Mind Body Spirit

Mind Body Spirit was a Shudder movie I chose because I thought it might be light and ridiculous, I was wholly prepared to start watching a terrible indie film that I would never be able to finish. Instead, I found the main character very relatable, and the journey to find herself through ascetic bodily denial and attempting to reconnect through her ancestors to be a great horror theme.

I would classify this as mental illness horror but not in the cliche way normally presented in classic tropes. I also found it refreshing that the leading woman was more of an average person than an influencer stereotype. This made the movie a lot more genuinely disturbing to watch, in my opinion.

To my delight, I was treated to this film as the opening night film at the Freak Show Horror Film Festival. With a few exceptions here and there I can say with great passion that I am not a fan of the found footage genre, a genre that has its value in the genre but one that I find repetitive throughout and there always comes a point where I can't find justification in the characters' continued use of a camera outside of the need to carry forward a film for another 70 minutes.

Mind Body Spirit does what few in the genre have managed to do in creating a clever use of the camera and one that justifies its continued use and allows us, without giving spoilers, to not only view this piece through the eyes of our protagonist but as voyeurs as well, looking in on something truly frightening that we shouldn't be looking in on.

There are so few performances here in this one, with Sarah J. Bartholomew expertly carrying the bulk of the film on her shoulders, oftentimes being the only character we see on screen for extended periods of time. Madi Bready offers a strong supporting performance as an overly arrogant influencer and, with the little she has on screen, Anna Knigge also manages a sharp performance that feels emotional and grounded enough in its minimal appearance that it manages to pull the viewer in and make us care for the troubled separation of mother and daughter.

The scares are genuinely impactful, relying on clever camera work and a keen eye rather than jump scares and heavy gore with a minimalist score that never overstays its welcome and never comes too soon.

Overall, I've been to many festivals and seen many films at these festivals and I've never felt so compelled to run to IMDb and leave a review for one of them. This one is different. It's competently made and shows true artistic merit. Flock to this one when it's available. It's most certainly a top tier showcase of indie filmmaking.

"Mind Body Spirit" (2023) is a found footage horror film that delves into the dark side of influencer culture and spiritual obsession. The film follows Anya, an aspiring yoga influencer who moves into her estranged grandmother's home to record her first video. There, she discovers a hidden room filled with cryptic messages and items left behind by her grandmother, Verasha.

Intrigued, Anya begins to incorporate Verasha's teachings into her online persona, leading to a surge in popularity. However, as Anya delves deeper into the mysterious practices, she unwittingly unleashes an otherworldly entity that begins to manipulate her life and her videos. The film explores themes of fame, self-destruction, and the dangers of blindly following spiritual practices without understanding their true nature.

"Mind Body Spirit" effectively utilizes the found footage format to create a sense of immediacy and realism. The shaky camera work and intimate perspective heighten the tension and make the events on screen feel more visceral. The film also benefits from strong performances, particularly from Sarah J. Bartholomew as Anya. Her descent into obsession is both chilling and believable.

However, the film's reliance on jump scares and predictable plot twists can detract from its overall impact. Additionally, the ending feels somewhat rushed and leaves several questions unanswered. Despite these shortcomings, "Mind Body Spirit" offers a thought-provoking commentary on the influencer age and the dangers of unchecked ambition. It's a chilling reminder that the pursuit of fame and fortune can come at a steep price, especially when it involves delving into the unknown.

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.

This movie had so much potential. But for me, it fell short. I rather enjoyed the ending, and the movie held my attention throughout. But I felt frustrated at the acting in some parts; in a lot of the scenes, it felt as though they didn't do enough takes; actors/actresses fail to feel real sometimes, and it felt like the director didn't wait until he got the right take.

Also, there were certain scenes that felt rather forced. And the end-twist, although very enjoyable to watch, could be seen coming a mile away.

I would have enjoyed this movie much more, had it been a 30 or 40 minute film in a VHS anthology.

Even though this movie has a fair amount of flaws, it was worth the watch; and I'm curious as to what the director will come out with next.