Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:25 - Released 9/7/01
SOUL SURVIVORS
Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:25 - Released 9/7/01
Stephen Carpenter's Soul Survivors is an interesting but
flawed and somewhat frustrating study on brain injuries and their
nightmarish effect on those who sustain them. Carpenter, the writer/director/cinematographer
who has produced a handful of such films (my favorite of his titles
is The Dorm That Dripped Blood), shows a definite talent
for subtle horror, with a suitably creepy trip through the subconscious
of its main character. He does a good job keeping us guessing
at what's going on, but frequently overdoes the effect, lapsing
into such incoherency that we don't know where the red herrings
end and the legitimate plot threads begin. His cast, made up of
virtually unknown teens, is adequate, especially lead actress
Melissa Sagemiller (Get Over It),
who supplies a credible performance as a girl who, after suffering
a bonk on the head in a car accident, can't decide whether she's
crazy or everyone else is. I can't discuss specifics without giving
away the "big surprise," but suffice it to say the film
has the effect of looking through a one-way mirror (but not knowing
which side you're on).
The film starts with Cassie O'Neil (Sagemiller) saying goodbye
to her boyfriend Sean (Casey Affleck) as he is about to ship off
to college. Though she admits she's going to miss him, she balks
at returning his "I love you." Then, after a few minutes
inside a rowdy dance club full of suspicious characters, they
decide to leave with Cassie's ex-boyfriend Matt (Wes Bentley)
and his girlfriend Annabel (Eliza Dushku). Next thing you know,
they have a head-on collision and Cassie finds herself being rushed
to the operating room of the hospital, not knowing the status
of her friends. Then she finds out the worst possible news. Although
they were all critically injured in the accident, Sean was the
only one who didn't make it.
From this point on, Cassie's world is a confusing mix of dreamlike
experiences and startlingly real hallucinations. She tries to
begin school with Matt and Annabel, and they try to help her get
through the guilt and tragedy of losing Sean, but she continues
to spiral into insanity, regularly seeing Sean, who provides comfort,
but also being pursued by some of the shady people from the club.
Matt, seizing the opportunity to reconcile with her, tries everything
he can to calm her down, but her visions continue to plague her.
She sees blood in odd places, she gets inexplicable responses
from people she talks to, and she keeps seeing Sean, who keeps
telling her to "follow him" even though she knows he's
dead. Another person who has a comforting effect is the school's
priest, Father Jude (Luke Wilson). He tells her to stop by his
office any time she wants to talk, but when she tries to find
him again, she gets the old "he's been dead 20 years"
reply.
This film comes perilously close to being another below-average teen horror flick, but is saved by Sagemiller's honestly nutty performance and director Carpenter's intriguing vision of what is seen by a person with a severe head injury. Although most of the important mysteries are explained in the final reel, there are many minor details left unanswered. The backing performances by the actors playing Cassie's friends are nothing special, although Dushku does give Annabel a sharp sense of attitude. But even with its faults, Soul Survivors is a serviceable entry in the low-budget horror column, and makes the most of its limited resources with stirring imagery and a full-blown performance by its star. ***½