Dead Souls

There were two reasons for why I sat down to watch "Dead Souls", the first and most obvious one was the fact that it is a horror movie, given my life-long romance with the horror genre. But the most important reason was because Bill Moseley was on the cast list.

Let's get on with it then, shall we?

While the storyline had potential, I was sitting with an overwhelming sense of 'was that really it?' once the movie ended. It felt like director Colin Theys hardly utilized all the potential that the storyline had. And that was a shame because it crippled the overall viewing experience of the movie.

There wasn't much of any noteworthy or worthwhile horror elements in "Dead Souls" that haven't already been seen countless times in other movies. So for a seasoned horror veteran as myself, this was hardly an illuminating horror experience.

The acting in the movie was adequate, just keep in mind that the cast ensemble is rather small and limited, so there is a lot riding on the shoulders of the performers. They fared adequately, I would say. Nothing memorable though. And Bill Moseley, while he was in the movie, he was a mere support cast in the movie. So they made the most famous person and a horror icon nonetheless into a mere support character in the movie. No, just no. That was a blow to the movie that dragged down the enjoyment, especially since he only had a limited screen time as well.

I managed to sit through the entire movie, waiting for something extraordinary to happen or for the movie to pick up its pacing and throw something unexpected my way... It just never happened, and as such then my rating of "Dead Souls" is a less than mediocre one; four out of ten stars.

This is hardly a movie that made an impression in the horror genre. I am sure come next week, then I will already have forgotten about it. Nor is it a movie that you will watch more than once.

The makers of this film asked way too much of its two young leads, who aren't the most amazing actors and are required to carry nearly the entire movie with just them in an old house. Not only that but the dialogue just isn't there, so no matter what their level of talent they don't have much to work with either.

Then there is the direction, there is something very messy about most of the shots, and this usually does not seem to add anything to the theme of the film and just makes things feel confused. Also if this all wasn't enough there are also clear budget restraints that would hurt the film even if it did have decent actors, pacing, writing or editing.

There is some slivers of possibly good movie here, but it is hard to really piece them together and not really worth the effort.

Johnny Petrie (Jesse James) inherits a farm from his estranged birth family. He intends to sell the place and finds a squatter named Emma (Magda Apanowicz). Mary Petrie (Geraldine Hughes) is a disturbed patient.

The filmmaking is somewhat clunky with a few interesting horror scenes. The story is a muddle when it should be a simple telling. The premise is messy. When it gets to the reveal, it suddenly adds a bunch of stuff coming out of left field. On the other hand, the actors are fine. I've always like Apanowicz. I like Moseley. Even the bad actors are not that bad. The failure is mostly in the filmmaking.

Like some other reviews here have said, MEH. That about sums this one up. It's not.....logical?? Can't think of the right word. Lot of cliché moments. And the end, was poor at best. Unsatisfying. 3/10

I can't blame this movie for much. It is a typical horror movie for this age, where the script is a random mix of other films of the genre, the horror is done via camera angle tricks, the bloody scenes or the nudity are removed and most of the movie is people not understanding what is going on or running around like headless chickens when they do. But I've seen so many films like this that it doesn't bother me anymore. It's not scary either, though.

I loved the Osiris and Jesus angle and, while the rest of the story made no sense, the idea that modern gods are just knockoffs of the old ones seemed really funny. They could have done something with this other than a bunch of homicidal hillbillies looking for eternal life. I am sure they didn't intend it to be funny, but it was for me.

Bottom line: This film is so incredibly average that it becomes mere background noise. There were a few ideas in it that could have made an impact, but I am sure none of the creators of the film actually cared. The highlight of the movie has to be Magda Apanowicz, who is cute as hell, even if her character is a complete mess.