Animus: The Tell-Tale Heart

So Edgar Allen Poe might not be turning in his grave - but that might have something to do with the fact his body has decompensated. What? It's a horror movie, do expect some horror, yes? The movie itself is based on rock solid material obviously, but fails to translate that quite badly onto the screen (or wherever you watch it). Having said that, the filmmakers try their best I reckon and even the bad acting is there to be "enjoyed". But then you have weak (cheap) production values and everything that goes along with that. Even bad sound - which made me switch to the german dub for a second. And that was coincidently the worst shock of the movie ... disastrous dubbing work! But yeah, save time, save your nerves - just better not watch

ANIMUS is in fact an indie reworking of Edgar Allan Poe's THE TELL-TALE HEART, here turned into a modern day revenge story with thriller aspects. As is usual for this genre of filmmaking, the general lack of available funds makes it something of an amateurish mess, although it's not without merit. The story is slow and unremarkable, but the photography is clear and the colour palette a good one. It's a pity the narrative feels so disjointed with the cod psychology failing to grab the viewer's attention. In the end, ANIMUS is a bit too arty and obtuse for its own good.

When Jonathan (Axel Harney) kills his girlfriend and cuts her body in pieces, her father Edgar (Rick Dethlefsen) becomes obsessed to revenge his beloved only daughter. He seeks out Jonathan at his father real estate in an isolated area and when he finds the man hidden in the barn, he commits suicide hanging himself. Edgar has nightmares and listens to Jonathan'voice, affecting his personal life. He decides to revenge the death of his daughter killing Jonathan's father Mr. Nelson (Bruce Spielbauer); however his colleague and friend Caroline (Dana Blackstone) feels that Edgar is becoming deranged and follows him. They stop their cars on the road and Edgar kills Caroline. Then he breaks in Mr. Nelson's house and kills him. Then he cuts his body in pieces and hides them beneath the floor. Out of the blue, two police officers arrive at Mr. Nelson's house and interrogate Edgar about the whereabouts of the owner. What will Edgar do? "Animus: The Tell-Tale Heart" is a lame tale of revenge, madness and murder. The flawed plot is boring and I have unsuccessfully tried to watch this film since last Tueday, but I slept all these days. Today I have finally succeeded in watching but I regret. The story is annoying; the direction and performances are bad; the edition is irritating. My vote is two. Title (Brazil): "Busca de Vingança" ("Seeking Revenge")