The Attic Expeditions (2002)
Trevor Blackburn is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Faith, in a brutal ritual. He's sentenced to live in an experimental rehabilitation community and falls into a coma. When he wakes up, he meets the mysterious Dr. Ek, who tortures Trevor in an attempt to learn the whereabouts of a powerful occult book. As other patients start to disappear, Trevor begins to wonder who and where he really is.
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People are voting emotionally.
Don't Believe the Hype
A waste of 90 minutes of my life
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
This is a movie with many "1" and many "10" ratings which tells how uncompromising it is. It can easily be misunderstood, misinterpreted or over-analyzed. The story doesn't follow a straight line of Truth. It has branches towards possible alternatives which is extremely confusing, but deliberately so, since we are taking part in the experiences of a highly confused individual who is treated for insanity. Warning: this movie is playing games with your mind and may not fulfill your expectations in case you are looking for a typical madman horror flick. I'd personally recommend it nonetheless, as there are few unusual productions like this which manage to enter the commercial market, and there is an interesting cast featuring Jeffrey Combs and Ted Raimi as 2 doctors, Seth Green (who played Scott Evil in the 'Austin Powers' movies) and - heaven forbid - heavy metal legend Alice Cooper as a guest star.
Trevor Blackburn(Andras Jones)is an amnesiac told by his psychiatric doctor, brain specialist Dr. Ek(Jeffrey Combs as eccentric as ever)that he was an unhinged, hard-to-handle criminal who was behind the murder of his lover Faith(Beth Bates). Ek sends him to the House of Love, supposedly a mental recuperation center for others with insanity issues. Ek wishes for Trevor to regain his buried memories and place his confounding images into their proper context. What Trevor doesn't know is that Ek has cameras throughout the house, set up to study him. He has also planted actors in the house to pose as mental patients so to increase Trevor's mental collapse. What's sad is that Trevor is really nothing more than a lab animal for Ek's experimentation..tampering with his mind until he snaps. What Ek is really after is a book of magick for which Trevor only knows it's whereabouts. We also get a peek inside the madness within Trevor's mind where we see weird, often homicidal, images. We get visions of a reoccuring dream Travis has of an attic with a trunk. That trunk symbolically represents his mind..inside it is what has been locked away from him. The mystery of that book is really at the heart of this crazy little movie.Call it what you want. Wacky. Quirky. Colorful. Dizzying. Director Jeremy Kasten keeps the viewer on edge so we can experience the same hysteria like Trevor. The film even offers up the idea that Faith's being has came to life within Trevor's mind to get that book using someone in the House of Love as a host to kill him. Supposedly in that magick book is a key to immortality, but Trevor and Faith had to die together. But, you're never quite sure what is going on which is either part of the fun or agony depending on how much the viewer likes being pulled on the tail. Lots of B-actors here like Combs as the doctor, Ted Raimi as a writer who bares witness to Combs' madness and becomes threatened by him, Seth Green as "loony" Douglas who becomes a possible ally to Trevor.The film is really a visual marvel on such a low budget and a credit to imaginative filmmakers who really want to mind-screw you.
Me and some friends rented this... "Why?" I hear you ask... We thought it was fate that had lead us to this cinematic piece of art. Little did we know that it in fact, actually did (believe it, or not) SUCK! I have seen some bad movies in my time... but this is without a doubt the worst ever. It actually made "Tale of the Mummy", Trance (aka Kiss of the Mummy w/ Christoffer Walken) and any given Mr. Ed episode look like cinematic art that could surpass each and everyone of the Lord of the Rings Movies.... My movie-taste feels raped, and it's unsettling to know that money was paid to watch it :-( ... That's probably the most kind words I can use to describe that thing I refuse to call a movie...
The story, which reminds me of awakening from a bad dream, makes for an interesting movie. The main character, Trevor Blackburn (Andras Jones), convicted for the murder of his fiancée, has been left in the care of psychiatrist Dr. Ek (Jeffrey Combs). As a result of Dr. Ek's treatment Trevor suffers amnesia. Viewer and main character alike are challenged with separating dream from reality as the main character pieces together his memories. There is an occult dimension in the movie but its significance is never elaborated in the open ended script. However, the script is elegant and leaves ample room for interpretation.Rather disappointingly though, the atmosphere never builds dense enough to support the story. I blame this on the hallmarks of low budget production that shine through. Acting is wooden and the set decor and make up kitschy. There is not a single interesting camera angle throughout. However, the score is quite good, as was the opening credits.Within the group of small budget horror movies I'd give this movie an eight, however, given that this is not a cult movie and there are so many better movies out there, I've settled on a 3.