Review of The Atticus Institute (2015) by Inktomi — 10 Mar 2015

I will give this movie a 8/10 score as I thought it was a very smartly written, well directed and well filmed horror mockumentary. I will not give out spoilers for the movie to review it. The Atticus Institute is set in the mid 1970's and the fashion, photograph and video quality reflects it. This level of detail gives it an air of legitimacy.

The acting was very believable, especially by William Mapother who plays the troubled Dr. West, head of the fictional Atticus Institute. However, as a mockumentary, there could have been other details thrown in as background of some of the members interviewed in which seemed like present day. A quick background sketch of who they were as well as how they are doing now would have given a deeper look into the people affected by the movies events.

At first when I started watching it I thought it was moving along a bit slow for my tastes. Yet, the movie starts picking up and at certain points Chris Sparling, who directed as well as wrote the movie, successfully built up the tension and the pace of the movie. He did a good job of keeping me riveted to the screen, anxious of what was going to happen next. The way the actors delivered their lines in the cut away scenes of present day interviews helped me anticipate the next scene.

Chris Sparling who has also directed ATM as well as the 2010 underground sleeper hit Buried creates a stark and realistic picture of how bad the government can screw up paranormal phenomena if they were to get involved. On a rainy tuesday night when I was looking for something fresh and interesting, I was very happy I found The Atticus Institute.