1974: The Possession of Altair proves once again that every horror movie would be better if it was shot on Super 8 film.
Somewhere in Mexico, Altair and Manuel celebrate their new marriage by adopting an adorable li’l dog named Carlo. The couple also goes on picnics, role-plays in the bedroom, and throws a party at their pastoral home. Altair seems happy with her job as a teacher . . . until she isn’t. Inexplicably, Altair becomes distant. She has intense dreams and hears voices. A shipment of bricks arrives at the house. Instead of going to work, Altair paints the bricks black and constructs two portals in the basement and bedroom. Is this the work of a poltergeist? Satanic possession? Or is it something more diabolical?
It’s hard work being a found footage horror junkie. For every lovely, life-enriching experience with Kôji Shiraishi’s Noroi or Aislinn Clarke’s The Devil’s Doorway, we have to sit through stuff like The Houses That October Built—the horror movie equivalent of seeing The Offspring at Woodstock ‘99. Like any addiction, the highs are what keep us coming back. With that in mind, I’m happy to report that 1974 got me really, really high.
This is a found footage phantasm from Mexico that was made by first-time filmmaker Victor Dryere. Like most found footage horror movies, 1974 doesn’t rock the boat. The basic beats from The Blair Witch Project are all here and accounted for, thank you. But speaking as a found footage addict, that doesn’t bother me. Life’s too short to care about photocopied ideas or gaps in logic. What I DO care about is where the movie takes me. Dryere’s thoughtful attention to detail, combined with the fact that 1974 was shot entirely on Super 8 film, reveals a gorgeously haunting experience that is not of this planet.
Warm and soothing like a Beach House song, but still showing plenty of teeth, 1974 embraces analog technology to fashion something otherworldly—an experimental exploration of fear and trauma with the assistance of found footage magick. This is a slowburn hangout movie that doesn’t feel like a slowburn hangout movie because the textures are so engaging. Foggy imagery. Evil soundscapes. Subtle scares at just the right moments. Everything is skillfully orchestrated. Surprises are abundant. The 78-minute runtime feels just right. The only downside is that you’ll most likely never look at the sky in the same way again.
P.S. Now my YouTube algorithm is fucked, because I had to search for that Offspring link. You’re welcome!
