Mind Body Spirit

This was recommended to me by a few people on some Facebook groups, so I decided to give it a chance as I love found footage movies. The movie started pretty interesting, the set design was okay and the actor didn't really annoy me which was good enough for me to stick around. But then it kinda started repeating itself, the acting switched from acceptable to irritating (which could be purposefully done but I doubt it) and the movie itself started having an identity crisis. It was like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be, a found footage film or a regular movie with cinematic shots. The camera movements in many scenes made no sense whatsoever as realistically there was nobody around to move it like that. I was constantly asking myself "WHO is moving the camera????" which took me out of the movie in most of these shots. It was so blatantly obvious attempt of the director trying too hard to be cinematic. In the end, we got a jumbled mess that is hard to call it as a fine example of a found footage movie. Overall, I wouldn't really recommend this film. It's nothing you haven't seen before. It's not scary, it's not really found footage and it's not cleverly done whatsoever.

Mind Body Spirit isn't necessarily a scary film, but it offers an intriguing and enjoyable watch. The storyline presents a unique concept that keeps the audience engaged, blending psychological tension with supernatural elements in a way that feels fresh. While it doesn't rely on outright horror, the film's atmosphere and themes create a sense of unease and curiosity.

I particularly liked the way the story unfolded, gradually pulling the viewer deeper into its mysteries. The execution was effective, making it an interesting film for those who appreciate thought-provoking narratives rather than pure scares. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience with a concept that stood out.

Anya starts to explore her Slavic ancestry after moving into her inherited grandmother's house and finds a book left by her grandmother with mysterious rituals. She decides these rituals make better content than the usual yoga instructions she has tried to build an online following with.

Good ideas, the film keeps your attention throughout.

But the acting is so-so and the different themes don't quite fit together. Online yoga and the shallowness of the influencer culture is one important layer, which could have been explored a lot more. The Russian yoga traditions, with such luminaries as the Roerich couple, is hinted at, but largely absent.

So, I have a theory about how the ideas behind this film came together. The writers discussed how creepy yoga can actually be (strange body stretching, weird postures and falsely smiling faces). They googled yoga and found Agni Yoga, the Russian variety, as well as the discussions about cultural appropriation and inauthenticity. Without doing more research than that, they put this film together. That would be the explanation to why the film lacks a satisfying whole and is rather a mishmash of stuff related to the word Yoga.

Again though, a quick and attention-grabbing flick.

An aspiring yoga influencer goes to live in her late grandmother's house while working to elevate her channel and gain a following. A tale of jealousy and family demons, at times literally, is what follows. Mind Body Spirit is the latest in what seems like an endless slew of low budget found footage movies, and I'll start by saying that as far as that goes this one does manage to stand above the majority. Some fun and at times clever camera work and strong performances, especially by Sarah Barholomew, drive the movie and show that everybody involved has a lot of potential down the road. There are moments that are genuinely creepy, particularly a haunting hallucination involving one character witnessing varying versions of her own spiraling sanity. The downside is that the movie becomes more and more repetitive as it continues, and it breaks many a rule that is a no no to break in a found footage flick, particularly with its use of music. It also feels like a watered down version of Hereditary set in the found footage genre, but not being done as well it fails to live up to its obvious inspiration or provide anything unique to that story outside of the yoga setting. Mind Body Spirit has potential and is even worth a watch, but don't go in expecting anything above average which believe it or not is a compliment for this horror sub-genre.

So of course there's a lot that's a bit silly that you might expect from a low-budget small crew film making their first feature-length horror. However many horror fans like myself can appreciate a fun ride even with highly flawed production.

Yes, it's laughable sometimes. The "book" looked like something a kid made for a school project on something that's supposed to look "aged". You can actually notice the stumble when a cameraman picks up a camera -- stuff like that. Putting in non-diagetic ambiance in a found footage film is rather silly, as is its clearly intentional editing. Pretty much there's not a moment the film that doesn't feel like filmmakers are making it. But, as a yoga influencer might say, just let it go!

Sarah J Bartholomew's committed performance had a tendency to sell all the silly props and tricks, and since *she* was taking it all so seriously, it helped the viewer suspend some disbelief and join her on her ride. She deserves some success in the future of acting.

But honestly, I think what I like most about this feature is the general concept of taking the piss out of new age granola-crunching culture. Usually a demonic possession film is designed to act as antithesis to the Christian church, and it's nice instead to see the target placed on the toxic positivity of westernized McYoga "find your own truth" types. Just like the Christians, Neo-hippies as well have the demons in their closet that's gotta be aired out! I was laughing quite a bit at how the film subverted the sanitized "sacred" vibe of that culture with some well-deserved demonic bloodshed!

Also, I have to appreciate the fact there's a found footage film that doesn't have a second of handheld shaky cam, which is so tiresome. Honestly the shot composition is very strong in the film, the leads performance and the cinematography were probably the strongest elements. And it's so refreshing that the camera stays still most of the time, or only moves very slowly, so you don't get the motion sickness you might usually get from a found footage film -- I have to say too that in many of the found footage films that use that handheld shakiness, it feels forced as if its trying to remind you that it's a found footage film, which is especially silly when it follows "documentarians". Like if they're professional documentarians, you'd think they'd know to hold a camera still! Luckily there's none of that in Mind Body Spirit, the camera is as still as a yogi's attention.

So I'm not gonna call this a great film -- it's definitely not. But I did think it was a hoot that was a lot of fun!