DIRECTED BYSteve Carpenter
STARRINGMelissa Sagemiller - Cassie
Wes Bentley - Matt
Eliza Dushku - Annabel
Casey Affleck - Sean
Luke Wilson - Father Jude
Angela Featherstone - Raven
Year - 2001
Running Time: 85 minutes
Score - 0.5 Howls Outta 4
Wes Bentley - Matt
Eliza Dushku - Annabel
Casey Affleck - Sean
Luke Wilson - Father Jude
Angela Featherstone - Raven
Year - 2001
Running Time: 85 minutes
Score - 0.5 Howls Outta 4
Death is a constant. It's the only certain thing we can claim in our lives. It's all around us. We can't escape it. Obviously, many films have dealt with the issue of death. Is there a Heaven? What about Hell? What exactly awaits us in the afterlife? Will any of us ever know?
If you're looking for the answers to these questions in Steve [no relation to John] Carpenter's film, SOUL SURVIVORS, you're gonna be greatly disappointed. But if you want to see a love story, idiots wearing plastic masks, and everything else that makes modern horror films so friggin' crappy - then this, my friends, is your film. Welcome to SOUL SURVIVORS, one of the worst horror films I have ever seen in my life.
PLOT
Cassie (Melissa Sagemiller) is getting ready for college life. Her boyfriend Sean (Casey Affleck) is leaving for Harvard, however, so the two decide to go the "long distance relationship" route. That never works! Anyway, Cassie has one last hurrah at a rave with Sean, her ex Matt (Wes Bentley), and his promiscuous yet hot girlfriend Annabel (Eliza Dushku). Sean accidentally [how convenient] catches Matt and Cassie sharing a kiss, leading to several moments of awkwardness amongst the four friends. The awkwardness leads to arguing, which leads to Cassie crashing her car into another car, causing her car to roll down a cliff and destroy both cars.
Cassie (Melissa Sagemiller) is getting ready for college life. Her boyfriend Sean (Casey Affleck) is leaving for Harvard, however, so the two decide to go the "long distance relationship" route. That never works! Anyway, Cassie has one last hurrah at a rave with Sean, her ex Matt (Wes Bentley), and his promiscuous yet hot girlfriend Annabel (Eliza Dushku). Sean accidentally [how convenient] catches Matt and Cassie sharing a kiss, leading to several moments of awkwardness amongst the four friends. The awkwardness leads to arguing, which leads to Cassie crashing her car into another car, causing her car to roll down a cliff and destroy both cars.
After a quick advance in the story, we learn Cassie is at college grieving over Sean's death [Matt and Annabel survived]. She's haunted by the accident and by appearances from Sean, trying to make sense of what's going on around her. This includes being chased by plastic masked people, watching her tub squirt blood, having ridiculous nose bleeds, dreaming about a hospital, etc. Is Cassie nuts? Could she be a ghost? Is she really the SOUL SURVIVOR? Who in the hell cares? I sure don't.
REVIEW
This film is one of the worst pieces of celluloid I have ever seen in my life. It started off kind of good but then just went completely downhill from t
here. I thought Uwe Boll films were bad, but at least they have cohesion and make some kind of sense. SOUL SURVIVORS has neither. Apparently, the theater release was PG-13 but a minute was added to the DVD to give it an R rating. Even with extra blood, boobies, lesbian, and "terror" input into this "Killer Cut", I was still left unsatisfied. I should have watched some porn. Instead, I wasted 85 minutes on this piece of crap. My mistake.
here. I thought Uwe Boll films were bad, but at least they have cohesion and make some kind of sense. SOUL SURVIVORS has neither. Apparently, the theater release was PG-13 but a minute was added to the DVD to give it an R rating. Even with extra blood, boobies, lesbian, and "terror" input into this "Killer Cut", I was still left unsatisfied. I should have watched some porn. Instead, I wasted 85 minutes on this piece of crap. My mistake.
What went wrong here? Well let's start with the script, or the lack thereof. You know, all I ask for from a script is that it makes sense. I just want it to go from Point A to Point B to Point C without me wondering how it got to each Point. Hell, I don't even mind twist endings as long as they make sense to the film's context. Is that so hard to ask for? Apparently for Steve Carpenter, it is. I have no idea what the point of this film is! It was like watching random images edited together that had no relation to each other whatsoever. Dead Sean pops up here and there, giving strange messages to Cassie like I'm supposed to understand what he means. Then he disappears out of nowhere, making me wonder what the hell is going on. Not only does the dead do that, but so do the living. People chase Cassie. She turns around. These people are gone. Were there people there to begin with? Is Cassie seeing things? Am I having an ulcer? You sure bet I am! And how can you show an event two or three times and have them be completely different each time they're shown? It's ridiculous! And what about the d
ude with the plastic mask? Who in the hell was he? It's never explained! Apparently Carpenter thought this would be a hip film for the younger crowd. Well the dude needs a hip replacement. Like NOW! When I take a "number two", I expect to see poop in my toilet bowl. When I see a film, I expect to see a movie that I can understand.
ude with the plastic mask? Who in the hell was he? It's never explained! Apparently Carpenter thought this would be a hip film for the younger crowd. Well the dude needs a hip replacement. Like NOW! When I take a "number two", I expect to see poop in my toilet bowl. When I see a film, I expect to see a movie that I can understand.
