The Atticus Institute (2015)

The story of a 1970's psychology lab in Pennsylvania where a case of demonic possession took place.

Director:

Chris Sparling

Writer:

Chris Sparling

Stars:

Rya Kihlstedt, William Mapother, Sharon Maughan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rya Kihlstedt	...	Judith Winstead
William Mapother	...	Dr. Henry West
Sharon Maughan	...	Susan Gorman
Harry Groener	...	Lawrence Henault
John Rubinstein	...	Marcus Wheeler
Julian Acosta	...	Young Robert Koep
Lou Beatty Jr.	...	Darrell Price
Anne Betancourt	...	Joanne Breault
Ivar Brogger	...	Therapist
Jake Carpenter	...	Norman LeClair
Heath Centazzo	...	EMT #2
Brian Chenoweth	...	Father Donnelly
Hannah Cowley	...	Young Susan Gorman
Aaron Craven	...	Young Marcus Wheeler
Michael A. Delia	...	Police Officer #1 (as Michael Delia)

Storyline

In the fall of 1976, a small psychology lab in Pennsylvania became the unwitting home to the only government-confirmed case of possession. The U.S. military assumed control of the lab under orders of national security and, soon after, implemented measures aimed at weaponizing the entity. The details of the inexplicable events that occurred are being made public after remaining classified for nearly forty years.

---

Plot Keywords:

demonic possession | black eyes | classified information | declassified information | gas mask | 

---

Taglines:

The only case of possession confirmed by the U.S. Government

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 February 2015 (Kuwait)

Also Known As:

Le projet Atticus

Filming Locations:

Linda Vista Hospital - 610 S. St. Louis Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Safran Company, The, Poznan Film Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

As previously mentioned priest thumb was already black, following explanation can be use; The leading agent requested the priest to sign more document each with thumbprint shown by, "Thumbprint on that one as well". Audience was given the impression that they were only shown the final stage from a series of signatures and thumbprints consent.

---

Quotes

Dr. Henry West: You're inviting bad things into your life

User Reviews

Some good ideas hampered by an underwhelming execution

The premise of The Atticus Institute is a very promising one. In fact, going into it, I was not sure if it was going to be a documentary or a fictional movie. In the event, it turned out to be a pseudo-documentary. Set in the mid 70's, it's about a group of scientists who perform a series of paranormal experiments on a woman with extreme extrasensory abilities. Before long the government get involved and things go increasingly badly wrong.

The film-makers have taken some care to present this in a manner that replicates an actual documentary. To this end we have lots of talking heads footage involving people who were connected to the story and there is also retro looking filmed material as well as stills. It would only be fair to say that the execution of the whole thing is less than the actual ideas. It's pretty low budget and this accounts for some mediocre acting, while the script was a little clunky in places. The biggest problem though is that it all gets a bit samey and one-note after a while with little variation in events. On the whole, however, it gets points for trying to do something interesting and having an intriguing central idea. It could surely have been better but it has some good things about it.