It’s sacrificin’ time!

May Day means only one thing to most people; a bank holiday. A day free from the pressures of work where you can have a relaxing dance around a maypole, do a little singing and join the rest of your village for the annual human sacrificing. Outstretched naked on a cold stone slab, gagged and bounded  with a whole community of men and women wearing animal masks as they dance around ready to witness the brutal, humiliating and painful spectacle. We’ve all been there.

Human Sacrificing goes back thousands of years from (possibly) Stone Henge, the emotional Aztec killings (bound to pull at your heart strings!), Druids, Pagans, Satanists, to name but a few. May Day has long since been associated with these gruesome acts of murder. As such, there’s no better time to delve into a blood-soaked list of the 7 top Human Sacrifice movies. I warn you, things are going to get gory. So, grab your dagger, draw a pentagram and invite your annoying neighbour over for a spot of May Day ‘fun’  as I guide you through cinema’s greatest sacrifices…

1) Blood Feast

The film that changed cinema forever and was banned here in the UK 20 years later in the Video Nasty fiasco. Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Feast was the first film that gore was exploited in cinema (besides Hammer’s first colour film The Curse Of Frankenstein, which sold the film on it’s coloured blood) and shaped cinema forever with it’s scenes of tongue-pulling, limb-lopping and head-slicing. Whilst it may not be the greatest film of all time, it’s low-budget charm means it’s still a big cult favourite today and shocked audiences upon it’s initial release. Promoted in Drive-Ins with a sick bag, Blood Feast proved to be one of the most infamous (and profitable) films in all of exploitation history and gave the Godfather of Gore his name. Originally titled Egyptian Blood Feast, the film tells the Gorey story of Fuad Ramses and his eyebrows as he plans a cannibalistic sacrifice to his ancient God.

2) Apocalypto

Mel Gibson’s done a lot since his leading roles in Mad Max and Lethal Weapon. After the release of the highly controversial The Passion Of The Christ, a musical about Jesus Christ and his super-stardom (oh wait, wrong film!), he followed this up with the truly brilliant Apocalypto. Not the first, nor the last, film about Aztec sacrifices, this movie is perhaps one of the most believable. Very clever, very moving and very powerful. A must see!

3) Night Of The Seagulls

The Spanish have  created some of the most terrifying films ever created, including the [Rec] franchise, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Orphanage, Kidnapped and Aftermath and many more. Perhaps the most iconic however, is the low-budget zombie series directed by Amando de Ossorio. The Blind Dead movies are dripping with atmosphere, horror, fear, suspense and ancient hooded zombies that ride zombie horses. It’s incredible! Perhaps one of the best in the series is Night Of The Seagulls which sees a young female virgin sacrificed by this lifeless Templar monks. Things don’t get much better than this! Check out the below song from UK Doom Metal band, Cathedral for a song inspired by this very film.

4) King Kong

With countless sequels, cash-ins and imitations, 1933′s King Kong is an undeniable classic. With jaw-dropping special effects that still hold it’s worth today and an incredible cast including Fay Wray, this may not be the goriest of movies on this sacrificial list. Nevertheless, there’s still a sacrifice here, this time performed by rather racially un-PC ‘natives’ to a giant hairy beast. Along with Godzilla, this film is easily the greatest creature feature movie and was an instant smash hit, so much so that this film has earned the title of the first ever feature-length film to be re-issued. The 1938 re-issued version had scenes of several scenes of violence and sex cut to comply with censorship at the time, making it even less like the other films on this list!

5) Children Of The Corn

Perhaps one of the best films based on a Stephen King story, Children Of The Corn stars Linda Hamilton as she fights of a group of evil children hell bent on a sacrificial death. It’s eerie, it’s creepy and it’s a lot of fun! The film spawned many sequels, none of them living up to the original. Check out the third to see a giant plant throwing barbie dolls…I mean, incredibly realistic looking people.

6) Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

Whilst this film receives a lot of criticism and flack, I’m going to put my neck on the line and say it’s the best in the series! Go on, take away my badge of recommendable film taste! So, it may not have any rolling boulders or Sean Connery, but it’s full of horror, gore,  comedy and is the darkest of them all. The sacrifice in this film is one of cinema’s greatest and most terrifying. The horns, the fire, the pit, the heart! If only the sacrifice was a success – maybe the gods wouldn’t have punished us with The Crystal Skull. Yuck!

7) The Wicker Man and The Wicker Tree

From Egyptians to Aztecs to monkeys to zombies. We’ve had it all! But the greatest sacrifice film of all time is, without a shadow of a doubt, the iconic British Cult Classic The Wicker Man and it’s new sequel  The Wicker Tree. The whole film is drenched in a unique and terrifying atmosphere that builds and builds and culminates in one of cinema’s greatest and most unforgettable scenes. Robin Hardy has returned to the film that scared our pagan-fearing pants off with the follow up The Wicker Tree. Containing a cameo from Christopher Lee himself, the film proves to be a very worthy sequel (in the Evil Dead II sense) and should be seen by all fans of horror films, The Wicker Man or seeing humans sacrificed to a Pagan God (who doesn’t?!).

But of course, these films are just a bloody handful of the movies out there that deal with human sacrifice. There’s The Mist, Alien Vs. Predator, 1934′s The Black Cat, The Blood On Satan’s Claw, Q, Mountain Of The Cannibal God, Heavy Metal and so many more! Share your favourites over on the forum.

Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Tree is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray from Anchor Bay Entertainment. Pick up yours from Amazon today.
Check out the trailer here…