Here we have an oddly enjoyable experience pitting the incomparable Jeffrey Combs, playing the wonderfully diabolical Doctor Ek, against the psyche of our main character, Trevor Blackburn, a man awakening in a sanitarium after a four year hiatus from reality with only fragments of yesterday to feed from. The good doctor muddles the matter for our memory-devoid lead even more by telling him that he was involved in the bloody murder of his fiancee while participating in, as Blackburn himself supposedly described it before his little 48 month nap, "a magikal ceremony gone awry." Ek then tells Blackburn not to worry about the reluctancy of his mind, that he will be giving him the best care possible by sending him to the esteemed "House of Love" and that his memory may come back to him there. From the moment he steps foot into the House that Ek Built Blackburn can tell something is awry, though, for everything from those strangely patterned walls that induce a feeling of Deja-vu to the introductions to his curiously deranged cohabitants that seem oddly untrustworthy makes him uncomfortable, making him (and the viewer) wonder what's really going on. His dreams further complicate things, showing him a place in the attic with a somewhat familiar trunk in it, one that holds secrets in both reality and within Trevor's mind.

Even in the opening sequences you can tell that this movie is going to have some plot complexities and defy the atypical approach to psychological horror, introducing the viewer to a strange framework from the initial "waking up on the operating table and not knowing who you are or what's going on" stages to the diced bits of memory that Blackburn slowly beings to recall and, finally, to both the build and the ending that keeps you guessing until the end. There are even a few Great Old One connotations sprinkled in there for the fun (and to make the ceremony seem a bit more delicious), further getting my Lovecraftian blood pumping. Its worth watch multiple times if only for the torment of it all.


Not for Scream fans...   August 2, 2005
techiechic
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is not a movie made for the typical horror movie fan. This movie makes you think about the plot and most of the time whatever your thinking is wrong.

There's no teenagers being hacked to death by a pyscho murderer whilst having sex. There's no half naked girl running through the woods trying to avoid Jason or some other weapon weilding murderer. There isn't even a timeline.

Nothing in this movie is what it seems and nothing should be taken as what it looks like. I worked with the writer for awhile and this movie is something that only he could come up with. I never would have picked up on certain things if I had never known him.

Anyway, this is a movie for someone who wants to be mentally stimulated and not just sit in front of the TV and stare while the same plot as the other 20 movies in the franchise glows on the screen.

Give the movie a chance and watch it twice so you pick up on all the little things you missed the first time.


Brain Salad...   May 23, 2008
Bindy Sue Frønkünschtein (under the rubble)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Yes, THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS is indeed a different type of movie. However, it isn't unique in it's sur-reality or it's odd structure. It fits right in w/ movies like CARNIVAL OF SOULS, DON'T LOOK NOW, PHANTASM, JACOB'S LADDER, HORROR, IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, MEMENTO, SPIDER, PI, DARK CORNERS, VAMP, AFTER HOURS, etc. in it's weirdness and atmosphere. The plot turns in on itself, disorienting us while creeping us out. Trevor Blackburn (Andras Jones) is a man trapped in a nightmare world of insanity, conspiracy, black magik, and murder. Just how much of it is real? How much is induced through drugs and brain-tampering? Dr. Ek (Jeffrey Combs!) performs experimental surgeries on Trevor and sends him to "The House Of Love" (run by Wendy Robie from The People Under The Stairs!) in order to get to the secrets hidden deep within Trevor's damaged mind. Secrets that will help Ek to rule the world! Or is he just trying to help Trevor to regain his memory? Nothing is as it appears, well, perhaps some of it is... I think. Anyway, EXPEDITIONS is a nice twisty film w/ lots of oddity and gruesomeness. I would recommend watching this one a couple of times in a row, as the first viewing might seem confusing... P.S.- Seth Green is excellent as Douglas...