Jeremy Schuetze’s meta found-footage feature, Anacoreta, arrived on digital platforms this week, offering a disorienting dive into the ethics of indie filmmaking. The premise is classic horror fodder: a group of friends retreats to a remote cabin to film an experimental project. However, as the production unravels, the film finds its greatest strength in the escalating ambiguity between scripted scares and genuine peril.
The film-within-a-film lacks a script. At the insistence of Schuetze—who plays the director both behind and in front of the lens—the cameras never stop rolling. This always-on approach keeps the audience off-balance as the central threat constantly evolves. What begins as a perceived mystery man stalking the group shifts to an unusual phenomenon overtaking one of the cast members, before finally settling into the eerie atmospheric tension of a forest haunting. This chaos is expertly manipulated by Schuetze’s character, a director so devoted to his vision that he is willing to psychologically dismantle his friends to capture an authentic reaction.
A testament to Schuetze’s performance, he’s a frustratingly unlikable character. As he pushes his crew to their breaking points, his obsession becomes the film’s most effective monster.
“Anacoreta” is a slow burn, leaving much of the heavy lifting to keep the audience engaged with the ensemble. The cast must strike a difficult chord—feeling authentically “real” while seamlessly slipping into their fictional personas to maintain the film’s central mystery. Schuetze, Antonia Thomas (“The Good Doctor”), Matt Visser (“Fellow Travelers”), and Jesse Stanley (“Van Helsing”) are up to the task, with Thomas in particular providing a grounded emotional anchor amidst the meta-narrative shifts.
By the time the credits roll on this 85-minute descent, many viewers may find themselves as exhausted and bewildered as the characters. “Anacoreta” isn’t a film that provides easy answers; it’s a polarizing commentary on the predatory nature of the filmmaking process itself. If you’re willing to embrace the ambiguity, it’s an interesting experiment—just don’t expect a neat resolution.
Where to watch “Anacoreta”:
