ANACORETA Review: Creativity Kills

There are few things as scary as a man with a vision, in politics or in the creative industry and Anacoreta is a case study taken to an extreme.

The film follows Jeremy (Jeremy Schuetze) and Antonia (Antonia Thomas), a young director and his actor girlfriend as Antonia prepares to meet his friends for the first time. In addition to some time away we learn that Jeremy wants to shoot a horror film in the family cabin they are about to sell.

The whole group including Jeremy’s brother Matt (Matt Visser) and their friend Jesse (Jesse Stanley) are actors so this initially looks like a solid idea. Lots of actors-turned-directors recruit their actor friends to help with projects. What could go wrong?

What did I just watch?

The first thing I started thinking about when we really got into things with Anacoreta was Blair Witch Project. I think it might have been the fact that this group of friends were together to make a movie as well as hang out. However, we are never quite sure which idea came first.

A small group of actors with a director with vision. There are so many ways this could go wrong but I still did not manage to predict the ending. I’m not even sure if I know what happened in the end.

Still there is plenty here outside of finding out how it all ends. The logline of the film gives ample warning of what we will be watching but that’s not quite the same as experiencing it along with the group. Jeremy is every actor’s nightmare of a director come to life, he almost sounds reasonable right up until he isn’t.

Not Another Cabin Movie

While many horror films set in a cabin, or a snowed in home are just as much about the inter-relationships as the supernatural entity or killer with a knife Anacoreta really leans towards our little group of creatives.

Once you really get into the film the anxiety levels just sky rocket. If Jeremy was willing to do that what else then what else is waiting for us. It makes you question everything you have seen. You end up feeling like a detective looking over a crime scene trying to figure out what led to all this.

That’s really as much as I can talk about without things getting spoilery but I will say as crazy as things get it is also fun. Those of us who hang around with creatives

Anacoreta will be available on demand from 21 February 2025.