‘The deadliest film ever made…’
The internet is obsessed with the dark whispers of a snuff film. Or even better, a cursed film. We are collectively fascinated with something dark and terrible being captured on screen. Reddit is alive with nightmarish images and sinister shadows of nerve shattering events. Everyone has disappeared down an internet black hole at one time or another, and found themselves staring into the obsidian abyss of images and films that remain seared into the brain. Returning in those moments when sleep is elusive and every shadow takes on a menacing hue. Welcome to Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made.
Antrum is split into two parts. The first section is a found footage style mockumentary explaining why Antrum – an independently produced horror oddity from the ’70s, is cursed. The film side steps accusations of ripping off The Ring, by acknowledging the similarities from the outset, but in truth, they aren’t really comparable. That irresistible set up segues into the actual film itself, and this is where things get really interesting. The story concerns Nathan (Rowan Smyth), a young boy suffering nightmares following the death of his dog, and Oralee (Nicole Tompkins), his older sister, attempting to dig a hole to hell in the middle of the woods. It’s a monstrously simple concept and one that eventually spirals into three headed dogs, terrifying hillbillies and an unforgettable sequence that involves a demon staring straight into the camera.
Rookie directors David Amito and Michael Laicini have crafted something devilishly frightening and uniquely intense. Antrum is unsettling, weird and genuinely scary in places, and it is different enough, and strange enough, to stand out in a crowded field. While never likely to replicate the success of other low budget triumphs such as Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, Antrum is cut from the same black cloth as them, and seems to have slipped under the radar for many.
Antrum is a daring, black mass of a movie. Don’t miss it.