Genre:
Horror
Distributor:
Universal Pictures UK
Rating: 15
Release Date:
27th February 2015 (Glasgow Film Festival)
23rd March 2015 (UK DVD)
Director:
Chris Sparling
Cast:
William Mapother, Julian Acosta, Anne Betancourt,Sharon Maughan
Buy:The Atticus Institute [DVD] [2014]
In 1976 the Atticus institute of Pennsylvania bore witness to the only apparent case of possession certified by the US government and for the past 40 years no definitive account of what happened has been released. It sounds as average as it is. Chris Sparling’s horror mockumentary The Atticus Institute is indeed commendable for editing and performance, yet disappointing for its cheap scares, tired story, and non-existent characters.
The whole ‘found footage’ thing has garnered a pretty dubious reputation after, what can only be referred to as, a commercial shake-down. Everyone’s been using it for a good few years now and unlike most horror sub-genres, found footage appears one of the trickiest to sell in conjunction with an original idea. Most of the most memorable handheld moments of late come in the form of cameo techniques in standard features. So technically Atticus is, for all intents and purposes, a very grave film but also a very dull one.
The fact it is spooky is testament to the actors involved. William Mapother and John Rubinstein lead a collection of terrific character actors who help lend some much needed gravitas to proceedings. Atticus reminds us how unnerving it is to be told a story by another person, to feel the fear through their reactions, but it also reminds us of everything that’s uninspired or boring about the format, and genre, at whole unfortunately. Thundering sound and jump scares are the easiest way to evoke reaction and it’s a shame they are so overused because Sparling has actually crafted a well-shot docu-horror you can really buy into.
With no interest in characterisation, Atticus swings from moment to moment, feeling like a ramshackle collection of turns as opposed to any kind of journey. Not bothering to reveal the source of the terror or give adequate back-story, the film doesn’t really throw up another option for us to invest in, except its original promise that something will happen.