A Welsh girl in 1850s Appalachia finds that an ancient folk ritual isn’t enough to take away her guilt.

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Overview

“A people of dark secrets.” That’s how the narrator of The Last Sin Eater describes the Welsh immigrants who settled in an Appalachian cove in the early 1800s—so dark, apparently, that they re-instituted the old world practice of the Sin Eater. Sound creepy? Think Little House on the Prairie meets M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village. A Sin Eater was a village outcast who, upon a community member’s death, would come and eat a ceremonial meal over the corpse, thus absorbing the sins of the departed. The deceased of the community would enter the afterlife free and clear, while the well-fed Sin Eater would forfeit his soul.

This study guide will help you discuss some of the themes in the film, including guilt, redemption, and the generational aspects of sin.

Discussion Guide

    • Movie Summary

    • Discussing the Scenes

—Truth Exposes Darkness
(John 1:1–14)

—Truth Sets Us Free
(Leviticus 16:10, 20–22; Hebrews 7:22–28)

—Truth Breaks the Cycle of Sin
(Exodus 20:5–6; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21)