This movie was interesting…
…in the manner that I felt familiar with it despite experiencing it for the first time. I didn’t particularly take notes but I was watching the film intently and these are some genuine responses and questions about this “found footage” film but it is done in a unique way which I’m not mad at.
We’re going to talk about 2018’s mockumentary/found footage film, Antrum.
The title is what grabbed my attention. I watched this through Amazon Prime (it is available for free if you are a prime member) and I am realizing that I enjoy these mockumentary/found footage films and the reason why is… these (and this) films know what they are trying to conceive and accomplish right off the bat. Lately, I’ve seen Digging up the Marrow, Fury of the Demons, both fall into this category of faux documentary mixed in horror, some comedy but it’s intended to get a jump scare or two out of you. Antrum does the same thing.
Things that I liked: I liked the idea of adding on “the deadliest film ever made” into its title and also the various warnings the film gives off. It gives you many times to stop the film or not look which gives off the “authentic” feel. Another thing I really liked was that it was based around kids. It’s funny that I did a whole post about children in horror and I didn’t realize children were going to be the focal point of the film. The film itself, minus the “interviews” takes place in the 70s. Two siblings are mourning the death of their dog who was put down after biting the younger sibling, a boy. The boy asks his mother if their dog is in heaven or hell. The mother says the latter because Maxine (the dog) was a bad dog. That was NOT the smartest answer. The entire film goes on to the siblings Oralee and Nathan, traveling into the woods, with a grimoire or a “magic book” to save their dog’s soul by digging a large hole in the ground, trying to reach hell. The film progresses to being very dark very fast, there are cannibals present, mixed in footage (added in later) of what is a snuff film, seeing things that aren’t there, this trauma that is clearly going to affect these children.
The children are also a nice highlight. Nathan is precocious, innocent, a bit naive but also well aware of how things are changing. He is warning his sister of things to come and she doesn’t believe. Oralee is a big sister trying to protect him but also unassumingly put him in harm’s way. There are many obstacles for the kids, human and supernatural and I enjoyed watching it.
What I didn’t like was the presentation of another danger in the film, which were the cannibals. I guess maybe you need human based villains to torture these children but I think the movie could do without them. However, the cannibals contribute to one cool element and that’s this homemade almost like an idol statue of Baphomet that is used to capture and cook people. Baphomet is a deity that… has the head of a goat. I’m not going down the rabbit hole but it is a big part of the occult, I have seen it represented in tarot cards.
I will say that this movie is a step up from Fury of the Demon, at least you see said film and there’s ominous tension scattered throughout the movie. Is there a big payoff in the end? It’s a mixed bag. I would have liked to have seen the demons or “hallucinations” out of darkness. There’s more I would have liked to see but I liked what I saw.
Antrum: The Deadliest Movie Ever Made gets a 3 out of 5. It stars Nicole Tompkins, Rowan Smyth, Dan Istrate, Circus-Szalewski, Shu Sakimoto and Kristel Elling. It was directed by David Amito and Michael Laicini.
Shots of Horror 