Thehorror genrehas become stuffed with recycled killers and overly familiarrevenge plots, but every so often, there is a release that subverts these expectations to break the mold and offer something truly unique for audiences. One such release isDakota Ray’s 2018 filmAmerican Antichrist, where catharsis and good vs. evil are forgotten ideals of the past – in this film, the battle has already been lost, and rot emerged as the victor.
American Antichristconsists of six vignettes that paint a beyond-bleak picture of a post-apocalyptic world filled with vile characters. One such character is a serial killer brought back from the dead who is haunted by visions of hell, drifting through the desolate wasteland of urban ruins, occult rituals, and broken lives that have no hope remaining. While the film pushes a clear, singular narrative to the wayside in favor of providing a drug-fueled trip through hell,American Antichristprovides something unlike other genre releases. Without afinal showdownor an escalating force of evil,American Antichristprovides onlya descent into a world where evil simply exists as the primary shaping force. Ray, both directing and starring in the film as the aforementionedserial killer, embodies a force of destruction that feels less like the standard genre antagonist and more like an unavoidable fact of what nature has become. There are no stakes to overcome or potential victims to save – only rot spreading endlessly in a world that is already lost.
On the surface,American Antichristfits the profile of a microbudget, lo-fi indie horror with its grainy visuals and stitched-together scenes. Unlike many other DIY horror films, Ray uses the limitations of this format as a weapon to make his film stand out. There’s no plot arc to follow, nofinal girl,no sense of victory as the film concludes. Instead, audiences witness a slow drift through Satanic imagery and urban decay, with whispered monologues that feel as though they’re being delivered by someone – or something – otherworldly, demanding focus.
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The microbudget contributes deeply toAmerican Antichristdelivering an atmosphere that is perfect for a world so devoid of hope. Visually, the dirty textures and washed-out colors make the world itself feel dirty, and as the camera lingers on crumbling buildings, filthy altars, and bodies that blend into the landscape rather than being used for shock factor, it becomes clear thatthe world itself is sick and beyond saving. The violent hits are sudden but stripped of genre flair – there aren’t clever and inventive kills, justpure damage and death.
Beyond the visual, the factor that makesAmerican Antichristgenuinely unsettling is its refusal to treat evil as something that arrives. There is no monster that shows up in an unsuspecting town, no supernatural force or curse that descends upon its next victim(s). Terror is woven into the very fabric of the world, with no inciting event or escalation. This is where Ray separates his film from otherindie horror releases. While many low-budget horror movies cling to a familiar structure to win over audiences, opting to pay off their viewers’ time with twists, redemption, and a resolution that makes the horrors worthwhile,American Antichristoffers none. There is no light at the end of the tunnel –hope has been completely forgotten by this world, and corrosion is all that’s left.
Resurrection Has No Meaning in ‘American Antichrist’
Because there is no moral framing to cushion the film’s blows,American Antichristis worse than bleak –it’s existentially exhaustive. Evil doesn’t win in the film because it fights harder against protagonists who just couldn’t win – there are no protagonists present to even attempt to fight, and evil wins because there are no forces of good around to try to stop it. Horror has become undeniably obsessed withelevated genre films, where there are metaphors behind the kills, trauma arcs, and lessons embedded into every monologue. Ray’s film has no interest in delivering any of these –it is an unapologetic rejection of the idea that nightmares on-screen require a deeper meaning. Resurrection doesn’t mean second chances inAmerican Antichrist– in fact, it doesn’t truly mean anything at all. There is no purpose behind the serial killer’s rebirth beyond spreading even more rot in the world.
