Review: The Last Sacrifice – “A fascinating story”

The Last Sacrifice, is the new feature documentary from award-winning director Rupert Russell (Freedom for the Wolf, Price Wars).

THE LAST SACRIFICE delves into the real-life 1945 witchcraft killing of Charles Walton—the terrifying event that inspired THE WICKER MAN and birthed the folk horror genre. This unsettling true-crime interrogation probes into the eerie, enigmatic cultural undercurrents that shaped 1970’s folk horror genre, leaving an indelible mark on cinema and public psyche.

It is a fascinating story and told extremely well. It starts off going through the events running up to the murder of Charles Walton and looks at what was going on in Britain before, during and after. It puts it into context with the politics of the time and takes a deep dive into witchcraft and black magic. The case was never solved but did go on to inspired writers and filmmakers over the years. This is all done using clips from various horror movies of the time and interviews with Professor Ronald Hutton, Jonathan Rigby, Leila Latif, Simon Read, Dr Diane Rogers and more.

Rupert Russell said this about the film. “I was drawn to the mystery of Charle Walton’s unsolved murder because it is also the mystery of Britain itself – its secrets, its darkness, its unique flavour of madness. It grounded the joyous festival of self-destructive depravity depicted in The Wicker Man in an all too relatable reality. A reality that Britons face in 2024 just as much as they did in 1973 or 1945. Why are we compelled to burn it all down?”

The fact the case went unsolved adds to the mystery – was it a robbery gone wrong, a village getting rid of a bully, a mystic man killed by a rival, a ritual killing or something else?

I loved the fact that footage from films such as The Witches (1966), Witchfinder General (1968), Twins of Evil (1971), Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971), and more was used to emphasize the various talking points and, in some cases, show the events surrounding the murder. It gave it a good sense of the time while also adding to the otherworldliness of the strange events surrounding the murder.

The film also looks at how Witchcraft became a fashionable thing in Britain during the Sixties and Seventies and gives us just enough to know the basics. It also made me dig into some of the people involved to learn more about the country I have lived in for most of my life.

Seeing the parallels between how ancient traditions were weaved into The Wicker Man also gives that film even more depth. Then the ongoing influence in film such as Midsommar, Men and so many more.

Whether you love folk horror, or just like watching a great documentary, I highly recommend checking out The Last Sacrifice. You do not often learn about a very British murder that inspired a film genre.

THE LAST SACRIFICE was produced by Sam Cryer (She Will) via Intermission film and was edited by Alexander McNeill (All the Lights Still Burning). The film’s score was composed by Mike Lindsay, co-founder and frontman of the British folktronica band Tunng.

The Last Sacrifice is playing at various festivals and will hopefully get a cinematic or streaming release soon.