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    My Soul to Take

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    "My Soul To Take" is a scare-free mess of a horror film that's so bad it becomes good again. There are some flakes of gold here and there, particularly when it comes to the costumes and the main character, but it plays like a checklist of slasher clichés, makes little sense, has questionable continuity and the dialogue is atrocious.

    After being exposed through the magic of CSI zooming and enhancing, Abel Plenkov (Raul Esparza) discovers that he’s suffering from multiple personality disorder, that he is the "Riverton Ripper", a local serial killer. Stricken with guilt, Abel calls the authorities and tries to control himself as he and the murderous personality struggle for possession of his body. His wife is fatally stabbed before he is gunned down by the police... or is he?

    You might be screaming "SPOILER ALERT!!!" but here's the thing: that’s the first 15 minutes of the movie. It’s just the setup for the "real" movie that begins in present day, with the town performing their yearly ritual in which one of the seven children that were born on the night the killer disappeared battles a replica of the Riverton Ripper in order to ward off his vengeful soul for another year. When Adam 'Bug' Hellerman (Max Thieriot) freaks out and doesn't complete the ritual, he unleashes a new plague of death upon the town. Is it the killer returned? Is it the killer's daughter, back after 16 years? Is it one of the seven children born on the very night the killer disappeared? You'll only find out by watching the bodies pile up!

    I think you now have an idea of how crazy this film is. Even if it were coherent, it would still be a joyful catastrophe. No one here feels, talks or acts like a real person save for our schizophrenic protagonist Bug who to the actor and the writer's credit does act and feel like a disturbed, constantly panicked teen. His older sister runs the school like a mob boss, sending out the generic high-school bully out to roughen up the people she doesn't like, collecting bicycle protection money and selling black market school answers. The characters go to a high school where the teachers are blissfully unaware of anything that is going on and are incapable of discerning even the most blatant misconduct. Other characters include the stereotypical Christian girl, the detective who has a score to settle, and the cartoonishly abusive father. There’s no point getting attached to any of those, as they’re introduced solely to give this film a body count.

    The gore effects are scarce. There is some blood but most of the deaths are off-screen (which makes sense because of the mystery aspect of the film) but there aren't any moments that will make you cringe or any memorable deaths and there is no nudity whatsoever. That's right horror fans, it's an R-Rated film from the director/writer of "Scream" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" with no gore, no frights, and no hanky-panky. Not that sex, gore, and nudity are required to make a good horror film but if you're making a whodunit horror movie about a guy who goes around gutting people with a knife called "Vengeance" and it’s not going to be good, you could at least deliver on the exploitation.

    There are several plot points in the film that never pan out, characters make the stupidest mistakes throughout and people are introduced and then vanish, never to appear again. Due to the mystery to be solved, the movie is never dull. You’re anxiously waiting for the conclusion and when it finally comes… you’ll be left cold, perhaps even hysterical at the final and ludicrous final confrontation.

    “My Soul to Take” is begging to be made fun of. It feels like a cheap knockoff of a much better horror movie. You don’t need to be quick-witted or have seen a lot of horror films to be able to riff on this one, not with dialogue this awful or a plot this nutty. If you're a Wes Craven fan, or even a fan of horror films," My Soul To Take", even if you get wrapped up in the mystery that's at its center, is a titanic disappointment. If you want some laughs, it delivers. (On Dvd, June 14, 2013)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  3.7.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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