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Monday, December 6, 2010

[3.75/10] My Soul to Take (2010)


My Soul to Take (2010)

Written and directed by horror veteran Wes Craven, "My Soul to Take" follows the small town of Riverton, Massachusetts, where a legend tells of a notorious serial killer who placed a curse on a town before he died. He vowed he would return to kill all those who were born on the same night when he died. Seven children were born on that night and now, 16 years later those children start to disappear without a trace. Is it possible that the serial killer have cheated death on that dreadful night when people thought he was killed, or he has been reincarnated as of the seven children he vowed to kill? Well, only one of those kids knows the answer to the question. "My Soul to Take" is the first movie since 1994 "New Nightmare", that Wes Craven both wrote and directed, yet unfortunately, this fact doesn't save the film from being a complete and utter failure. Obviously Craven has completely run out of idea, as his latest teen slasher is painfully unoriginal and formulaic, and it suffers from confusing narrative, lack of focus and terrible pacing. Worst of all, it's boring as hell, as it delivers very few thrills and even less chills. The death scenes are few and far between, and while pretty gory, are extremely unsatisfying and devoid of any imagination whatsoever. Moreover, "My Soul to Take" is overstuffed with superficial characters who act stupidly and illogically, and filled with ridiculous dialogues that add to its overall silliness. Acting-wise, this crappy slasher also fails to impress. Max Thieriot's performance as Bug is, stylistically, all over the place. It ranges from over-the-top to completely bland and unconvincing. All of the supporting performances are sub-par, without a any real standouts. Craven's decision to convert this snoozefest in 3D is as ridiculous, as the movie itself. In this case, the 3D conversion is totally unnecessary, simply because "My Soul to Take" has nothing to offer in terms of special effects, action and violence. Add to this a stupid, supposed-to-be-shocking twist ending in the style of "Scream", and you get "My Soul to Take". On a positive note, the film is well-produced and it has nice cinematography, but sadly, these are the only areas where it succeeds. Dull, tedious, poorly-executed and completely thrill-free, "My Soul to Take" ranks among the worst and weakest horror movies of the year, and it's certainly the lowest point in Craven's career.

18 comments:

Jaccstev said...

I'm already guessing that this gonna be a weak horror entry since the first time I heard the title. Maybe Craven must learn one or two from Raimi's Drag Me to Hell first :))

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Well-said, Jaccs;) Sadly, Caven has lost his mojo!

Actually, the title is the best thing about this dull mess of a film. :)

Unknown said...

Oh my, I almost bought a ticket to this the other day. Seems like it is my fortune that I didn't. Aha.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Craven used to be such a cool director, too. He and Carptenter have both hit rock bottom.

Midnight Screening said...

Oh man, I was semi-looking forward to this :(

Maynard Morrissey said...

haven't seen it but I'm sure it's better than Hills Have Eyes 2 :)

✗✗ said...

Yikes! This is sad to hear. I hope he doesn't disappoint us with Scream 4-at least he didn't write it!

Dempsey Sanders said...

Ahhh I was hoping this would be good, I have yet to see it and don't think I will bother now, lets just hope he redeems himself with Scream 4 then

Unknown said...

I really love the films of Wes Craven.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

You have to be glad you didn't buy a ticket for this crappy slasher, J-son. It sucked so bad! :)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, I couldn't agree more. Carpenter got even worse than Craven.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Elgart, I like some of his old films as well, but this one is a total failure and beyond bad.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

J-son, when I heard about it for the first time, it sounded kinda interesting, but after I saw the trailer, I somehow knew it will going to suck. And it did.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Maynard, in fact, it wasn't much better the THHE 2 :) Sad, but true.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Nicole, very sad, indeed. I'm not particularly very excited about S4. I didn't even like the original. :)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Demps, I had high hopes as well, but it left me deeply disappointed. I couldn't believe how bad it actually was.

Yvonne said...

Oh man, was it that bad? I was actually looking forward to this movie but somehow didnt have time for it. Hmm, looks like i got lucky then.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Yvonne, it was actually. It was so tedious it put me to sleep :) You're definitely lucky for not watching this crap.