Soul Searcher

For a film that I have just read cost £20k, it was brilliant. however, i feel that certain areas not to do with how much it cost needed some attention! The script needed a bit more clarity and development. I thought the editing wasn't as tight as it could be - there needed to be more pace. But the sound, camera work/lighting were fab for its budget. Generally he got some high production values in - The fight scenes were choreographed pretty well too. I feel filmmakers like this should be encouraged, and I hope he finds a good team to help him out next time - he does deserve some decent funding. It's a very imaginative first attempt - well done! People like him should be helped out in the British film industry more. It's refreshing not to see yet another boring low budget drama or 'gritty' movie - they always seem to get made. It just goes to show that in this case low budget doesn't have to mean boring

Just rented this, another low budget British action martial arts… yawn. There are so many of these out there now that to be honest I'm starting to get bored. In the past two years a rash of badly acted and poorly shot British and even US low budget actioners have been released.

Working as I do for a cross Atlantic review site I get screeners of these and being that my speciality is action (and that I'm British) I get the dubious pleasure of reviewing an ever growing stack of DV features.

Soul Searcher is okay, a solid 2 ½ star movie. It's not badly acted, or badly directed, or badly shot but at the same time there was little to stand out. The central lead was dull and lacked life, and the film just felt like it needed something more to make it stand out.

As for the extras, it's an impressive pack to be sure but for my money the director should have been stopped from making his rather self involved behind the scenes documentary. If I hear how hard is was once more I will scream.

If it was not for the visual effect I would have voted 10 instead of 8, I loved the story and the actors did very well, I predict a great future for Oseman, I'm pretty darn sure this guy will become one of the best directors out there..

the Acting was good, the story was good , the few things I didn't like about this movie, was the fighting choreography, and the special effect but what can you expect with a 30.000$ budget..

I'm all a very pleasurable movie, worth watching.. if you can look away from the fight scenes and the special effect.. this movie is a winner..

I wish I could afford to give Oseman a 3.000.000$ budget instead and ask for a remake..as long as he used the same actors

I found myself amazed at what Neil Oseman managed to squeeze from his tiny budget with Soul Searcher. It's a shame that critics and the industry in this country didn't leap on it with enthusiasm in the same way that the American's did with El Mariachi because it's just as big an achievement.

As for entertainment value, I was expecting something incredibly badly acted from what I've read. This just isn't the case, the acting is competent, the cgi effects are of the lower end but for me this did not remove me from the experience. In fact on many occasions I thought. "Wow, how the hell did they do that and how ambitious where they for even trying it in the first place!" And the work with miniature's is amazing. The train sequence is simply brilliant.

I think for any film students, filmmakers, or anyone getting into film-making this is an absolute must. However for the casual viewer this also comes recommended. It's a fun, effects laden low budget adventure with a lot of charm.

Soul Searcher tells an interesting story - what if a shy guy is offered the chance to become the Grim Reaper? The movie shows brief flashes of brilliance, especially the wonderfully detailed story about how the tradition of the Grim Reaper began. Unfortunately, that is the only interesting story that is fully told in this rocky turn at comicbook-becomes-reality.

The film's quality is low-budget (especially the banshee!), filmed at night and many of the scenes feel rushed. The acting is disjointed, with some actors being much better than others. Special effects suffer to the point that they can be laughable.

Yet somehow you care enough to root for the hero, who you know will vanquish the evil Dante....who might just be the man who wrote about hell centuries ago. To be honest, I'd love to see this story as an animated series. I want to know more about each character's story, and that just doesn't happen in this choppy movie. I'll keep my eyes out for more from director/producer/co-writer Neil Oseman.