Le Projet Atticus

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?

I rarely, if ever, enjoy the 'found footage/ faux documentary' genre of films. The majority of these films feel contrite and fake at best. Some filmmakers have based their entire career on these types of movies, most notably the 'Paranormal Activity' or 'REC' series. The Atticus Institute is perhaps the same type of film, but it does have a remarkably intriguing plot that separates it from the majority of these films.

The film deals with a group of scientists running a small psychology laboratory during the 1970's. The focus of their research is on those individuals who have extra-behavioural abilities; ESP, psychokinetic powers, and things that are considered mostly in the realm of parapsychology. The lead scientist, Dr. West, and his group of researchers run an underfunded observation department, focusing on the documentation of paranormal abilities. After years of research, the institutes credibility falls into jeopardy, and what little funding there was, begins to dissipate. Enter Judith Winstead (arguably the main character of the film and very well portrayed by Rya Kihlstedt) is a withdrawn and a somewhat vacant woman capable of truly remarkable things. The story unfolds as a series of interviews between various individuals of interest in centered around Judith's life and her time at the Atticus Institute.

What makes this movie more interesting that most is an excellent blend of plot devices. They vary from act to act, and allow the viewer to delve deeper into this unusual story. There are a range of ideas that the film covers, outside of just the strange tests they put before her, her exceptional 'Godlike' performance level. As the movie progresses, the scientist find the source of Judith's remarkable power, and it becomes a slightly different kind of film. I really enjoyed this subtle switch in direction, and was surprised at how well they were blended together. It's a slight shift in theme, but what begins as a research into the abnormal, becomes a movie about possession and the occult. I really enjoyed that, and it's done in such a way that it doesn't seem so ridiculous. By the second act the military becomes involved, although it seems like such a preposterous plot twist, it is so smoothly done that it feels like a natural progression of the documentary.

There are some rather silly effects throughout the film, a couple of rather predictable jump scares, and several other things that perhaps with a little more effort from post-production could have been avoided. Most notably for me was the clarity of the video footage from the 70's, and how it doesn't quite fit with the technology of the time. The digital post production to age the film was a bit too clean for me, but it works. The focus of the 'declassified files' was far too quick to skim over for the viewer, within the allotted time given to read them. However, I actually paused the film at these moments and thought they were fairly interesting, and they lend a lot into the story line. They certainly contain key information never discussed by any of the interviewees, and they are worth checking out.

Overall, this film was much better than I anticipated, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thriller/ horror genre. It is an interesting interpretation of what might happen if the Military were to investigate a confirmed case of possession.

6/10

'The Atticus Institute' is quite a strange and unique film. It's a "found footage" film in a way, yet it's also presented as a documentary. Now, about the least scary thing I can possibly think of watching is a documentary, and that stands true here. Having the documentary style did take away a lot of the horror element to me. It meant that any character we were shown talking in the future obviously survived the past experiences shown in the tapes at the institute. On the other hand, it was quite an interesting way to have the story told to us. It let us get inside the mind of the characters and hear stories and insight we wouldn't otherwise have gotten. I suppose it's like having a narrator, but of course a narrator in a horror film is a big no-no, so this was a way around it. I don't think we'll ever see any big-budget horror films adapt this documentary style, but it was an interesting concept to see done here in a lesser-known film.

There are one or two moments of quality horror to be found, where suspense was drawn out of the scene. They weren't quite as regular as you may have liked though. The ending was quite quirky and a bit of fun that requires the viewer to think back on what they thought they knew. Altogether though it's unfortunately pretty forgettable. Those who watch it won't be disappointed, it's above average as far as some of the garbage horror films Hollywood is putting out these days, but ultimately they won't be blown away by it either.

Personally, I though this film was one of the better demon possession films that I've come across. Most are pretty lame and I am very critical of most of them. This one was rather unique. The mockumentary style is something I enjoy if it is done well and isn't boring until the last 10 min. Good pacing in this and the effects are practical for the most part and not over or under used. I would recommend this one.

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.