Anyone who’s practiced yoga knows that things can get culty pretty quickly—the mix of spiritualism and endurance just does that to some people. So it was with this in mind that I sat in for the final screening of the deadCenter’s Mind Body Spirit on Saturday.
Fear the Yoga Horror
A struggling young woman, Anya, has just moved into her late grandmother’s house. She’s embarking as a fitness influencer but doesn’t quite know what she’s doing, the camera rolling on her multiple takes as she struggles to find her voice and persona. Of course, this being a horror film, strange noises draw her to a secret series of rooms where her grandma conveniently left her a book of rituals and illustrations, some in Cyrillic, which becomes the focus of her new yoga practice and videos.
This was a pandemic film with a small crew and cast, inspired, according to the leads, by Yoga with Adriene. And I love Yoga with Adriene. Shot in just 10 days in a house in Altadena, it’s a solid little indie horror with some great scares and impressive VFX shots.
The film creatively presents the story as a video playlist found on the dark web, so the videos play sequentially with occasional buffering and ad breaks. I enjoyed the fresh take on found footage, with a ghostly camera operator at points and, somehow, recorded FaceTime calls included.
A Good Time With an Uncertain Tone
Story-wise, there’s not a lot to surprise in the plot. If you’re a horror film fan and you see a plucky young character decide to follow rituals in a strange book, you know it’s going to end badly, and you can probably guess where things go. But this bloody journey is good fun, as horror films often can be, and the creative framework of the month-long “practice” keeps the pacing quick and gives the plot direction.
Writer/directors Matthew Merrenda and Alex Henes are clearly savvy horror fans who know Evil Dead (and even reference it at one point) and do a good job blending that kind of world with online yoga. Tonally, however, the movie is a bit disjointed—they don’t do the full camp of Sam Raimi but at several points play scenes for laughs (there’s one ad break that feels really out of place) and in the next scene are expected to be taken deadly serious. But again, it’s an enjoyable ride.
A Disconnect Between Mind and Spirit
Unfortunately, the film is at its weakest when Anya interacts directly with other characters, which is when the plot tends to stall, conflict feels more manufactured and dialogue gets a little stilted. Not to say the performances aren’t strong. But actor Sara Bartholomew is giving it her all throughout, and her lone journey is extremely compelling. Perhaps I selfishly would like to see this as a solo vehicle for Anya that preserves that sort of parasocial relationship she has with the viewer—and maybe there’s something more interesting and surprising that could have been explored in that realm to take viewers in a new direction.
Mind Body Spirit loses a bit more balance in the final act, but we do get some nice, cathartic violence, and for many horror fans, that will be enough.
Namaste.
Find more deadCenter 2023 coverage at The Cinematropolis.
