Sacrifice (2016)

After digging up a bizzarly mutilated corpse on her land, physician Tora Hamilton uncovers a lethal connection to ancient pagan rituals.

Director:

Peter A. Dowling

Writers:

Peter A. Dowling (screenplay by), Sharon Bolton (based on the novel "Sacrifice" by) (as S.J. Bolton)

Stars:

Radha Mitchell, Ian McElhinney, Rupert Graves

Cast

Credited cast:
Radha Mitchell	...	Dr. Tora Hamilton
Ian McElhinney	...	D.I. McKie
Rupert Graves	...	Duncan Guthrie
David Robb	...	Richard Guthrie
Hilary Rose	...	Janice Shaw
Peter Vollebregt	...	Kenn Wickliff
Joanne Crawford	...	Sgt. Dana Tulloch
Conor Mullen	...	Stephen Renney
Liam Carney	...	Mr. Grey
Declan Conlon	...	Stephen Gair
Lesa Thurman	...	NY Hospital Nurse
Deirdre Monaghan	...	Elspeth Guthrie
Aron Hegarty	...	Officer
Rachel Oliva	...	Ruth Morgan
Megan Riordan	...	Janet

Storyline

Sacrifice is the story of consultant surgeon, Tora Hamilton, who moves with her husband, Duncan, to the remote Shetland Islands, 100 miles off the north-east coast of Scotland. Deep in the peat soil around her new home, Tora discovers the body of a young woman with rune marks carved into her skin and a gaping hole where her heart once beat. Ignoring warnings to leave well alone, Tora uncovers terrifying links to a legend that might never have been confined to the pages of the story-books.

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Plot Keywords:

falling to one's death | murder of a police officer | murder of a policewoman | woman in jeopardy | pagan | 

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Taglines:

Every life has a price.

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Ireland Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Жертва

Filming Locations:

Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Subotica Entertainment, Cheyenne Enterprises, Fundamental Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rupert Graves, who plays Duncan Guthrie, also plays the iconic role of DI Lestrade on the BBC series, Sherlock (2010).

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Goofs

It is a post-Christian belief that pagan practices are malevolent in nature. Human sacrifice, while easily recognized as barbaric today, would have been considered a mainstream rite of religious supplication by contemporary Celts or Norse, much like a Catholic today views penance or contrition. The offerings in these sacrifices were most often venerated. Bog bodies have been discovered in fine clothing, with well-kept hair and nails, and most of them were fed well as the contents of their stomachs were also preserved. Finally, many sacrificed offerings were volunteers. These rituals were performed with the belief that the sacrifice would appeal to the deity and grant the people divine favor. This would have been seen as the greater good, and the sacrificial deed as a noble, honorable action. The idea that ritual sacrifice is a devilish practice associated with infernal mysticism is a Christian anachronism applied after the fact.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Dr. Tora Hamilton: Can I ask you something? Did you know about all this?
D.I. McKie: I have daughters.
Dr. Tora Hamilton: They were all somebody's daughter.

User Reviews

More drama than film but very good nonetheless

This very much reminded me of the British crime series Silent Witness. Had the same feel to it. Also had a slightly "Wicker Man" feel to it. The characters were strong and though the story was a little far fetched it remained believable and convincing. It isn't a cinema quality film and certainly doesn't have special effects or big budget action scenes but the acting is good and the sense of malevolence and mystery compelling. It is worth watching and it kept my interest throughout. I liked the twists and turns, the scenery was beautiful and wild and created a dramatic backdrop to the story. I felt it was a pity this wasn't a pilot episode of a series as I would have carried on watching!