The 2018 Horror Movie That Pretended To Be A Long Lost (And Cursed) Film
For as long as horror movies have existed, there have been carny-like marketing campaigns boasting audience members fainting, vomiting, running out of theaters in terror, and in some of the most extreme cases, having a heart attack. Films like "Psycho," "The Exorcist," and even 2023's "Talk To Me" have all become modern urban legends with the reported reactions from fans, but few films come close to the reputation of "Antrum." The Canuxploitation film from David Amito and Michael Laicini is two films in one: a documentary about "Antrum," a lost film from the 1970s that has been connected with over 85 deaths, and the remaining footage from the only known print of the film. Before the film plays, a warning covers the screen.
Legal Notice: By continuing to watch this film you agree that the producers of this film have made you aware of the history and danger(s) associated with 'Antrum.' The producers, distributors, cast, crew, unions, and theater management on all levels, are released of all liability for any event that occurs to you during or after your screening including but not limited to illness, injury, mortal danger, or death. If you disagree in any way with this notice you must leave the theater now.
Now, "Antrum" isn't causing the deaths of people who watch it like some haunted videotape but instead seems to be a cursed film. Festival directors who rejected the film upon release died under mysterious circumstances, a theater in Budapest that attempted to screen burned to the ground, and a Los Angeles screening in the 1990s saw a concession stand worker lace the popcorn with LSD inspiring a riot that led to deaths.
With "Antrum" comes tragedy ... except it was all just an elaborate (and effective) marketing ploy.
Watch Antrum and die! (Allegedly)
There have been plenty of horror films about horror footage that kills the viewer like "The Ring," John Carpenter's "Masters of Horror" episode "Cigarette Burns," and "Feardotcom," which meant the flurry surrounding "Antrum" was easy to buy into. "The Blair Witch Project" had already duped fans into thinking the film was real once before, and with the very real court cases required to prove "Cannibal Holocaust" was fake lingering in the back of the minds of horror fans, the theory didn't seem impossible.
There's always been a fascination with the concept of "cursed films," so much so that Shudder has an entire docuseries dedicated to these notorious production campfire tales. "Antrum" is set up in a similar style to a BBC documentary, feeling in line with the brilliant "Ghostwatch." It was the perfect recipe to fool unsuspecting horror fans, and certainly helped generate a powerful word-of-mouth fan campaign. As /Film's Witney Seibold rightfully pointed out in discussing films that reportedly made viewers physically ill, "Any claim, however, that a film is so scary it might kill me is certainly going to attract my attention. After all, what better way for a cinephile to go out than to be killed by a film?"
In his review out of Sitges, /Film's Rafael Motamayor praised the film's commitment to the gimmick, and praised the actual "cursed" film for being effectively scary. He wrote, "As the film goes along, the superimposed demonic sigils appear in random frames (170 of them! According to the documentary), and images of demons staring at the audience start appearing, we're off to a delicious life with some truly creepy imagery." So while the film might not actually be cursed or kill people, it's still a fun ride!
How are people still getting tricked by Antrum?
There's a classic line in the Western film "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" that says "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." In the entertainment industry, we do this all the time, like perpetuating the narrative that Ayo Edebiri is from Ireland, believing Paul Rudd whenever he acts like he's not going to prank Conan O'Brien with a clip of "Mac and Me," and looking the other way when wondering if Tom Cruise is tall enough to play Jack Reacher. We know that "Antrum" isn't actually killing people ... but it's a whole lot more fun to pretend that it is. This is why there are a multitude of film publications that have written up listicles with titles like "Every Death That Happened After Watching 'Antrum,'" and even tabloid newspapers like The Mirror writing up the death claims as if it were real news.
If you're just scrolling by these articles, it's easy to be tricked into thinking it's a real news story, not unlike the countless examples of people being fooled by satirical pieces from places like The Onion. Hell, I specifically wrote an article titled "Will There Ever Be A 'Jack Frost 2?' Here's What We Know" using an image from the Michael Keaton family film of the same name as the header photo, only to write the majority of the article about the horror film "Jack Frost 2: The Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman." The goal was to prove that people don't read past the headline and based on the number of "Well, actually..." replies I got from people mentioning the horror sequel, I more than made my point. So it's unsurprising that people would still be fooled by the highly effective marketing campaign of "Antrum."
Because like any good horror story, the power is in believing.