Released in 2018,

American Antichrist, six vignettes provide an insight into a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by deviant and vile characters, including a serial killer, raised from the dead, a sadistic drug dealer with connections to a snuff film ring, and a female drug addict who will do anything to get her next fix.

American Antichrist takes the viewer on a bizarre, nihilistic voyage, full of evil, death, drugs, religion and immorality.

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When viewing a micro budget film, there are certain things you can expect. The film most likely won’t be perfect, at least on a technical level, and may not always have the best acting or camera work. With that being said, these micro budget films often provide something that the big Hollywood crews cannot. What a one man crew lacks in technical ability, it often makes up for in providing the unique, personal vision of the auteur.

That is what we get with American Antichrist, a 50 minute nightmare that seems to be putting style and tone at the forefront, rather than focusing on plot. The structure of the film is essentially a bunch of short vignettes that are intended to be dark and disturbing. Many of them don’t really seem to have any plot at all and are just a quick idea or a disturbing moment. If I had to compare the film to anything else, I suppose I would compare it to Sin City (2005). We are shown a desolate town, covered in graffiti, that seems to be almost abandoned, save for a few druggies, killers, and other shady characters.  We are immediately thrusted into the mind of the director and we get to see his unique vision. 

The cinematography isn’t great on a technical level, but the nauseating green filter gives it a unique look and feel, so I’ll give them credit for doing something different. Most of the outdoor scenes, which are mostly filed at night, look surprisingly good for an indie film. We don’t get a lot of unwanted noise or grain in low light situations. However, many of the indoor scenes seem to be blown out and over exposed, which is weird and detracts from the film. This is probably the only no budget film ever in which the outdoor night shots look better than the indoor shots. The soundscape seems to have low white noise running throughout, with random bursts of heavy metal music occasionally coming on. I think the sound work was far from perfect, but was good enough for a film like this. Again, at least they tried something unique.

Overall, American Antichrist gives us a nightmarish world and a feeling of utter darkness. While the plot seemed nonsensical, and the characters mostly just blurred together, the film doesn’t come across as transgressive or edgy as it was clearly intended to be. We got to see an auteur’s unique vision. One person put his thoughts and nightmares up on the screen for us to enjoy.

While this film certainly isn’t for everybody, it stood out and was memorable.