The Last Sacrifice

Whether it’s Ari Aster’s Midsommar, Robin Hardy’s genre-defining classic The Wicker Man or any of the other countless occult horror films that sprung up in the 60s and 70s, folk horror has been a thriving part of cinema for decades. While scenes of ritual sacrifices and devil worship may seem like they were invented to terrify moviegoers, this imagery is rooted closer to reality than some may realise. Rupert Russell traces the history of the genre in feature documentary The Last Sacrifice, blending true crime, witchcraft and folk horror to spellbinding effect.

The documentary’s starting point is the brutal killing of farm worker Charles Walton in 1945. Found lying in a field in the village of Lower Quinton, impaled with his own pitchfork and a cross carved into his chest, the murder sent shockwaves throughout the nation. When a famed investigator was unable to solve the case, the lingering mystery opened the door to all sorts of wild theories connected to superstition and the growing rise of witchcraft in the following decades.

Using a collection of talking heads and archive footage, Russell closely examines the similarities shared between Walton’s death and elements within the films that were inspired by the incident, namely The Wicker Man. The parallels are so intertwined that various scenes from these films act as dramatic reenactments of what’s being discussed. The line between real-world witchcraft and fiction is further blurred with the inclusion of clips from documentaries from that time. Images of nude worshippers dancing around a fire and participating in initiation ceremonies bear such a striking resemblance to what’s portrayed in the movies that “Fact” or “Fiction” markers have been added to the footage.

A grainy presentation and atmospheric score make this documentary feel like it’s been plucked straight out of the 70s. With so much to discuss, however, the narrative occasionally loses its focus and ventures off into winding tangents before eventually getting back on track.  Despite taking some detours along the way, The Last Sacrifice is an endlessly fascinating insight into horror history and its links to Britain’s own occult underbelly.

Andrew Murray

The Last Sacrifice does not have a release date yet.

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