Soul to Keep

My wife, daughter and I watched it on Netflix tonight. It wasn't Oscar worthy or anything, but it wasn't that bad either. Kept us entertained and that is what movies are for. I thought the young cast did ok with the material.

The movie is not the worst horror film I've ever seen, but it's still pretty bad. The story had potential but is hampered by horrible acting. There isn't much to say about this movie and the only reason I'm bothering to write anything at all is because most of other the reviews for it are fake.

If you click on the name of the user who wrote the 7, 8, 9 and 10 star reviews you will see that almost all of them have been users for less than 6 months, and many have given high ratings to the same 10 or so films.

The opening credits are probably the best thing about this, to be honest. They hint at a story that is more interesting that what is actually delivered. There are some interesting moment scattered throughout and a couple of times it was pretty creepy, but these moments were ruined by inconsistent performances. Speaking of which...

Kate Rose Reynolds, whose character is introduced as being a "dark Wiccan" *CRINGE*, is actually a decent actress. She plays a creepy part pretty well, and I would watch another movie with her in it just to see how she does.

Aurora Heimbach and Sandra Mae Frank play twins, and both are bland enough to be interchangeable, except that Sandra Mae Frank is deaf. I DO like the way that they worked sign language into the film, and the moments where we viewed a situation from Frank's perspective were effective. Otherwise they both deliver decent performances; I don't hold this movie against them, but I'm not in a hurry to see anything else they might do.

The male actors...whoooo boy. They need to not be actors. They need to go on a walking tour of the continental US, along with the writers and directors, apologizing for, well, being themselves. Especially Craig Fogel and Derek Long. Those two are just the worst.

Anyway, I wouldn't have gone into all of this were it not for the fake reviews someone either made alt accounts for (or paid someone else for). Balance in all things.

Soul to keep is a fun, Friday night horror movie that doesn't overdo it on the gore or violence but is still able to create lasting scares that are just as terrifying as they are entertaining. After reuniting at their late grandfather's country home, intent on having a weekend full of drug-induced partying, a group of friends quickly find themselves delving into the world of the paranormal as their weekend getaway makes a decisive b-line to...hell. While, its premise may ring bells of Evil Dead, Soul To keep adds several interesting plot twists along the way that keep the viewer locked-in and help to separate the film from others in its genre. It also made the whole movie pretty unpredictable which is fun (also the I definitely didn't see the ending coming). Soul to Keep also adds another interesting element to its film with the inclusion of a deaf actress, Sandra Mae Frank (Tara). However, because the rest of the members of the group are able to sign flawlessly, this element of the film feels like something that happened naturally long ago in order to incorporate their female friend in on the fun; it feels far from gimmicky and very wholesome. All in all, an entertaining horror movie that's worth the watch!

This wasn't as horrible as some reviewers make it out to be - but it's a sign of the times (at least with some) that if you disagreee with them, you must be "fake." Well, I'm not "fake" and I disagree with those who thought this was horrible. Oh, don't get me wrong. It's no masterpiece - but I wasn't expecting it to be. It's about a group of young adults who've been friends since childhood who go off to an out of the way property for a weekend away. While there, they end up conjuring up a demon. So - really - set your expectations according to that plot.

I thought it was reasonably suspenseful and on a handful of occasions even rose to the level of frightening. The cast - similar to the movie as a whole - while not being great weren't as bad as some are making them out to be. Yes, there are several plot inconsistencies. Surely the presence of the triangle in the basement (with something apparently still fresh and rotting within it) should have raised questions in their minds about what was going on? That one really did stick with me and where it came from never was really explained. But again - set your expectations accordingly. Don't expect to be blown away by special effects or astonished by a spectacular and airtight story. Just look at it as a piece of low budget entertainment and you can appreciate this.

Now - confession time. I watched this basically because I became a fan of Sandra Mae Frank from watching her on "New Amsterdam" for the last couple of seasons of its run, and this was the only other piece of work of hers that I could find that was easily accessible. She didn't disappoint as Tara. I find her work as a deaf actress fascinating and quite convincing. That probably made me rate this a little higher than I otherwise would have. Still, I found it an enjoyable enough escape for 90 minutes. (6/10)

The film looked promising in the first 30 minutes but quickly became just another teen horror. The acting is ok, nothing great but not horrible. The premise was decent but toward the end it fell apart. The ending is predictable. All in all its worth one watch and that's about it.