Antrum (2018)

Antrum (2018)
The Deadliest Film Ever Made

Dir: David Amito, Michael Laicini
Wir: David Amito, Michael Laicini

In this pseudo-documentary we are presented with the mystery surrounding the lost / cursed film ANTRUM. Completed in the late '70s, the film was submitted to and rejected by various film festivals. The festival directors shortly thereafter died under circumspect circumstances. During showings in the '80s and '90s a fire and a riot broke out killing theatregoers. The film remained unseen until a copy was found and is now presented as part of this documentary.

We, the viewer, are presented ANTRUM in all its '70s faded and scratched beauty. A tale of an older sister and her younger brother traveling into the woods to find antrum, the entrance to hell, so that they might rescue their recently deceased dog. Marvel at the sheer scariness that is the two digging a hole with shovels!

The surface plot is a bit boring. Two children digging a hole and learning that demons and eldritch creatures are not the scariest things in the forest. The real plot, which we learn of very slowly, is the message the sister is trying to impart to her brother via her telling of the fable she has spun. She includes a grimoire created by someone named Ike! She wants little brother to learn a life lesson and the best way to do it is by him getting his hands dirty. Throw in a second twist in an effort to jolt awake the audience and you've got yourself a film.

I must commend the filmmakers for their craft in creating the sister's fable. It caught me off guard although all the pieces and clues were there. Having said that, I was often weary of the plodding pace of the film, especially since the documentary and film have a combined running time of 95 minutes. The tale would have been far more effective if condensed down to an hour. The 'second ending' or second twist could have been eliminated completely and seems to be included only to make up for the lack of shock and suspense in the rest of the film.

The filmmakers are to be commended for making a film that is a bit different but the pacing and lack of character development kept me from embracing it. That and I never found the film to be scary.

** out of ****