Soultaker

The deservedly overlooked Soultaker tells the story of four teenagers who crash their car into a telephone pole a high speeds, but don't die- at least not right away. Although their bodies enter a coma, their souls remain conscious, although totally unaware of what's happened to them. Before long they're attacked by the titular Soultaker (Joel Estevez), one of many angels of death, who has come to… wait for it… take their souls. Will the teens elude fate? Can they make it to the hospital before their parents pull the plug on them? Did they hire any writers, or just mash together clichés from other horror films?

So yeah, Soultaker is basically another dead teenager movie, but without all the blood and gore. As such, it won't cause utter revulsion in most reasonable audiences, like the Hellraiser and Friday the 13th sequels did, but doesn't offer much of an attraction for goremiesters, or anyone else for that matter. The problem is that while there's nothing particularly horrible or inept about it, there's nothing very good about it either. It looks rather cheesy, none of the characters are especially interesting, and the whole thing proceeds rather slowly.

It's also not all that scary. Sure, there's a bad guy trying to kill them (although since they're already disembodied spirits re-kill might be a better term) but he moves rather slowly, like he doesn't really want to catch them. Which is odd, because if he doesn't, he'll have to give up his soul as a penalty. Maybe he's having a hard time because Natalie (Vivian Schilling) reminds him of his girlfriend from back when he was human, and he's beginning to fall in love with her. Between the kill or be killed aspect of his job, and the creepy affection he seems to feel for Natalie, it's possible that the Soultaker isn't really evil, but is himself just a victim of fate. Unfortunately the movie keeps going back and forth on this question, so we never get a straight answer.

The movie also fails to answer important question about the state the teenagers find themselves in. For starters, what exactly are they? I get that they're disembodied spirits, but what is their relation to the material plane? They're not ghosts; they can interact with their physical environment in ways like opening doors and firing shotguns, and they also appear bound by the laws of gravity. But they can't be seen or heard by other people, and I'm pretty sure there was a brief shot which suggested they don't appear in mirrors, which is all the more confusing because usually things without a reflection don't have souls. I also would like to know more about the rings that the Soultaker uses to take souls, but no luck there either.

I was unable to find much online about the production or marketing of this film, except that co-star Vivian Schilling also co-wrote it and co-produced it in hopes of starting a successful acting career. That didn't happen, but apparently she did become a fairly successful writer of supernatural fiction, so at least some good came out of this project. All in all, Soultaker isn't a terrible movie, or unwatchable, but it lacks any compelling reason for you to watch it. There's a lot worse out there, but there's also a lot better.

Now I did watch this when it first came out on VHS, and all my friends and I thought it was a pretty good movie, but then again, we were teenagers. But honestly, not that good of a movie in retrospect. Sort of a hair metal, Dokken version of Carnival of Souls. But a bad movie does not exactly mean it is unwatchable; however, this one seems to lack the charm a lot of the regular Mst3k fodder usually contains. But if it was on cable, and I was bored and drinking beer--sure, I'd watch it again. But then again, I've watched Howling VII about five times now, so maybe you really shouldn't be listening to me.

Anyone else think it kind of sad that the director supposedly commented on his own movie? And why did he feel the urge to use caps lock so much?

OK, I saw this film through Mystery Science Theater 3000, but I did see the movie, so I figured I would leave a comment on it. I just love once again how Joe gets stuck with the crummy roles while his brother and nephew's are just getting the Oscar winning roles left and right. Soultaker is technically what you would call the movie that was meant to be good. It seemed like the director and actors just took this movie extremely seriously and had very cheesy effects, a story that didn't make much sense, and not to mention pretty crummy acting abilities. This is one of my favorite MST3K episodes, simple because a lot of what they mention is what we are thinking throughout the film and I'll explain why in a moment.

Natalie and Zach are a couple who broke up and are now trying to work things over. But since Zach is in upper lower class and Natalie is in middle class, it just ain't gonna work. But on the way home, they and Zach's friends get into a car accident and now the angel of death/Soultaker is after them to meet his quota of soultaking. But also it seems like he's had some kind of other life relationship with Natalie and just can't seem to move on. So now Natalie and Zach must race against the ever appearing five million times a minute clock to save their souls and lives.

