The Atticus Institute (2015) Reviews

• Some good ideas hampered by an underwhelming execution

  Red-Barracuda2015-02-27

  The premise of The Atticus Institute is a very promising one. In fact, going into it, I was not sure if it was going to be a documentary or a fictional movie. In the event, it turned out to be a pseudo-documentary. Set in the mid 70's, it's about a group of scientists who perform a series of paranormal experiments on a woman with extreme extrasensory abilities. Before long the government get involved and things go increasingly badly wrong. The film-makers have taken some care to present this in a manner that replicates an actual documentary. To this end we have lots of talking heads footage involving people who were connected to the story and there is also retro looking filmed material as well as stills. It would only be fair to say that the execution of the whole thing is less than the actual ideas. It's pretty low budget and this accounts for some mediocre acting, while the script was a little clunky in places. The biggest problem though is that it all gets a bit samey and one-note after a while with little variation in events. On the whole, however, it gets points for trying to do something interesting and having an intriguing central idea. It could surely have been better but it has some good things about it.

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• Good ideas, but movie fails

  trnkafilmstudios2015-02-15

  I like mocumentary style more than founded footage, but movie absolutely fails in realization. I would like to have movie with similar plot and style, but this was cheap with terrible CGI and actors. A lot of clichés and mistakes. Some footage from 70s doesn't looks like footage from 70s because it is shot in FullHD, 16:9 with just computer effect. Even VHS films was more believable. It have some interesting ideas, but didn't use them too much (security system automatically skips camera after few seconds, first kinetic people in lab was just a hoax), movie keeps staying in stereotypical loud music scares and clichés (dogs are barking, because something evil is happening). I would prefer it in style of real documentaries - not too many quick cuts and no jumpscares. I would prefer more practical effects or at least good CGI effect. Death of main test subject looks like something you could make in After Effect in few minutes. It was almost laughable. I liked movie "The Box" by this director, it is a much better movie.

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• Quirky little horror film

  jtindahouse2016-11-01

  'The Atticus Institute' is quite a strange and unique film. It's a "found footage" film in a way, yet it's also presented as a documentary. Now, about the least scary thing I can possibly think of watching is a documentary, and that stands true here. Having the documentary style did take away a lot of the horror element to me. It meant that any character we were shown talking in the future obviously survived the past experiences shown in the tapes at the institute. On the other hand, it was quite an interesting way to have the story told to us. It let us get inside the mind of the characters and hear stories and insight we wouldn't otherwise have gotten. I suppose it's like having a narrator, but of course a narrator in a horror film is a big no-no, so this was a way around it. I don't think we'll ever see any big-budget horror films adapt this documentary style, but it was an interesting concept to see done here in a lesser-known film. There are one or two moments of quality horror to be found, where suspense was drawn out of the scene. They weren't quite as regular as you may have liked though. The ending was quite quirky and a bit of fun that requires the viewer to think back on what they thought they knew. Altogether though it's unfortunately pretty forgettable. Those who watch it won't be disappointed, it's above average as far as some of the garbage horror films Hollywood is putting out these days, but ultimately they won't be blown away by it either.

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• This topic is widely used

  peterp-450-2987162015-03-27

  "We don't control this, it's not just us who will be at risk. And if you do control it, then who will be at risk?" You like to watch documentaries about the supernatural, alien sightings or other unexplained phenomena on "National Geographic", then you should see "The Atticus institute" since this is a documentary-style film about a scientific study in an institute led by Dr. Henry West. The research is focused on paranormal activities such as ESP and psychokinesis (using the power of the mind to cause the movement of matter at a distance). The film is described as a mockumentary found footage horror. It's certainly not based on true facts, but I wouldn't look at it as a parody or satire, because even though it looks like a documentary, it's reasonably successful. Fortunately, the found footage was reduced to the minimum, and the whole movie is a collage of interviews, eyewitness reports and video recordings (both fixed cameras that capture the experiment and in a limited extent some home recording). You can compare it a bit with "The Quiet Ones". Only the latter is not really a documentary that's made of videotaping, but just an ordinary horror film. Both films are set in the 70's which can be clearly seen in the decoration and the overall appearance. Especially the VHS look is typical for that period. But both films excel especially in the total absence of tension or frightening scenes. Or it should be you are easily scared and shake like a leaf after witnessing a curving card, a tray opening suddenly or a chair sliding away by itself. Anyway, it looks less creepy than implied by the previous testimonies which they always show. The eventual story isn't that original. Today you're overwhelmed with horror films with possession as a central theme. The starting point is an institution in Pennsylvania where Dr. West (William Mapother) and his team of researchers test certain persons to investigate and capture psychokinetic activity. Unfortunately they also get fraudsters between the study objects until Judith Winstead shows up (Rya Kihlstedt). At first sight it seems like an ordinary woman who probably needs some psychological counseling, but gradually they come to the conclusion that she has inexplicable powers. When the official authorities are called for help after they've noticed that the phenomenal forces aren't controllable, those authorities see an opportunity to use this to their advantage and they try to isolate the supernatural power that resides in Judith. In addition to the total lack of tension, there's also the fact that the surprise effect is totally negated by the testimonies. One can already predict which direction it's going and what the outcome will be. Even the warning to the filmmakers and those who watch this film is a little bland. Isn't this already been used somewhere else ? Saying that by watching a video or movie, this will invite evil ? The moments we witness the demonic events, are quite sparse. But those sporadic moments are still thrilling in a certain way. I'm not really a fan of this type movies (I mean the documentary part) and yet I was fascinated by it. There wasn't a single moment that I felt the urge to turn off the film. Rya Kihlstedt doesn't look as if she is possessed and eventually she suffers more because of the human intervention than by the demonic force that has her in its grip. Don't expect a woman who's spitting green slime, swearing, screaming,spouting profane language all the time and staring with a devilish glance. But I thought that Kihlstedt was convincing enough and acted with the right look and feel : that of a desperate woman who's physically and psychologically tormented. The only weak point and still far-fetched item was the final plan of the US government. But to know what their intentions were, you have go and see the film for yourself. Although this topic is widely used, Chris Sparling manages nevertheless to turn it into an original movie. More reviews here : http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be

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• Good pacing at first, then down hill.

  Finfrosk862015-06-02

  The subject matter is interesting. The movie is very well paced. This (the pacing) is the absolute best thing about this movie. Since it is about research on telekinesis and stuff, it is very smart to pace it slow, so that the viewer gets time to adapt. We don't want to be thrown straight into a fantastical universe, at least not if it is to be realistic. So for that I applaud this movie. The acting is pretty decent for the most part, too. And it being found footage, isn't such a drag as it could have been. It's rather realistically made, some of the time. But then it just never gets really cool. It is a little boring at times, and there is this one CG-blood scene in there that is just horrible. And it is such a short scene, why could they not make sure it looked better!? I will never understand stuff like that. So to sum up, the pacing is good at first, then it gets a little boring, and then it goes down hill. At the end I was kind of happy it was over. Even though it was the opening movie on Frightfest 2015. Bummer.

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