Isaac (Ludovic Hughes) and his pregnant wife Emma (Sophie Stevens) visit a Norwegian village to sell the house that he has recently inherited. The couple soon discover that Isaac’s father was murdered many years ago and they also find out that the locals follow an old tradition that worships a tentacled deity.

SACRIFICE is a British-made Scandi-folk horror film in which tentacled toys and artwork appear in local shops, homes and Isaac’s childhood bedroom, which gets you hoping that you will eventually get to see this Lovecraftian god-monster, but this isn’t the case, unfortunately, and there are just a couple of shots of tentacles that feature in Emma’s nightmares.

With Barbara Crampton as the local policewoman/cult leader, WICKER MAN-style locals, robed figures with burning torches, references to The Slumbering One and various dream sequences, the film attempts to be a Lovecraft-style horror yarn, but mainly fails. This is because the dialogue and acting lacks subtlety, the plot is rather aimless and the makers are unable to properly convey the feeling of cosmic dread needed for such a story.