Well, I guess Zeppelin was wrong when he sang that there was a stairway to Heaven, I wonder if Black Sabbith was wrong too, lol. Basically there are a lot of plot holes in this movies, like no one can see the characters and they can't be killed, yet somehow they can still press buttons and open doors? The Angel of Death had a very strange face and was a bit distracting from the story itself. Soultaker was just a lousy film that was rushed and makes you just feel so bad for Joe, the under-appreciated Sheen/Estovez brother.

2/10

"Soultaker" is not a good film--that I won't even try to argue. However, I know bad films and currently have reviewed more bad films than anyone on the planet. And, compared to the many, many horrible movies I've subjected myself to, it just isn't THAT bad. So why, then, is it currently #40 on IMDb's infamous Bottom 100 List. In other words, of the thousands and thousands and thousands of eligible films on the site, only 39 have a lower overall score than this one! This means it's horrible, right? No. This means it was featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and fans of the show assumed it was horrible because it was on the show. Sometimes movies on "MST3000" are bad or sub-par and that is all. This would also explain why "Girl With the Gold Boots" is also on the list, even though it's among the director's BEST! Too often people just assume the films they make fun of are that bad--but seeing it without the running comments reveals that SOME of the film isn't bad- -such as the main plot idea.

The plot is VERY simple. A total jerk is driving like a nut and wrecks his car--killing himself and the three others in the car. As their bodies are lying dead in the wreck, the souls of the four are alive and well and walking about--though no one can see them. Soon, a guy who looks almost exactly like an old version of Emelio Estevez shows up and starts sucking souls out of the four bodies. He dispatches one but stops when he sees the girl--she is the reincarnation of a girl he loved when he was alive--before he became a grim reaper! During his hesitation, the three manage to escape and run from him. This is funny, as Estevez' character NEVER runs and they constantly run--yet he always catches up to them--just like the guy from Halloween!! Can the three manage to elude the reaper and manage to be reunited with their bodies?

The film is funny to watch because of the clothes, BIG hair and styles of 1990. And, the acting isn't very good. And, it's a chance to see Joe Estevez, the black sheep of the Sheen/Estevez clan because he is a politically conservative guy--unlike his older brother Martin Sheen. But the idea of the plot is interesting--even if most of the rest of it isn't. Not bad enough to make any worst of list--but bad enough to laugh at and marvel at the amateurish way it was made.

Ok, I just had to say a few words here. Yes, I'll disclaim myself as a HUGE MST3K fan....HOWEVER....I am also a sincere student of fine films. With that said, I'd like to address the previous comments regarding City of Angels "ripping-off" Soultaker. City of Angels is a REMAKE of Wim Wenders' WINGS OF DESIRE. It was made in 1987. Three years prior to Soultaker. So....in essence, Soultaker could be said to be "ripping off" WINGS OF DESIRE. But, in truth, it is not a rip off, it is merely a shadow (no pun intended) of many movies that deal with the subject of the afterlife.

Now, on to the meat of things. No, this is NOT the worst movie ever made. That title goes, without reservation, to Red Zone Cuba. Cut, or uncut, it is still Hollywood's biggest embarrassment. However, as it stands, Soultaker is not the BEST movie ever made, slashed for MST3K, or not.

But, come on people (and you know who you are). ANY movie, good, mediocre, bad or horrendous is fair game for movie critics and at-home MSTies everywhere. Who hasn't, after the 98th showing, ripped a little on Star Wars? Even Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind, and Casablanca have been spoofed! Humor can be seen in ANY film (yes, even APOCALYPSE NOW is not exempt to a few quiet, open-for-comment, moments.)

Honestly, Soultaker is not that bad. Not good, but not that bad. The acting is decent, the story flows, and I have to admit that I actually paid more attention to the story than I did to the bots. I know, I know, that's treason in MST-land, and my head could be in danger of being lopped off at any moment (or at least jettisoned into space).

Let's all just admit that bad and mediocre movies just add to the tapestry of filmmaking and that they are ALL fair game to a little criticism at worst, and a little humor, at best.