Christian’s Grade: B
There have been very few times when I’ve become obsessed with a movie that has flown completely under my radar. A movie I’d never heard of. I didn’t know what it was about or even when it was released. I watched it on a recommendation from someone I trusted. After that initial viewing, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. One movie like this was The Atticus Institute (2015).
The story focuses on a group of scientists doing their own independent study of human potential for psychic abilities. They want to apply the scientific method to test those who claim to have these abilities and either discredit them as con artists or present verifiable proof that it’s real. After a devastating blow to their research a new subject is brought to them. A woman who could be the proof they’d been looking for or something horrible they never expected. While testing for superhuman psychic abilities, what they discovered was the first scientifically documented case of possession.
The Atticus Institute is a found footage movie in the vein of The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Paranormal Activity(2007). However, it stands apart from the many others I’ve seen because it’s presented in the style of a fully produced documentary, complete with interviews with family members of the subjects, colleagues, and witnesses. The production style is very similar to what you might see on an episode of Dateline, so it adds to the air of legitimacy of what’s presented.
The production value of this movie really impressed me. It really played like a modern TV documentary. The footage takes place in the mid-70s, so it has the grainy 8mm film quality. At the same time, the interviews about the institute and the people who were there are set in the 2010s and look like they were shot for modern television. So, there’s a stark contrast that shows how much time has passed.
There are several impressive special effects here too. Not because they’re flashy but because they add a real creepiness to the viewing experience. Some that are so subtle that you might miss them the first time. Writer/Director Chris Sparling does a great job of drawing the viewer in by presenting this fictional documentary in a professionally produced way. Shows like Dateline tend to accomplish this by immersing viewers in the period of the subject. A lot of footage, replays of key moments, and detailed background information make you less judgmental of the limited capabilities of the time and more emotionally involved with the people. That’s the strategy Sparling uses in this film.
More than any other factor, it was the performances in this movie I found to be particularly fascinating. You’ll recognize a couple of faces you’ve seen before, but you won’t be distracted by any high-profile celebrities here. From top to bottom, the entire cast really sold these performances on an emotional level. They make you believe that they were there. That they lived through this and continue to live with some amount of trauma that will never go away. Ranging from moments of subtlety and nuance to overt terror, the whole cast was truly committed to this project. And the film creates these small moments with certain characters that truly show the level of impact their involvement with the institute had on them. Moments where it’s just a person in a room, talking into a camera, and you can see them reliving these deeply disturbing incidents from their past. Then footage of them and the incident they’re talking about get spliced into the monologue, and you get a taste of the trauma they suffered. Those are the golden moments of this horror movie.
On a personal note, when it comes to horror movies, I tend to gravitate toward the psychological. I feel more engrossed in stories that seem like they could really happen. And when it comes to found footage movies, that’s what I look for. Regardless of the subject matter, that’s the whole point of the genre, to make you feel like you stumbled onto something real, even though you know it’s fiction. Jump scares pass in seconds. They’re cheap and overused. It’s the moments that you can relate to and can’t stop thinking about well after the movie is done that I treasure in horror movies.
I saw The Atticus Institute around 2018, so it wasn’t new. My brother had seen it somewhere and told me I should watch it. I’d probably like it. It was a good idea for a movie. It was almost like passing off a cursed item. You don’t want to say too much about it, but you want to make it intriguing for the person you’re giving it to. And once you let it into your life, it changes you a little. Now here I am, passing it on to you, the reader, hoping you will see it, like it, and spread the word to others.
