Soulmate

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.

The market's been saturated a bit lately with ghostly goings on in the wake of successful movies such as The Conjuring, Sinister and Insidious – which makes it that much more difficult to come up with something fresh and engaging. But this debut feature from writer-director Axelle Carolyn gives us exactly that, a story with a real emotional core but no shortage of scary moments.

Recently widowed musician Audrey (Hellboy 2's Anna Walton delivering a standout turn) retreats to an isolated Welsh cottage to recover after a failed suicide attempt. Once there, she discovers things going bump in the night and starts to see disturbing visions of her late husband. But the ghost, when it reveals itself, turns out to be that of a former owner – Douglas (Tom Wisdom from the TV series Dominion) – whose suicide bid was anything but a failure.

Wondering if she's going mad or just suffering from the side effects of her strong depression medication, Audrey tries to learn more about Douglas from local couple Theresa (Casualty's Tanya Myers) and her husband (the always wonderful Nick Brimble from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). After being warned against digging too deep, Audrey is left confused as to whether the spirit is friend or foe. Has she found 'someone' who might be able to understand her predicament, the fact she blames herself for what happened, or a shade that has problems of its own? Only time will tell...

In the interviews section of the extras, Carolyn freely admits that she was trying to make a traditional British supernatural movie, a Ghost and Mrs. Muir for this generation but with a darker tone. What she has accomplished is so much more, something that works on a variety of levels. It's a tale about loss, sure, but also about relationships and finding – or rediscovering – oneself after a major life (or death) event. The performances are universally excellent, helping with the suspension of disbelief, but the film is also beautifully shot, belying its low budget origins and simultaneously making the most of the atmospheric Brecon Beacons where it was shot. There are more than enough shocks, surprises and twists to satisfy your average genre fan, but at its heart this is a thought-provoking drama full of character studies and insight.

Other extras include interviews with Walton and Neil Marshall (Carolyn's husband, but also editor and exec producer on the movie), plus a couple of previous shorts she wrote and directed: the heart-warming Halloween Kid and The Last Post, which is by turns unsettling and poignant (the ending will have you welling up). I really can't recommend this one highly enough, and after such a stunning first movie I have to wonder what delights are coming in the future.

This is the sort of thing that used to be the staple Christmas Fayre on the TV . You can imagine this being shown as a Family Ghost story to scare the young children and to take their mind off Santa Claus . Its a low budget moody,atmospheric tale that I will guess will flop badly at the box office (assuming it even makes it that far) . However , its in the main a very enjoyable simple drama that doesn't require you to think too much . Anna Walton is excellent in the lead (though she needs to work at bit at miming how to play a violin) . There are a couple of loud bangs to make you jump...a little bit of tomato sauce...a bit of ghostly make up....but other than that there aren't too many really scary moments to have you gripping the seat .But to be fair it doesn't pretend to be that sort of film . Its apparently got a certificate of 15...heaven knows why...kids will love it !

The first thing that bites you about 'Soulmate' is the extraordinary scenery. Filmed in Wales, entirely on location I think, it looks breathtaking. Director Axelle Carolyn absolutely makes the most of it.

Audrey, played by the always wonderful Anna Walton, stays at a remote house in the middle of nowhere to piece together her broken spirit following the death of her husband and subsequent suicide attempt. Not only does the house appear to be frequented by a mysterious other, but she has to fend off sticky-beak neighbour Theresa (Tanya Myers) whilst confiding in her husband Dr Zellaby (Roger Corman's former Frankenstein Monster Nick Brimble). This, alongside Douglas (Tom Wisdom) pretty much is the cast, all fine performers.

Cautiously for a work of horror fiction, the BBFC requested compulsory cuts to the pre-credits suicide sequence, as they felt that the risk of imitation was too high to be acceptable. Luckily they didn't feel that anyone would copy the subsequent traumatic incidents involving Audrey, or we wouldn't have this splendid film at all - but at least the public would have been spared any inclination to go out and haunt someone.

Ultimately, the story proves to be slight, and the ending might have been a little more conclusive. After investing in these characters for so long, it seems a shame most of their journeys were left so open-ended.

However, it is very difficult not to enjoy this richly layered, deeply atmospheric production. I wouldn't suggest it is necessarily a 'gentle' horror, but it what it (deliberately) lacks in spectacle and gore, it makes up for in its immersive mood. My score is 7 out of 10.

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.