Promising start, I really thought this might have been a secret prequel to The Wickerman for a second! Strong ambience and a strong soundtrack.

But it felt like there was extremely poor editing and there were many scenes on the cutting room floor that shouldn't have been.

Other cases it's just poor or lazy writing. Like, why bother have Thomas intervene in the assassination attempt only to do literally nothing with the trust he has earned. A random horse making sounds literally prvents the movie from stopping the plot dead. 3/4 way of the movie the converging lovers plot line is jarring and clumsily integrated into the main story.

What's most disappointing is that for a movie about a cult, you never get any sense of what this cult stands for or believes in, and that's why cult movies are so enthralling. They are pretty much making up the rules of this community, the practices, and their values to move the plot.

Do yourselves a favor - skip this movie and watch The Wickerman (Christopher Lee not Nick Cage).