Animus

 

*½

 

Paranormal researchers come out of the woodwork. Just watch syfy. Also watch found footage where lots of young adults working to get their big break, capturing ghosts or spirits on film, and the end result is normally unfortunate. What is normally unfortunate for those shows on syfy is how formulaic and dull they have become.

In Animus, the film takes a bizarre turn from paranormal researching in an abandoned hospital called Copper Queen in Arizona by students needing a nice grade in film class during one last assignment [natch] to a slasher flick. The film students, fun-loving and having a good time while “investigating” the history of the Copper Queen and the small town it is located by, soon encounter this lunatic with saw blade attached to his arm. The lunatic seems to have been living in the mines and accompanying hospital, perhaps a patient and away from the civility of others in the nearby community. Totally savage and unhinged, this killer seems totally devoted to a singular mission…destroying those who invaded his territory. The lead actress has psychological baggage, her ex-boyfriend is an abusive asshole, and her best bud/roommate is a goth always looking for a thrill. With three friends joining them (operating boom mike and cameras), they run afoul of the lunatic who chases them throughout the hospital, picking them off one at a time, before rushing the final girl into a cavernous mine that leads to the outside. The acting, make-up gore, audio, and editing are all lousy. The film takes a hell of a long time to get going, and its sudden change from paranormal investigation to body count slasher is jarring because we are led in one direction then jerked down a completely different path entirely. There’s even a development of a story regarding a ghost of the hospital only for the filmmakers to direct us elsewhere.

Two positive aspects I did like were some nicely composed shots and a well orchestrated presentation of a dilapidated hospital--its innards (tightly claustrophobic), with limited escape crawlspaces and ladders, holes (in walls and floors), and rust/grimy doors/windows--providing a bit of aesthetic and suspense, even if the plot and characters leave much to be desired. There are so many of these films out there that you would need to stumble accidentally across something like Animus. It isn’t particularly distinguished and doesn’t really have any content so desirable horror fans will want to bust their asses to seek it out. I’ve seen worse (not by much) but a hell of a lot better. The gore (eyeball gouged out, fingers cut off, lower jaw lopped off, etc.) is of the cheesy variety, quite lo-fi and ineffective. The killer is less menacing and more goofy. There are definite attempts to provide the lead actress' character with depth, but her mental collapse after that douchebag cheating, abusive, obsessive boyfriend gets his just desserts is a bit too much for me to give a rat's ass about her. The slasher genre final girl who seems totally vulnerable and weak finds her inner badass, taking a boulder to the killer's face, overtook with rage and fury; Animus offers such an example.

http://brianscarecrow88.tumblr.com/post/85784851111/final-images-of-animus
http://brianscarecrow88.tumblr.com/post/85772728281/animus-2013
http://brianscarecrow88.tumblr.com/post/85683830981/a-second-closer-shot-from-animus
http://brianscarecrow88.tumblr.com/post/85586319746/sometimes-even-the-lowest-of-budgeted-films-have