And this film is so full of cliches, it's not even funny. When Cassie and her ex Matt kiss, how much you wanna bet that her current boyfriend Sean will catch them in the act? Oh! Look at that! He catches them in the act! I never saw THAT coming! Oh, what about the nosebleed incident by Cassie during her final exam? I bet that's gonna be a dream sequence. Well look at that! It is! And the ending...geez. I saw that coming a mile away. And it STILL doesn't make sense! If he's part of the Writer's Strike, I hope he continues to picket even after things are settled. I don't want this Carpenter fool to write or direct another film as long as he lives.
Speaking of the direction, Carpenter is better doing that than writing a sensible story. He used a lot of angles, jump cuts, bright colors, surreal images, and a quick pace. Honestly, I liked the look of the film and Carpenter did a decent job behind the camera. I actually blame the studios for messing his visuals up. The MPAA was probably on their backs and they decided to change Carpenter's vision of the film. I don't want to see Carpenter's true version of this film [watching this once is enough for me] but I'm sure it was a lot better than what I saw.
The acting was actually semi-decent in this film. Melissa Sagemiller as Cassie carried the film as best as she could [what a trooper]. She was pretty to look at, quite likable, and a good thespian. Why in the hell was she in 
this film!? Someone needs a talk with their agent. Casey Affleck was okay as Cassie's boyfriend, Sean. He liked to whisper and use his puppy dog eyes to get his schtick across. He had decent chemistry with Sagemiller as well. Too bad this film was too horrible for me to care. Wes Bentley didn't play a serial killer but he sure looked like one. Does the guy look naturally crazed/angry? Anyway, he played a desperate prick that I didn't really give a shit about. Eliza Dushku played a woman with lesbian tendencies. Yet no clothes came off! Oh Eliza, show me a little Faith! Or two. She looked hot but nothing else. Angela Featherstone creeped me out as the androgynous Raven. I really don't understand what he deal was but at least she was semi-memorable. Too bad she had that disgusting licking kiss scene with Dushku. Lesbians are cool but that was just sloppy. Turn off! And Luke Wilson cashed a check as a young priest. He looked bored actually. I don't blame him. Even with decent acting from some of the actors, the film is still crap.
this film!? Someone needs a talk with their agent. Casey Affleck was okay as Cassie's boyfriend, Sean. He liked to whisper and use his puppy dog eyes to get his schtick across. He had decent chemistry with Sagemiller as well. Too bad this film was too horrible for me to care. Wes Bentley didn't play a serial killer but he sure looked like one. Does the guy look naturally crazed/angry? Anyway, he played a desperate prick that I didn't really give a shit about. Eliza Dushku played a woman with lesbian tendencies. Yet no clothes came off! Oh Eliza, show me a little Faith! Or two. She looked hot but nothing else. Angela Featherstone creeped me out as the androgynous Raven. I really don't understand what he deal was but at least she was semi-memorable. Too bad she had that disgusting licking kiss scene with Dushku. Lesbians are cool but that was just sloppy. Turn off! And Luke Wilson cashed a check as a young priest. He looked bored actually. I don't blame him. Even with decent acting from some of the actors, the film is still crap.
THE FINAL HOWL
I barely survived SOUL SURVIVORS. For an 85 minute film, it felt like 85 hours. I really don't know what happened with this film. It seemed like there was a good idea in here somewhere. Too bad finding that idea in this film is like finding a needle in a haystack. Still, I liked Sagemiller's performance and the film was nice to look at. But everything else was a disaster. Definitely one of the worst films I have ever had the displeasure of watching in my entire life. Avoid at all costs.
I barely survived SOUL SURVIVORS. For an 85 minute film, it felt like 85 hours. I really don't know what happened with this film. It seemed like there was a good idea in here somewhere. Too bad finding that idea in this film is like finding a needle in a haystack. Still, I liked Sagemiller's performance and the film was nice to look at. But everything else was a disaster. Definitely one of the worst films I have ever had the displeasure of watching in my entire life. Avoid at all costs.
No comments:
Post a Comment