Review: ‘Sator’ is Beautiful Artistic Horror that Needs More Substance

February 26, 2021

sator review — Lightbulb Film Distribution

Although technically released in 2019 at the Fantasia Film Festival, filmmaker Jordan Graham’s Sator has finally gotten a widespread release it deserves. Undertaking almost all of the technical aspects of the film, it has taken six years to complete. Graham did everything from writing and directing, to scoring and building the set himself. Not many filmmakers can say the same, but when you’re dealing with a shoestring budget and want your art shared to the world, you do what it takes.

Sator follows quiet woodsman Adam (played by Gabriel Nicholson), often alone in the forest or his cabin (which was built by Jordan Graham). Adam’s daily routine involves shooting practice, using the most terrifying animal call ever (look up Aztec death whistles), and checking his deer cams every evening. It soon becomes clear that Adam is searching for the mythical Sator, a supernatural entity that his mentally-declining grandmother claimed guided her throughout her life.

The film style of Sator is extremely unique, often bouncing back-and-forth between normal camera work, panoramic environmental shots, first-person views, and black & white videocam moments that signify stories from the past. You would think this could get distracting but the transitions work smoothly, and I never found myself getting confused about the character’s timeline. The film was mostly shot in the Yosemite Valley, offering the gorgeous and often sinister atmosphere of the California forests. My only issue with any of the camera work was with some of the lighting. There were several moments when the shots were so dark that I wasn’t sure what was happening. This seemed especially important in a film where the audience is clearly supposed to be picking up on things that the main character isn’t.

There isn’t a lot of dialogue in the film, so most of the acting relies on visual cues and reactions of the actors. However, the small amounts of dialogue between Adam and his nearby family members does a great job of amplifying the dissonance that can wash over a family after tragedy or loss comes into play. Silence can be deafening and heartbreaking when it’s happening between people that care about one another. Major kudos there.

The story itself teeters between causing the audience to wonder whether Adam is actually hunting the Sator or going down a similar mental decline like his grandmother (and most likely his mother as well). Films like this sometimes leave it up to the interpretation of the audience, which is fine, but often leaves out the closure that many viewers crave when committing to a slow-burn horror film. I think the closure is pretty clear on what the answer is by the time the film ends, but this may be frustrating for typical horror fans. There was clearly a lot of personal history behind this film. In fact, recordings of Graham’s own grandmother were used in the films scenes of Adam’s grandmother rambling about the Sator. Sometimes when films are so personalized, as this film is, the artwork created may make a lot more sense to the filmmaker, and although beautiful to look at, the idea behind the art can become disjointed for the audience. The substance is never really there for the audience to ingest.

Overall, I loved the visuals and atmosphere behind Sator, but I found myself constantly waiting for something that never really delivered. The amount of effort that Jordan Graham put into this film can’t be overlooked. It’s truly a piece of gorgeous, very personal, subjective art that he worked extremely hard on to deliver to the public. I appreciate that level of dedication immensely. At times, artists use filmmaking to display their art on a personal level for themselves, but if the goal is to create a film that will be seen as objectively strong by a widespread audience, the artist has to get down on the level of the viewers and give them some substance for their time. As a fan of artistic slow-burn horror films, I really enjoyed Sator. As a fan of more linear stories with answers, I was not. I still recommend checking it out and making your own decision.

Sator is currently available available on Digital Download and DVD from Lightbulb Film Distribution.