The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11 New 2022 Netflix Movie Review and explain

A bittersweet retelling of a terrifying period in US history


  Perhaps there is nothing more terrifying in this world than an invisible killer. No, I'm not talking about a ghostbuster, I'm talking about a virus. In the case of Anthrax Attacks, the biological weapon of choice is (yes, you guessed it!) Anthrax. Days after 9/11, the United States was caught in yet another terror frenzy, this time caused by the mailing of deadly anthrax spores to various figures in various positions of power. In this 90-minute documentary, Anthrax Attacks breaks down the events from the first letter sent to the point at which the FBI officially closed the investigation. 





Made by Oscar-nominated director Dan Krauss, Anthrax Attacks has a rather unconventional and experimental style, which has both positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, it's a detailed account of what happened at the time, complete with lots of talking head interviews and archival footage. On the other hand, there are a lot of repetitive scenes that almost mirror this documentary style. Suffice it to say, this will be a polarizing style.


  The film begins with the dispatch of the aforementioned Anthrax letters. It was soon discovered that these had passed through the Brentwood post office and subsequently infected the unsuspecting employees there. 




 There is an underlying theme of the rich getting preferential treatment over the poor, especially when a facility is found to be unsafe and operating within 10 days of a known incident. This subplot coalesces around an FBI investigation that soon turns out to be the most expensive in their history ... and one of the more controversial.

  With very few suspects, the FBI ran back and forth between eccentric virologist Dr. Bruce Ivins and Steve Hatfill, who was quickly presented as a sacrificial lamb and patsy to try to gain the attention of the FBI's attention-seeking media. . All this is quite interesting and makes you anxious to find out who is responsible for this heinous crime.


  Although there are a number of repeated scenes involving Dr Bruce Ivins surrounding this docu-style presentation. We're told early on that the FBI interviews were re-enacted using their notes, but reverted to this late in the documentary era, resulting in it feeling a bit too flashy and over-stylized. We get reverberating sounds, extreme close-ups and other shooting techniques that you would associate with a dramatic thriller.





 

Fantasy Thriller 


 Because it's nothing more than a fantasy thriller, the film sometimes feels like it's struggling to bridge the gap between these two states. However, there are other points where it works quite well, especially when it comes to surrounding music. Hats off to the audio team for this; the sound design in this film is absolutely exemplary from start to finish.

  Anthrax attacks are a bitter reminder of a frightening period in US history. While the jumps between reenactments and documentary style don't always line up so well, there's enough here to sink your teeth into all the same. It's a gritty, sober look at the horrific attack and the confusing investigation that followed. Netflix has yet another solid documentary to add to its popular catalog.

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