Soulmate

Audrey (Anna Walton) is a recent, young widow who is plagued by the premature death of her husband. She attempts suicide to escape her pain, but her failure leads her to an even deeper depression. She escapes to a remote cottage in the Wales countryside to be in solitude and to work on her music once again. Audrey soon hears noises coming from a locked room in the cottage, only to eventually learn that it is haunted by the previous owner, Douglas Talbot (Tom Wisdom). Axelle creates suspense, both with the accompanying music score and with the camera. However, the jump-in-your-seat shocks happen when you least expect them! I admit, I flinched several times and on one occasion, actually let out a quick scream, much to my embarrassment. Instead of running away from her ghostly house mate, Audrey befriends him, much to his amazement. Their friendship develops beautifully; each one helping the other cope with the torments of their past. There is a love for one another, one much deeper than the other, though.

Anna is superb as Audrey; you feel her pain along with her, often with a knot in your stomach as she tries to make it through each day. As her tension relaxes with her new supernatural friend, you experience the warm, fuzzy feelings during their unique moments of camaraderie. Simple gestures, such as playing chess together (as Douglas struggles to move the pieces to the desired space with his energy), leaves you with a sweet smile. And when Audrey feels terror, you feel it with her.

This film is unlike any you have seen Tom Wisdom in before; his true acting colors shine through in his portrayal of Douglas. Tormented from his past, he has struggled for thirty years in loneliness as no one has ever been able to see or hear him until Audrey came along. As Audrey asks him personal questions, his silent stares make you uncomfortable, which is precisely what he was aiming for. From his sweet, gentle demeanor to his explosive anger, Tom flexes his acting chops in the film. You adore him and are completely terrified of him all in two hours. His deathly makeup only adds to the character, making him completely believable as a long-dead man.

I always enjoy twists at the end of films that I didn't see coming, which Axelle delivers perfectly. An ending that one doesn't anticipate in the least, I actually heard some quiet gasps in the audience around me (myself included). The film was dark, Gothic, hauntingly romantic, and in a word, fantastic.

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)

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

It's an atmospheric ghost tale following a grieving woman played by the talented, Anna Walton as she tries to get away from the grief she carries with her by staying in an old cottage in Wales. As she tries to find herself again, she finds that she's not alone in the cottage. Tom Wisdom is wonderful as the hauntingly lonely Douglas Talbot - running the full emotional gambit of endearing and sorrowful to just plain frightening.

It's beautifully shot with slow moving camera and lovely scenery. Wonderfully written and brilliantly directed by Axelle Carolyn who picked a lovely cast of talented actors. Definitely worth watching!

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.