Antrum is a horror film that follows two kids into the forest to dig a hole to hell. But if you look further you will find something much more dark. I will start this whole thing off by begging you to watch the film first. I strongly believe this film was made to be viewed first with no knowledge and then revisited with a new pair of eyes. The film is rumored to be cursed as described in the documentary shown at the beginning of the film. If you are uneasy with cursed films, I understand if you want to stay far away. However, I know many who have watched the film and are fine today, myself included. 

     The film was written and directed by David Amito and Micheal Lacini. Micheal has written a few shorts, and David Amito has had roles in some of those. So far, Antrum has been the first and only full-length film either has directed. From their interview on a YouTube channel that had them in it, they seem to have agreed on all aspects of the decision-making regarding the story and film choice. David gave Micheal the main credit for the actual filmmaking while Micheal gave the creative credit to David. This would make sense given their career backgrounds. The goal of this film was to “wake up the negative space” in the viewer’s heads and bring forward the ability for our mind to make up its fear rather than let the film dictate what is evil or good. 

     The directors put a bunch of detail into Antrum. These details are not able to be found easily unless you are paying attention. Antrum ends with a cliffhanger, however, if you pay attention you will find that there is an answer after all. This can be said with almost every unanswered question, they have answers if you pay hard enough attention. I love films like this, one of my favorite films is Skinamarink, which does something similar. Unlike Skinamarink, Antrum has zero jumpscares and a little more of a plot that you can follow. Even without jumpscares, a scene in Antrum makes even the harshest critics uncomfortable. 

     Both directors found inspiration in their fears. David has spoken about how he is very superstitious and Micheal explains how he was fearful of a board game called Nightmare that was popular in the 90s. They wanted the film to feel like it was cursed similar to the way this (link for there is nothing by David Eerle) video Micheal talked about in the interview mentioned earlier. Again, the goal of this film was to give the seasoned horror fans a new experience that differed from the mainstream horror films. Did Antrum accomplish this? Did the attention to detail and little tidbits sprinkled within the film add to the experience or was it lost in the negative space of our minds?

If you saw the October Movie Ranking post then I’m sure you know the score Antrum was given, therefore I recommend watching the film for yourself before moving on to the review. This film is not for everyone, many movie critics and horror buffs have bad opinions of Antrum, and I completely understand their reasons. I, however, have noticed that I often enjoy movies that are not like others. I enjoy films that have their own set of rules and their own way of doing things. Nothing scares me more than what my mind can make up, so I appreciate it when a horror film does not give me all the answers and I have to look deeper to put the pieces together. Antrum is an interesting film and I’m curious to see if you are brave enough to take on Antrum: Deadliest Film Ever Made. Will you survive?