The first movie Madonna ever appeared in portrays her character as a sex slave who gets abused repeatedly. Also, the movie ends with a satanic ritual sacrifice that some believe was real, making “A Certain Sacrifice” an actual snuff film. Here’s a look at this disturbing piece of movie history.
The least one can say is that watching A Certain Sacrifice in its entirety requires “a certain sacrifice” from the viewer. Although the movie’s duration is under an hour, watching this thing is a painful and dizzying ordeal that seems to last an eternity. Shot on Super 8, the movie’s camerawork is often shaky and out of focus while the sound is just terrible. In short, it is a typical example of guerilla filmmaking from the 1980s.
Despite being an all-around bad movie, A Certain Sacrifice has one thing going for it: It features an actress who would become, only a few years later, one of the biggest stars on the planet: Madonna. For this reason (and this reason alone), A Certain Sacrifice sold a good number of copies when it was released in 1985. Since then, it developed a cult status among Madonna fans and became a highly collectible item (it can be watched on YouTube).
