Stay Out of the F**king Attic is a 2020 American horror film about a group of ex-cons who uncover a hoard of horrors in a creepy old mansion. Also known as simply Stay Out of the Attic
Directed by Jerren Lauder (Full Ride; The Inhabitant) – making his feature debut – from a screenplay co-written with Julie Auerbach, Jesse Federmanand Jason Scott Goldberg.
The Top Dead Center Films production stars Ryan Francis, Michael Flynn, Morgan Alexandria and Avery Pizzuto. Produced by Gary Auerbach, Dallin Cerva, Jason Scott Goldberg and Tessa Sheilds.
Plot:
A diverse group of ex-cons who work as movers are convinced by their creepy client, Vern Muller, to stay the whole night to finish the job for a generous pay bump.
As the night progresses and rooms are cleared, they slowly uncover the horrors that exist inside his old Victorian mansion, which include boobytraps, human experimentation, Nazi monsters and more…
Reviews:
“Spotty acting. Shaky directing. Then when the film gets its legs under it, there’s more room to walk on the weird side […] The movie offers an entertaining alternative to the headier, more artistic, higher marketed options that foster water cooler talk among the horror community.” Culture Crypt
” …Stay Out of the F**king Attic isn’t even the right kind of dumb to make for a fun evening viewing choice at the weekend with some good food and drinks to accompany your viewing. It does almost nothing right, save for some decent practical effects and a couple of decent ideas that are never properly realised.” For It Is Man’s Number
” …the special effects overall work impressively well. Kudos to the make-up and special effects team for doing a great job! So, if you want to watch a movie that has a simple, but strong enough, story and makes great use of its budget, then this movie is definitely worth checking out. This is solid entertainment!” Heaven of Horror
“The gore is well done, with a few scenes that made me cringe in my seat. Particularly the Nazi malpractice experiments that lead to a lot of eye-gouging and bloodletting. While Stay Out of the Attic isn’t breaking new ground, it’s still a pretty entertaining and brutal horror drama with some memorable characters and performances.” iHorror
“This is a bad film that embraces lurid shock value at the expense of taste and good citizenship. (The mere suggestion that a monster like Mengele could still be alive could be painful to the family members of his victims.) However, everyone involved in its making should have the opportunity to do better in future films. Nonetheless, there is no earthly reason for you to inflict this flick on yourself.” J.B. Spins
“Almost every element – from performances to dialog to cheesy score to practical creature effects – lands as stilted and overly staged. Though Flynn does make an effective villain and one particular creature ain’t half bad, even the brisk 80-minute run of Lauder’s feature debut seems like an overstayed welcome.” MaddWolf
“The small problem with Mengele as a character in this film at least is that he was born in 1911 […] Jerren Lauder produces assorted shock effects with severed eyeballs, surgeries and various mutated figures scuttling about in the attic, including a twin that appears to have been forcibly conjoined. This is okay but there is nothing here that does anything unusual.” Moria
” …there’s precious little tension generated by anything that transpires, and considering what all this abhorrent madness is about that’s pretty dang disappointing and then some […] The actors do give it their best shot, and the gore is unquestionably impressive. But the creaky story leaves too much to be desired…” Moviefreak
“There’s a few stumbling blocks along the way – the addition of two of Mengele’s surviving victims needing to be rescued wasn’t really needed and adds nothing to the overall plot – but the central story of three convicts literally fighting to get out the situation they’re in (a huge metaphor if ever there was one) is a good one.” Nerdly
” …we need films that attack white supremacy. I’m just not really sure that Stay Out of the Attic did it the right way. Large parts of it felt exploitative, and while I appreciate the well-rounded characters and that the film doesn’t want to shy away from the horrors of Nazism, I can’t quite get on board with its approach.” Rue Morgue
The film is at its best when it dips a toe into the more complex issues at hand, particularly the need to (sometimes painfully) shed your former life and decisions you have made, but so often falls back into the more straightforward unpleasantness that it is difficult to gel with. Grim by design, unashamedly shlocky and running at 80 minutes, Stay Out of the Attic is mostly surface, despite its underlying nastiness.” Scared Sheepless
Release date:
The film was picked up by Shudder and premiered on their platform on March 11th 2021.
In the USA, RLJE Films will release the film On-Demand, Digital, DVD and Blu-ray on August 17, 2021.
Cast and characters:
Ryan Francis … Schillinger
Michael Flynn … Vern
Morgan Alexandria … Imani
Avery Pizzuto … Sarah
Bryce Fernelius … Carlos
Brynn Hurlburt
Trailer:
MOVIES & MANIA rating:
