You can't force two people to love each other. Or can you? That's the central question in "Soul Mates," the new horror romance movie from director Mark Gantt and writers Chris LaMont and Joe Russo. Allison (Annie Ilonzeh) awakens in a strange bedroom chained to a man she's never met before. Her first instinct is to grab a lamp from the beside table in order to incapacitate Jason (Charlie Weber), the man to whom she's chained and whom she accuses of kidnapping her.
Jason manages to convince Allison that he's just as innocent and surprised as she is. Together, the duo are put through a series of sadistic dating-themed "games" by a man calling himself The Matchmaker (Neal McDonough). He appears only on video screens throughout their ordeal, providing cryptic instructions and pithy witticisms along the way.
At first glance, "Soul Mates" appears to draw its primary inspiration from the "Saw" franchise. But it's significantly more than that. If you combined "Saw" with Stephen King's short story "Quitters, Inc.," you can get a much better idea of what makes this movie tick. Throughout, little hints are dropped that not everything the couple experiences is exactly as it seems. If you put these clues together as a viewer, you will most likely be able to predict the twist at the end. However, that predictability does not necessarily ruin the fun.
Although less graphic and hathotic than the "Saw" movies, the perilous game scenes in "Soul Mates" do provide tension and cringe by capturing and using the innocent loved ones of Allison and Jason as pawns to force the couple into The Matchmaker's dating contrivances.
There are a few issues with the movie that, had they been addressed, might have notched up the tension without giving away too much of the ending. Neither Allison nor Jason seem sufficiently traumatized or shocked by the torture and murders they witness along their journey through the Matchmaker's date night. Even some short scenes of one or both of them trying to cope with the experience might have made their suffering feel more realistic on screen.
We do get to see Jason ask, "Why doesn't he just go ahead and kill us?" Allison responds with encouragement to keep going. However, without a character-driven build-up to that moment, it doesn't ring true.
Overall, "Soul Mates" was an enjoyable watch. It did not shock as much as I thought it might. Occasionally, the chemistry between Ilonzeh and Weber feels forced. But maybe that's how it should feel. After all, their characters are two strangers being coerced into romance. What chemistry could their possibly be?
