The Atticus Institute

Frankly I am very fond of horror movies especially those involving demonic possessions based on true stories. Well 'The Atticus Institute' certainly falls in that genre. The best thing that I liked about this movie was the way in which the story was told, shot more like a documentary, depicting events using recorded footage's. In addition there were certain events in the movie which are based on true stories.

The movie starts at a slow pace but in a unique way uses some of the characters to narrate the incidents that occurred in 1976 at a paranormal institute. This film takes its time to build the tension and suspense but it does so masterfully that in the end you are left wandering what you are watching is not really happening.

A film is only as good as the cast, which made me wonder how difficult it was to play the Judith Winstead's character. But hats off to Rya Kihlstedt (Judith Winstead), she was absolutely marvelous from the beginning to the end. The movie is written and directed by Chris Sparling who also directed movies like Buried. The Atticus Institute also has some really scary scenes with the demonic possession display shot to perfection.

Overall I can say 'The Atticus Institute' is a movie that in a unique way provides a lot of suspense. Initially one can find the movie a bit slow but I can assure you as the movie moves forward it will captivate your imagination making it hard to believe that what you are watching is not real. I really enjoyed watching this movie so will rate it 7/10.

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.

I was not sure what to expect before watching this. I now understand why this is shown on cable more than most POV horror out these days.

"Was it interesting?" For the most part. Framing it as a legitimate documentary helped it. The dated setting, lack of technology, and inability to see the characters away from the action hurt it some. 2 out of 3

"Was it entertaining?" That is it's biggest problem. Little drama beyond emotional storytelling and only a few real good paranormal scenes. 1 out of 3

"Was it memorable?" The form of the movie was, but otherwise didn't make too much of an impact. It mostly just trys to stand out among it's sub-genre. 1.5 out of 3

Start with 1, 1+2+1+1.5=5.5 I'm rounding up for just using decent actors and good editing. A 6 with these type of movies is definitely above average.

This film is a very well done film of its kind (which is documentary/found footage). The big drawback is that it is anticlimactic, and not very scary. So if you are watching mainly just to appreciate the art of film you will like it more, but if you are looking for scares, you will like it less.

Seriously how can you hate this movie?

Clever, interesting and original The Atticus Insititute gets a thumbs up from me, hats off to writer and director Chris Sparling.

Filmed as a mockumentary, it initially revolves around telekinesis and one particularly gifted woman, Judith Winstead. Rya Kihlstedt who plays Judith gives a brilliant and totally believable performance.

I really don't want to say much and spoil any of it, I'd just say give it a go.

How many noses does a monkey have?