“Mind Body Spirit” (Hoopla) is evidence that micro-budget indie filmmaking is alive and well – maybe even healthier than ever. Writer-directors Alex Henes and Matthew Merenda take a simple found-footage horror premise, find a good actress to carry us through the 80 minutes, and – even though the closing credits are the shortest I’ve seen in years – deliver a satisfying experience.
Sarah J. Bartholomew is in every scene as Anya, a young woman who inherits her grandmother’s house in California and moves away from her disappointed East Coast mother. The filmmakers have fun with the idea that Anya is recording YouTube yoga videos – and isn’t particularly good at it – and we’re seeing the footage.
It comes complete with things Anya doesn’t know about, such as figures in the background (Mike Flanagan would likely approve) and the camera moving by itself – often in a manner that riffs on the innovative oscillating fan footage from “Paranormal Activity 3.”
“Mind Body Spirit” (2024)
Directors: Alex Henes, Matthew Merenda
Writers: Topher Hendricks, Alex Henes, Matthew Merenda
Stars: Sarah J. Bartholomew, Madi Bready, KJ Flahive
Anya calls herself an “imposter influencer,” and that’s a fair description because she’s aiming to help people yet can’t help herself – until she’s (possibly) helped by her grandma’s old journal, written partly in Russian and also an older, mysterious dialect. We know her house is haunted, but Anya is rather oblivious, even as she takes us (via the camera) with her into hidden back stairwells and rooms. Still, Bartholomew – pulling off some contortionist-like moves in the yoga scenes — makes Anya come off as appealingly naïve more so than stupid.
Although the scares are worthy, I absorbed “Mind Body Spirit’s” cheekiness slightly more than the horror. I’m not quibbling with the 80-minute runtime, as this is a “get in and get out” type of story. But because the story is so quick-hitting, it likely won’t linger in your nightmares.
Clever embellishments
Granted, the humor is pretty smart. When the screen showed “Ad in 3 …” I thought “Wait, my Hoopla library rental has ads?” I watched the ad with suspicion but wasn’t totally sure it was part of the film till the ad’s subject, Kenzi Fit (Madi Bready), popped up afterward as Anya’s friend. The filmmakers also utilize that dreaded spinning wheel that indicates streaming troubles, so the first time you see it, you might question your internet connection.
Despite these gags that suggest the filmmakers were chuckling as they made the movie, “Mind Body Spirit” effectively grapples with Anya’s conundrum. She needs help, she admirably tries to help herself and also accepts some assistance — from sort-of friend Kenzi, who actually is a successful influencer. And yet this might be the wrong choice.
This is solid, non-cynical horror stuff: Anya does what our mental-health-conscious society says is right, but what if she trusts the wrong person? “Mind Body Spirit” would’ve been more amazing if it really dug into the cruelness of a world that turns on people who do the right thing. Ironically, the film’s artful proficiency keeps it in the “good” range rather than “great.”
It’s a very 2020s film with its themes but even more so with how it’s made. This is the most efficient of films, mostly shot in one house – and primarily in the yoga room, despite the intrigue of those blocked-off spaces. But all the special effects – for instance during a sequence where Anya is tripping on shrooms — are what they need to be. I just know logically that they’re done with modern computer programs.
What would’ve been stunning tech achievements 50 years ago are of course run-of-the-mill now, and Henes’ and Merenda’s effort will likely have a small audience to go with its small budget. But as a strong entry in the burgeoning subgenre of “influencer found footage,” “Mind Body Spirit” deserves a like and a follow.