Before anything else, I would like to say for the record, that 'The Atticus Institute' is an entertaining movie, and for what it's worth, I at no point felt tempted to turn it off, like I do with so many of these types of films.
Like Lake Mungo, The Atticus Institute is a faux-documentary including 'found-footage' from a supposed government cover-up over the investigation into military attempts at harnessing paranormal abilities found in a middle age woman who, as it turns out, is probably possessed by some type of malevolent spiritual entity. Asides from the similar film, 'The Quiet Ones', the premise is rather unique, and the documentary interviews are very well acted. Unfortunately, it's the 'found-footage' segments that start to fall flat over the course of the movie, bringing my rating down by a few points.
For the most part 'The Atticus Institute' is convincing in it's attempt at the mockumentary angle. Like I said earlier, the acting during the interviewed sessions is rather good. I also liked the use of still pictures, and some of the earlier found-footage is rather captivating. Unlike most movies of this ilk, 'The Atticus Institute' is rather pleasing to the eye, another quality it shares with it's superior counterpart, 'Lake Mungo'.
The real problem with the film in it's final 30 minutes or so is that it diverges from it's rather interesting and captivating story and takes a turn towards the cliché. If you've seen The Exorcist, and the millions of rip-offs that came afterwards (The Devil Inside, The Rite, The Taking of Deborah Logan etc..), you'll know what I mean. It's really quite a shame because it started off so interesting and then became completely predictable.
Anyway, I don't want to sound too harsh. If I hadn't enjoyed the movie I wouldn't have given it a five start (out of ten) rating. The Atticus Institute is entertaining, and the first half of the film is really quite good. I would overall recommend it as a fun watch, but if you're looking to get your mind blown, look elsewhere or watch Lake Mungo
Like Lake Mungo, The Atticus Institute is a faux-documentary including 'found-footage' from a supposed government cover-up over the investigation into military attempts at harnessing paranormal abilities found in a middle age woman who, as it turns out, is probably possessed by some type of malevolent spiritual entity. Asides from the similar film, 'The Quiet Ones', the premise is rather unique, and the documentary interviews are very well acted. Unfortunately, it's the 'found-footage' segments that start to fall flat over the course of the movie, bringing my rating down by a few points.
For the most part 'The Atticus Institute' is convincing in it's attempt at the mockumentary angle. Like I said earlier, the acting during the interviewed sessions is rather good. I also liked the use of still pictures, and some of the earlier found-footage is rather captivating. Unlike most movies of this ilk, 'The Atticus Institute' is rather pleasing to the eye, another quality it shares with it's superior counterpart, 'Lake Mungo'.
The real problem with the film in it's final 30 minutes or so is that it diverges from it's rather interesting and captivating story and takes a turn towards the cliché. If you've seen The Exorcist, and the millions of rip-offs that came afterwards (The Devil Inside, The Rite, The Taking of Deborah Logan etc..), you'll know what I mean. It's really quite a shame because it started off so interesting and then became completely predictable.
Anyway, I don't want to sound too harsh. If I hadn't enjoyed the movie I wouldn't have given it a five start (out of ten) rating. The Atticus Institute is entertaining, and the first half of the film is really quite good. I would overall recommend it as a fun watch, but if you're looking to get your mind blown, look elsewhere or watch Lake Mungo