after The Ranger. Far from the raw punk shout of her debut, The Sacrifice Game displays a level of polish and precision that emphasizes her versatility as a director, without losing the fun.
With a stand-out cast, a fantastic score by Mario Sévigny, and a delightfully twisty script that isn’t afraid to breathe when it needs to, The Sacrifice Game is destined to become an instant holiday horror hit when it arrives on Shudder on December 8th. Sure, some of the gore moments look better than others — but when the film bleeds, it gushes.
If you’re not watching Indonesian horror, you’re missing out. The region is producing some of the craziest genre movies around right now, thanks in no small part to the efforts of writer-director Joko Anwar. His latest, Ghost in the Cell, which celebrated its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026, combines everything we love about the filmmaker’s work—supernatural scares, inventive kills, and gnarly gore—along with a strong vein of comedy and political satire.
What is Ghost in the Cell About?
Ghost in the Cell centers around Dimas (Endy Arfian), a journalist whose life falls apart after he tries to run a story on corporate corruption and mysterious worker deaths. Wrongfully convicted of the horrific murder of his boss, Dimas finds himself with a one-way ticket to Cell Block C, where he quickly meets a colorful cast of prisoners—the good, the bad, and the seriously nasty. Among the good guys, there’s Anggoro (Abimana Aryasatya), who is constantly getting into trouble for defending fellow inmates, and Six (Yoga Pratama), who claims he can see people’s auras.
As if Dimas’ situation couldn’t get any worse, his arrival seems to trigger a series of brutal killings in the prison. Bodies are showing up mangled beyond recognition and displayed in positions that wouldn’t look out of place in Hannibal. It soon becomes clear that Dimas isn’t behind the murders, which begs the question: what did he bring in with him?
Anwar Embraces Horror-Comedy Whole-Heartedly
Prison is a scary place, and Anwar makes great use of the setting, with the action moving from the dingy showers where predators lurk to the bleak cellblock where inmates are at the mercy of their captors and the cafeteria where rival gangs eye each other up with ill intent.
But for all the human misery contained within the film, Ghost in the Cell is ultimately a horror-comedy, one that isn’t afraid to lean into broad slapstick and quippy dialogue when it wants to raise a chuckle. The tonal shifts can take a little while to adjust to, especially if your previous experience with Anwar comes from his more serious horror outings like Impetigore. This might be a problem if the film wasn’t actually funny, but Ghost in the Cell has enough laugh-out-loud moments to make you forget about any whiplash.
Ghost in the Cell Is a Genre-Bender to the Max
Comedy isn’t the only new flavor that Anwar has tossed into the mix. In Ghost in the Cell, dance sequences and martial-arts fight choreo sit side-by-side with some of the most extreme gore scenes seen outside a Terrifier movie in recent years. Then there’s the eerie way the spirit presents before it kills (trypophobia sufferers, beware) and the extensive critique of political corruption, power, and inequality. It’s an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach that shouldn’t work on paper, but under Anwar’s assured hand, it does.
It helps that for all the slapstick, the film lands a surprisingly earnest message, amplified by its vast ensemble cast. Dimas and Anggoro at times feel like main characters, but everyone in Ghost in the Cell has a big part to play, and that’s the point: in seemingly impossible circumstances, there’s strength in unity.
Ghost in the Cell Is an Endlessly Entertaining Blend of Goofiness, Heart, and Gore
If you’re looking for nonstop scares, you won’t find them in Ghost in the Cell. What you will find is a delightful blend of horror, comedy, and action that is apt to leave you grinning from ear to ear.
The film doesn’t skimp on the gore, throwing flesh and fluids at every surface. But it’s also charmingly goofy, with a cast that doesn’t take itself too seriously and a script that’s all too happy to devolve into a comedic dance scene when it feels like the spirit might strike. In every sense, Anwar is doing the most, and the end result is a film where there’s nary a dull moment in sight.
One of the great pleasures of attending Fantastic Fest is the ability to occasionally see movies that won’t be out for many months. That’s especially true with the Secret Screenings, which this year included a work-in-progress print of In a Violent Nature 2, a film that doesn’t even have a release date yet and made for a wildly entertaining midnight movie surprise.
While a few things may change between now and release, the cut shown at Fantastic Fest felt near-final. Here’s what you can look forward to when this sequel eventually slashes its way onto our screens.
Johnny Returns in In a Violent Nature 2
In a Violent Nature 2 picks up right where the action of its predecessor left off, while also introducing new aspects of the lore that slightly contradict or complicate what has already been established, a nod to the way that slasher sequels throw in new plot elements willy-nilly to suit their needs.
The second film centers on Alex (Lucas Nguyen), a quiet 14-year-old kid who misses the bus home from camp because his bullies have stuffed him in a trunk. Since his older sister works at the camp, he gets to hang out for the night while the counselors celebrate the end of the season. Unfortunately, an old fireman’s whistle has drawn the mute, hulking Johnny (Ry Barrett) to the camp—and before long, their night of revelry has turned into one of unimaginable horror.
Less Walking, More Killing
Chris Nash, who wrote and directed the first film, handles scripting duties this time around, with Nate Wilson—who served as first assistant director on the original—stepping into the director role. It feels as though Nash may have listened to viewers’ complaints about how much walking was in the original, because In a Violent Nature 2 takes a break from following Johnny on his lumbering mission. Instead, the camera largely chases Alex through the woods as he runs, trips, and stumbles away from the carnage.
This change is a mixed bag. Alex may be more a dynamic figure to follow overall, but he also makes some frustratingly poor choices, and his teenage moodiness makes him a little unlikeable. The first film also succeeded, in part, because it consciously played into how audiences consume slasher movies, with their sympathies shifting from cheering on the killer to rooting for the final girl when she triumphantly emerges. In a Violent Nature 2 feels like less of a meta-commentary on the slasher genre, though it still has plenty to offer fans of the genre, especially when it comes to kills.
In a Violent Nature 2 Takes the Gore to a Whole New Level
Mention In a Violent Nature to a horror fan and they’ll probably bring up the yoga kill within 10 seconds. For the sequel, Nash and Wilson attempt to up the ante—no small feat considering just how violent the first film was. It’s hard to top that particular kill, but In a Violent Nature 2 certainly gives it the old college try.
Shifting the focus from a single group of friends to an entire summer camp, even one that’s emptying out, instantly ups the potential body count (and harkens back to the slasher films of yore). Counsellors are slaughtered in droves, in ways more brutal than anything seen in the original film, with a few kills in particular sure to get people talking. It’s a real treat for fans of practical effects, and it’s great to see that even horror films positioning themselves as more “elevated” than the typical fare can have fun and get their hands bloody.
A Possible Set up for Another Sequel?
Minor spoilers ahead.
In a Violent Nature 2 feels like something of a response to the reception of the first film, removing what people didn’t like and piling on more of what they did. The result is a movie that feels a little less focused and meditative than its predecessor, but still incredibly fun. And with a third film heavily teased in the final minutes, it seems like we’ll be seeing more of Johnny in the near future. Based on the trajectory of other slashers, can we expect to see him fighting a psychic child next? Or—dare we dream—is he preparing for a trip to space?
Only time will tell. Better lace up your walking shoes.
When Does In a Violent Nature 2 Come Out?
In a Violent Nature 2 is slated to hit theaters sometime in 2026. Keep an eye on IFC Films and Shudder’s socials for more release information as it becomes available.
