Soulmate

Atmospheric, creepy , great acting . I just don't understand the negative comments here , were these people expecting a Saw genre ?

To be honest, Soulmate is a semi-decent film, in an escapist-fantasy-about-vulnerable-woman-who-meets- unattainable-man sort of way, but what it's not by any stretch of the imagination, is a horror film. And it's this fact that kind of makes it a victim of its own construction; the slow build of the first third (which is both effectively creepy and unsettling) ends up working against the film by setting a tone that the leads the big "reveal" and it's fallout to seem utterly silly and laughable. It's literally like Emily Bronte started a ghost story, and then it was picked up and finished by an aspiring self published YA author who's done too much Twilight fan fiction. What starts with one set of audience promises, just dives into a Gothic soap opera which aside from being a crippling disappointment, I found impossible to take seriously. If the film had launched straight in with the "reveal" (which it could easily have done without losing anything in terms of the narrative), I think it would have set a bar it could have sustained and been a reasonably engaging fantasy drama. As it stands, though it's just a very disjointed and untraditional ghost story that pulls in two directions and doesn't really succeed in getting anywhere in either.

My spoiler free review for The Bloody Asylum that can be found at WordPress, Mr Geeky blog:

Sadly a film which has very undeservedly gone under the radar.

Soulmate is the award winning 2013 British feature film debut of Belgium film-maker Axelle Carolyn, more well known to many as the former wife and film-making partner of Neil Marshall, director of Dog Soldiers and The Descent. She also played a role in his 2010 film Centurion. Her most recent film, which she created and produced, is the highly acclaimed 2015 anthology film Tales of Halloween. She also contributed to it as the writer and director of the "Grim Grinning Ghost" segment starring Alex Essoe, star of the superb Starry Eyes from 2014. Axelle Carolyn also most recently co-wrote an episode of Netflix Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Chapter Nine: The Returned Man.

She conceived, wrote, and directed the modern set gothic horror Soulmate, which was produced by Neil Marshall. The film is in part inspired by the stories of M.R. James and the Henry James novella Turn of the Screw, most famously adapted into the 1961 film The Innocents and later the inspiration for the 2001 film The Others starring Nicole Kidman. However, Soulmate brings something slightly different to its inspirations. It is at its core a beautifully melancholic meditation on loss and grief with a superb lead performance by Anna Walton. She is complimented by a brilliant supporting cast of Tom Wisdom, Tanya Myers and the hugely underrated Nick Brimble, star of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, The Sweeney tv series and films, and The Creature in Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound.

The film forgoes jump scares in favor of atmosphere and a slow build, making it feel different to many modern horror films. Along the way there are some unexpected twists and turns with a nuanced ambiguity even as the credits roll. The atmosphere of the film is accentuated by the breathtakingly beautiful bleak cinematography and production design coupled with the perfect use of music and sound.

Sadly for the British release Axelle Carolyn was forced by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) to make cuts to the suicide sequence because they felt even as an 18 certificate (hard R rating) there was too much focus on the technique shown and could be imitated. She, rightly so, felt that those cuts romanticized suicide and instead cut out the entire scene from the British version of the film, amounting to two minutes and thirty three seconds. To have her vision compromised because a key scene was cut must have hurt because it feels that this negates the impact of the entire film. Maybe this was the reason one of the best British films of recent years went under the radar and is now an almost forgotten film. The version I saw and reviewed is the uncut version that to this day is unjustly banned in the UK. Jokingly Axelle Carolyn calls it a Video Nastie, which it definitely is not.

For those who are looking for a subtle thoughtful horror film with depth and heart Soulmate is highly recommended.

Hopefully in the future we will see more from the extremely talented Axelle Carolyn.

First of all, I hope Anna Walton goes far, she's a very good actress. She reminds me a lot of Kate Beckinsale and Rhona Mitra. She was easily the best part of the film, and great to watch. She conveyed a very solemn character in the movie, and her emotions were well done.

Parts of the movie, specifically the build-up of the relationship between Audrey and Douglas was kind of reminiscent of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," but trust me, it ends much differently. Theresa's confession towards the end was unexpected, and it was a nice twist.

It was low-budget, but they made good use of the money by setting the story in a very small town on the English countryside. I really loved the somewhat gloomy atmosphere. This is not a typical storyline as far as ghost stories go, but it was kind of original, and I'd recommend it. This is why I love indie film makers; some of the most original ideas are done by them, whereas Hollywood big studios like to play it safer by making prequels, sequels, and remakes.

I will say that they could have made the movie about 20 minutes shorter. I know they were building up the relationship, but some of it was plainly over kill. I did have a problem when Audrey initially met Douglas about 38 minutes into the film. He told her that he couldn't touch her. By proving it, he swiped his hand against a lamp, and his hand when right through it. However, he was sitting on a chair. Would he be able to be sitting? Wouldn't his body fall through it? lol. Also, never write the end credits in cursive. It was really hard to read who played which characters. I know, sorry for nitpicking.

I gave this a 6-star rating because of the originality, script, acting, and atmosphere. Also, as I said, I liked Teresa's twist at the end.

Written and Directed by Axelle Carolyn, Soulmate is an absolute gem of a film, shot with pretty much a handful of cast members (including Anubis the dog, shes awesome), the film is an excellent piece of work for Axelle's feature debut (she has directed several short films previous to this).

Soulmate has beautiful cinematography (by Sara Deane) set in stunning locations (Powys in Wales), the film has an excellent stage play feel to it, and if it hasn't already begun to appeal to those who love theatre, it should. 'Soulmate' would work brilliantly on stage. Heres hoping Axelle decides to adapt it for the boards at some point.

But lets get back to the film. Whereas most 'haunted house' films are set to large set pieces and furniture flying all over the place, people screaming and running from buildings that collapse. 'Soulmate' is pure character based storytelling, focusing on Audrey (Anna Walton) and her obsession with learning more about Talbot Cottage and its history.

Whilst the performance of the film pretty much sits on the shoulders of Anna Walton, the supporting cast also do a wonderful job with their roles.

The minimal cast of Tom Wisdom (300, The Boat That Rocked), Tanya Myers (Oranges and Sunshine, Control) and Nick Brimble (Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves, 7Lives), and Anubis the dog in her feature film debut all propelling the story towards its conclusion.

Whilst I don't like to focus on gender, it is worth noting (isnt it?) that its fantastic and very well earned to see so many main roles in this film occupied by women. Writer/Director, Cinematographer, Art Direction, Costume designer, Make up department, and many many more.

Would the film have been different had it been male orientated? (different perhaps, better, I highly doubt it) Who knows. But I know that Soulmate is a fantastic project, with the perfect casting, from a great story, wonderfully acted and put together. It doesn't need action set pieces, it doesn't need buckets of gore or jump scares, and doesn't need a third act set of craziness. Things that so often fill creepy films nowadays.

For those who love creepy house movies, perhaps you are a Hammer film fan. Did you love The Others or The Woman In Black? But you know what. If you just love good films, with good stories. Then you need to check out Soulmate which is out on DVD on August 11th 2014. Or perhaps you love the classic films. I was reminded to a certain extent of a film that came out in the 40s, but I didn't see until the late 80s. That film. The Ghost and Mrs Muir where the story also wasn't a poltergeist movie but was in fact a film about people (and spirits). If you haven't seen The Ghost and Mrs Muir. Track it down.

Its also worth noting that on the Soulmate DVD there are some great special features including interviews with some of the people behind the film (Axelle Carolyn, Neil Marshall and Anna Walton)