“Arkham Sanitarium: Soul Eater”
Follow this link for more information.
Mark Chambers, ghost hunter, tries to get the jump on his friends and collaborators, Jerry and Linda Novak, by entering the infamous Arkham Sanitarium before them. Famous for the Cthulhu sex and death cult which prayed upon the vulnerable and disabled young girls who were patients at Arkham, had been rumored to be haunted by Lovecraftian horrors.
This micro budget, indie, found footage flick is kind of fun and wild, though not totally a found footage film, as the filmmakers use flashes of all sorts of weird imagery, including what could have been actual news reel clips, original claymation and bad CGI. The actual found footage parts, are decent. Some of the other additions, such as the voicemail, though I understand the significance, could have been integrated into the story better and more smoothly.
The characters are entertaining. Mark Chambers (Shannon Brown) is the guy you love to hate, a charismatic, charming, selfish ass. Linda (Rinska Currasco), though fiery in some scenes, falls flat in others. The ghost of the girl, Anna, is handled very nicely, though I would have preferred a younger girl in the role.
There is a lot going on in this film even though the story is a straight up survive the night in a haunted asylum flick. I think had the filmmakers simplified, streamlined, and focused a little less on representing the madness of Cthulhu aspect, it would have been a more solid film.
If you’re a fan of micro budget, indie, supernatural horror, this might be right up your ally.
