Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made

Directed by: David Amito, Michael Laicini

Starring:  Nicole Tompkins, Rowan Smyth, Dan Istrate

A young boy and his older sister head out into a forest and start to dig a  hole which will lead them to hell, where they hope to locate their dog's soul and set it free…This film has long been rumoured to be “cursed” and responsible for the deaths of over 60 people…

Twenty years ago, the makers of The Blair Witch Project hit gold with their viral marketing campaign which convinced a lot of people that the three protagonists had really disappeared under mysterious circumstances and that the film was in fact real footage leading up to their disappearance. Ever since, various "found footage" films have tried to convince us that they were real, however whenever I watch one I'm too distracted by their filming techniques to be suckered into thinking they were authentic.

Antrum goes one better. Rather than try to convince us the events in the film are real (this isn't a POV found footage film at all), it instead creates its own urban myth to wrap the film up in. According to the  documentary footage that bookends the film, Antrum is a 1979 movie with a cursed history and although notorious in horror circles, it had been thought lost to the ages until the documentary team located a print.

The documentary element is very convincing, spelling out Antrum's troubled existence since it's production in 1979, through to a mysterious fire at a cinema in Budapest which killed everyone inside, to finally a showing in 1993 when the audience went crazy during its showing due to the popcorn being spiked with LSD. The various talking heads during this section all seem very knowledgeable although none had seen the film themselves.

Just before the fictional film starts, we are presented with a screen which states that the film is about to begin and that the makers nor documentary team can be held liable for anything that may occur as a result of viewing it. I have to admit, everything up to this moment had been really effective and I found myself wondering whether any of it was actually real. I who had scoffed at the notion that Blair Witch was real… SO then we are faced with Antrum itself. It's been given this huge build-up of expectation (I found my pulse quickening as the on-screen countdown began), so does it have any chance of living up to it?

Even without the wraparound documentary, Antrum is an incredible, unsettling film. It follows siblings Oralee and Nathan, whose dog Maxine was recently put to sleep. After their mother had told Nathan that Maxine was a bad dog and had gone to hell, he started having nightmares so his sister decides to take him on a mission to free Maxine's soul.

Oralee has obtained a grimoire which contains instructions on how to find a portal to Hell and the different levels they will need to pass through to get to Maxine. The level of detail is really well plotted, including the incantations and protection spells they cast for themselves. Nathan is able to sense when they pass through the different levels, which are also given their own caption cards.

Although the detail is lost on Nathan, the forest they are in is similar to Aokigahara Forest in Japan, where people go specifically to commit suicide. There is a notice at the entrance imploring people to reconsider their actions and a couple of times we can see dead bodies a short distance away from the children. There is a hint that it is indeed Aokigahara Forest somehow, as the pair accidentally interrupt a Japanese businessman who is about to commit suicide. He leaves because he doesn't want the kids to see him die, but we learn later of his fate.

Even though nothing physically changes about their location (except when they discover the scrap yard), the different levels of Hell Nathan and Oralee pass through is quite palpable. You get the sense of a change in the air as they dig their hole and explore their surroundings.

Eventually, however, we learn some home truths about their trip. But by that point truth, or reality, don't seem to matter. The power of storytelling and of belief are at work, bending reality. When Oralee drops a bombshell on Nathan, young actor Rowan Smyth's delivery of his line is pants-wettingly good and lets us know for sure that the road to Hell is truly paved with good intentions.

THE VERDICT

Even without the wraparound documentary elements (we even get a second card at the end, informing us we've just watched Antrum in its entirety), Antrum works as a cautionary tale and presents a brilliant, unsettling Hell and two incredible protagonists. They have the fearlessness of youth, so we end up being fearful for them. However the documentary element elevates the film to another level. You genuinely feel that you are about to watch something which in some way is actually dangerous. It has a taboo nature to it. And then when you get to the other side and breathe a sight of relief, the film hits us with a final twist, one which you will be pondering for a while after switching off the film.

 9 out of 10 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MikeOutWest