Psychomanteum

Caught this at a film festival in Madrid and was thankfully really glad I made up my mind the night before to get my head down early so as to ensure I made the ten am screening. None of the directors showed up which was disappointing considering what a surprise this film was, questions questions questions? Consisting of eight or nine (?) short psychological horror films that varied radically from one another connected by a creepy narration which was highly disconcerting "Psychomanteum" is one of those very rare beasts, a horror film that challenges its audience to think. Pay close attention if you don't want to miss a sudden plot change which veer from the mundane to the incredible within minutes, rolling like waves that are comfortable to become deeply unsettling. I recommend this highly, unique and unusual anthology film, see it before you read about it, for it will always be with you! Oh...loved the score/soundtrack too.

Bad acting, horrendous scriptwriting, stories that go nowhere, characters that behave very unbelievably and irrationally, pathetic special effects. It really is one of the worse films I've ever seen.

Not scary, not funny at all. I sat through the whole of the movie and wished I hadn't.

So why do I give it three stars instead of just one? There's a few bits of decent cinematography and a couple of the actors put on a good performance despite the terrible scripts.

Psychomanteum (perhaps not the most memorable or easily searchable name) stands out and above all recent lacklustre anthology films since it avoids cliches to deliver original and seriously messed up stories that are weird and memorable. The interlinking narrative piece reminded me of "This Unnameable Little Broom" by the Brothers Quay, no it's not animated, but it does have the same mad, frenzied energy that left me with a haunting takeaway. OK a couple of the short films are weaker because they end before they really get going but there are more than enough multiple award winning stand out films to justify the price of viewing, which at under a dollar is a steal and free if your an Amazon Prime member.

The 10's are clearly from friends and family or the filmmakers themselves. The acting and plots are all terrible and some of the most appalling VFX I have ever seen.

Way worse than the worst student project I've ever witnessed.

Save yourself while you still can :)

Couldnt even say this is a bad film, that implies a base level of filmaking this joke doesnt get near. It looks like somebody got their first camera, filmed their friends in their flat for a couple of hours and added some stock sounds effects. The ten star reviews are clearly the work of people involved in the film and probably took more effort than the filming.