'A Sacrifice' looks at the tactics of cults, says director Jordan Scott

Cults succeed by feeding on fear that exists in the world, says writer/director Jordan Scott.

“They mirror, basically, what’s happening. Then, people are lured in when they’re feeling fear and anxiety and vulnerability. They want explanation, support, understanding and leadership and, where do you go?”

In her new film, “A Sacrifice,” Scott, the daughter of filmmaker Ridley Scott, focuses on people who are united by the climate crisis. They talk about a better world and find others who want solutions.

Based on Nicholas Hogg’s book, “Tokyo,” Scott’s film follows a social psychologist and his daughter as they navigate life in a new country. Originally set in Japan, the location was moved to Germany, when the pandemic interrupted filming. The new spot, however, added another layer.

“Moving the story made perfect sense in terms of its deep-rooted culture of progressive activism,” Scott offers in a director’s statement, “and, crucially, East Berlin’s four-decade experience of being a collectivist society under communist dictatorship.”

Moving locations changed plenty. “The original script was so rooted in Japanese culture,” Scott says. “So, all that went out the window and had to be rewritten for Berlin. All the characters changed hugely.”

Eric Bana, who plays the psychologist, was with the project throughout its changes. “Even when we were shooting in Tokyo, he hung in there with me,” Scott says. The Australian actor projects a “wonderfully endearing” quality that makes the story resonate when he makes a few missteps with his daughter.

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Sadie Sink, who plays the daughter, “has that wisdom beyond her years.” When put in play with Bana, their characters “sort of have a friendship more than a father/daughter relationship.”

Sink’s character begins to explore Berlin while her father is at work. She meets a young man who introduces her to the underground party scene and, ultimately, a cult.

The story, Scott says, is a cautionary tale for the times we live in. “It’s ‘be careful of the information you trust, be careful of the people you trust and give your power to.’ We live in a post-truth world and you have to be very, very cautious.”

Scott says it was very easy to make the leap from what seemed like a political activist organization to a cult. Their methods – ones that lead to death – start harmlessly then involve ingesting liquids and poisons.

The film “drip feeds” you story points and character changes enough that it keeps you guessing – “until there’s a significant reveal at the end.”

The overriding message: “Think for yourself,” Scott says.