Anacoreta is a clever modern twist on found footage

Anacoreta is a meta found footage horror film directed by Jeremy Schuetze, who also stars. It took home Best Horror Feature at Heartland International Film Festival and Best International Feature at Manchester Film Festival. The film centers on a group of friends who take a trip to an isolated cabin in the middle of nowhere to film an experimental horror movie. The cabin belongs to the director’s grandfather who was the author of a mystery book series. Jeremy brings along Antonia (Antonia Thomas), who has never met the group, but stars in the experimental horror, along with Jesse and Matt, Jeremy's other friends.

Anacoreta immediately starts to blur the line between reality and the movie they are making in the opening scenes when Jeremy tells them the film is supposed to feel like they are acting normally on a trip to the cabin. From that point on, it becomes hard to discern what is "part of the film" and what are real reactions to the world. It is a technique used to instantaneously make the viewer’s perceived reality feel untrustworthy. This stays consistent for the entire run time. While tackling some serious themes of obsession with artistic creation, and how one can manipulate others to do for it, this film keeps the viewer at an arm's length and questioning their very eyes. It is disarming in a pleasant way; it really stretches the bounds of how meta it can get. 

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As Jeremy pushes the group through a series of spooky and unexplained events, their loose dynamic already starts to strain. Jeremy desperately wants this to work, and it quickly becomes clear that he will do anything to see this project through to the end. As the personalities clash, the viewer sees chaos ensue and the group become disorganized and out of sync. Jeremy pulls out every stop at manipulating everyone to see things through, and as a viewer, you constantly wonder if what you are seeing is part of his filmed "script" or if the conflict and incidents on screen are legitimate. As you seek an antagonist, you realize the process itself is the antagonist, the manipulation, the lengths at which people are willing to push for little payout, and the relationships they would stake to get there. 

The found footage aspects of the film feel fresh and extremely well done. This is a modern take at found footage, devoid of panning to the feet or long sequences of running shaky cams. It feels like a sophisticated swipe at a format that has been tackled at so many angles prior. It really bakes in the meta layer too when you can see the boom mic and the sound guy, and you feel like you are watching behind the scenes, before realizing the entire film is behind the scenes, which means nothing is behind the scenes at all. It is a very trippy ride. The plot does feel a little stretched and it requires a lot of setup. This leads to quite a bit of insignificant second act stretches that threaten to completely halt momentum several times throughout. The conclusion is absolutely worth it though, and viewers who push through the confusion and at times sleepy moments, will be rewarded at the end. 

I believe there is a pocket for extremely clever and meta films like Anacoreta that do something completely unique and different in subgenres that are a little tired. Creativity in a saturated market should be rewarded, and this film deserves eyes on it. I think this could resonate with a crowd that likes to have their head swimming after they walk out of a theater. You can see it on demand everywhere now.