Curse of the Sin Eater is based on an old ritualistic belief that if someone eats food off a corpse, they take away that person’s soul and all their sins and absorb them into their own. In Justin Denton’s film, Rick, a poor young boy takes up a construction gig at the mansion of a wealthy businessman named George Drayton. But little does Rick know that his life is about to change forever. So, without any ado, let’s find out what all happens with Rick at the mansion and if he is able to survive in the end or not.
Spoilers Ahead
How did Rick become a sin eater?
Rick had had a rough life from the start, as he was born into a poor household and he’d never known his father. His mother was overwhelmed by life, and tragically shot herself before her son, and right before she died, she recited Bible verses which showed she was a religious person. Rick, in a way, was influenced by these religious values, but after losing his mom, he lost his faith too. For the next three years, he was lost and hopeless, he eventually lost his home and had to move in with his friend Jeremy, who was already in trouble with some local thugs. They struggled together and barely scraped by. Rick did not want to be a burden to Jeremy and decided to take a job working construction at a wealthy businessman, George Drayton’s house. But while working, Rick accidentally cut himself and went inside the mansion to treat the wound. That’s when Rick saw a stack of cash. He was naturally desperate and broke and he couldn’t resist snatching $20, just enough to get by for the day. But Rick wasn’t as sneaky as he thought, because Mr. Drayton saw him stealing. However, instead of getting angry, Drayton was intrigued, because Rick had had the chance to take the whole money, but he only took what he needed, which caught Drayton’s eye. Mr. Drayton figured Rick was the perfect man for his special job.
Drayton made Rick an offer: he promised to change his luck, give him all his wealth, money, a black card, cars, his mansion, everything. Drayton didn’t have any children or heirs, so someone had to inherit it all. The catch? Rick would have to eat food off Drayton’s dead body when the time came, without leaving a single crumb. Basically, Rick would have to become his sin eater to take on Drayton’s sins so that the old man’s soul wouldn’t suffer in hell. Rick was desperate and poor, hence he was looking at the bigger picture. He had nothing, but this deal could give him everything. All Rick had to do was wait for Drayton to die. And when that day finally came, Rick was called to fulfill his duty. Drayton’s assistant, Antonette, made it clear to Rick that he had to eat every bit from Drayton’s body, and in doing so, he would take on all his sins. So, Rick did it, and promised to bear Drayton’s sins in exchange for his wealth, and ate the meal of the dead body. And just like that, Rick became a sin eater. He might have lost all faith in God after his mother’s death, but he knew this wouldn’t end well, and God wouldn’t forgive him for this satanic ritual, but in that moment, all he saw was security, money, and a future he never thought he’d have. What more could he ask for?
Why did Mr. Drayton Give his wealth to Jeremy?
At first, Rick thought he’d struck gold as he believed he could finally enjoy all of Drayton’s wealth, but right after he got it all, his life became more miserable than ever. Strange things started to happen as Rick got visions of a woman with blood dripping from her mouth coming towards him, choking him. Rick was naturally horrified and turned to Drayton’s assistant Antonette, only to find out Drayton had killed this woman by the riverside by snapping her neck and leaving her for dead.
Rick realized he had to do something, so he went to church for the first time in a long time as he hoped that confessing Drayton’s sins would give him some peace. But it wasn’t enough. Sure, the woman’s haunting stopped, but more sins started to creep into Rick’s dreams, where hundreds of dead bodies started appearing, and each was more horrifying than the last. Rick was restless, tormented, and in constant pain because he couldn’t believe one man could commit so many crimes in a single lifetime. Then Antonette dropped another bombshell that Drayton had been a sin eater himself. All those sins? They weren’t just his but they came from his own master before him, so it was an endless chain and Rick has also become a part of it. Rick realized that the wealth and greed he thought would save him had only become his burden, maybe the desire for all these material things was the real sin. One day, Rick went to Jeremy’s house as he was desperate for a break. But when he arrived he saw his crush Tanya there.
However, as soon as Rick looked at Tanya, something terrible happened; a vision of a man with wild, crazed eyes flashed before him, and in his panic, Rick shot at him, only to realize that he had accidentally shot Tanya. Rick was devastated when he realized he had become a murderer and he couldn’t escape the fact that he had committed a terrible sin. Maybe this was how Drayton or his master before him had ended up killing so many people, as maybe they also were desperate to rid themselves of the terrifying presences that haunted them. Rick realized he could not tolerate this life’s endless nightmares and sins anymore and he didn’t want to live like this. Rick confided in Antonette and made a decision to pass the burden, the cursed wealth, and the sins, to Jeremy, as Jeremy was desperate for money anyway, and he needed it to deal with the thugs that were making his life a living hell. So, Rick chose to hand it all over to him.
Just like that, Rick tried to free himself from the chains of sin. In the end, Jeremy took on Rick’s sins, just like they planned. Rick was put under with a lethal injection to die for a few minutes while Jeremy, as the sin eater, ate the food and took away Rick’s sins. Even though it made Jeremy rich, soon enough, the same horrifying nightmares began to haunt him like Rick. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Antonette was behind it all as she knew every rule, every step on how to become a sin eater, and how to pass it on and it made me wonder, was the mansion, the wealth, all hers from the start? Maybe this was her satanic cult, and people like Drayton, Rick, and now Jeremy were just her guinea pigs. She set them up to lure them with promises of fortune, only to trap them in the cycle of sin and torture. And as for Rick? After some time, he was reborn as a new man and he chose to live a simple life as a construction worker. But the memory of killing Tanya never fully left him as it was a reminder of the sin Rick couldn’t give away, so maybe this was a burden he’d have to make peace with.
