Mortal Remains

The story moves between the late 1960s Baltimore filmmaking scene—home to Atticus’s grim, cipher-laden works—and contemporary retrospective interviews that chase those threads. Archival hints and fresh investigations blur the line between documentary inquiry and dangerous myth. This time-jump structure underlines how the past can resurface to alter the present.

The film unfolds across Maryland with a strong Baltimore flavor, grounding its creeping dread in real-world locales. Key settings include a quiet parking garage that harbors the first hints of menace and a cemetery where the investigators push their limits. The atmosphere leans on a working-class, urban landscape known for its tight-knit circles of friends and ambitious filmmakers.

🕵️‍♂️ Obsession

Mark and Chris become consumed by a mystery that seems to grow harder to pin down as they dig. The pursuit of Atticus’s origins pulls them deeper into a labyrinth where every clue leads to more questions. The film uses a paranoid mood—phone calls, creeping dangers, and a sense that some truths are better left buried.

🗝️ Cipher

A historian explains how Vernon Blake’s ciphers function as markers for hidden meanings, and the protagonists begin spotting coded signals in the wild. Atticus’s work is said to hinge on occult symbolism, cryptic messages, and a lineage of cryptograms. The investigators chase a ‘cipher in the wild,’ testing whether fiction conceals a dangerous truth.

🌫️ Blurring Reality

The boundary between documentary inquiry and horror fiction collapses as the investigators confront real threats tied to Atticus’s art. The line between friend, relative, and suspect becomes fuzzy, echoing the film-within-a-film’s unsettled tone. The pursuit’s personal cost rises as Mark endures violence and Chris’s obsession intensifies.