Le Projet Atticus

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.

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.

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.

The premise of The Atticus Institute is a very promising one. In fact, going into it, I was not sure if it was going to be a documentary or a fictional movie. In the event, it turned out to be a pseudo-documentary. Set in the mid 70's, it's about a group of scientists who perform a series of paranormal experiments on a woman with extreme extrasensory abilities. Before long the government get involved and things go increasingly badly wrong.

The film-makers have taken some care to present this in a manner that replicates an actual documentary. To this end we have lots of talking heads footage involving people who were connected to the story and there is also retro looking filmed material as well as stills. It would only be fair to say that the execution of the whole thing is less than the actual ideas. It's pretty low budget and this accounts for some mediocre acting, while the script was a little clunky in places. The biggest problem though is that it all gets a bit samey and one-note after a while with little variation in events. On the whole, however, it gets points for trying to do something interesting and having an intriguing central idea. It could surely have been better but it has some good things about it.

'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.