IMDb RATING
5.9/10
7.6K
YOUR RATING
A university research scientist, about to lose funding and status, has a lab accident and discovers he can see people's true intentions -- making his situation even worse.A university research scientist, about to lose funding and status, has a lab accident and discovers he can see people's true intentions -- making his situation even worse.A university research scientist, about to lose funding and status, has a lab accident and discovers he can see people's true intentions -- making his situation even worse.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 6 nominations total
Sridhar Maruvada
- Ram Tambel
- (as Sid Veda)
J. Michael Silver
- Van Tromo
- (as Michael J. Silver)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Extraordinary storytelling and writing for this low-budget feature film. Science meets God when a doctor discovers a chemical formula that allows the human eye to see the essence of energy. The story makes a play for the advancement of psychoactive drugs. The "see smells" and 96 souls scenes are well worth the wait. The protagonist Dr. Jack Surtree "has it all" on the surface, yet his personal life is falling apart. He is facing dwindling research funding, an estranged wife, mother in a nursing home and loyal dog passing away. It seems Dr. Surtree's entire life has been devoted to controlled deductive reasoning with methodical outcomes, and he has hit a wall. Grinnell Morris is an excellent actor in this role, especially in such scenes where he convincingly says a sweet goodbye to his dying dog. He must venture into the unknown to find solutions. With the aid of his new formula and a little help from his friends (a minister, a homeless schizophrenic, and an East Indian doctor) he succeeds in finding a humanitarian medical cure for society. The characters expand on these ideas with heart-felt revelations, delivered by strong actors. I admit to tearing up on several occasions. "When you are free, I am free; we can't escape the effect we have on each other in the larger societal consciousness."
The movie started with what seemed to be a well executed story line but somehow lost the plot half way through. The director could have either done away with the pseudo philosophy , or at least developed it properly. Amateurish special effects and cardboard acting from some actors did not help.
Sorry to say, this is not a good film. Not the acting, the script, the dialogue, the pace.. really, it's hard to find anything good to say about it. Even if the premise had a chance at all, the way it's portrayed completely ruins it. So - two thumbs down from me.
"96 Souls" is captivating from start to finish. The lead scientist at a university lab has his hands full as he deals with personal disappointment and heartbreak at the same time he is fighting for support of his unprecedented research into light-based identification of scent. His life turns upside down when an accident in the lab inadvertently provides the breakthrough he is seeking and more. This low-budget thriller uses simple, but effective special effects to illustrate the "hallucinogenic" quality of his formula – it literally alters one's perception of reality. There is unexpected humor in this film, which doesn't detract from its message about the importance of not abusing potentially exploitative information for harm. It is also a meditation on love and loss, as well as personal redemption. Jack's discovery transforms him as readily as it transforms his field of study. Toyin Moses deserves special recognition for her performance as Bazemint Tapes. Her scene in the mental hospital's music room is both poignant and revelatory, and the young actress is convincing throughout the film. This nicely-written film serves a main course of entertainment with side of morality tale.
Sure it has a lot of the flaws you expect from this type of low budget film. The dialogue makes you wince a few times as the writer was going for clever and it just sounded clunky coming out of the mouths of the actors. But the acting was fairly solid (with a few notable exceptions, but not where it counts). The cinematography was quite good, and even the "special effects" weren't too distracting. The editing was magnificent, and in many cases that's the key difference between good and bad in films. You don't notice it unless it's done poorly, and in this case, it was pretty much seamless.
Despite is flaws, there was something about the story, and the developmental arc of the characters, that kept me fascinated. I watched it more like I was watching an art project than a movie, and I was able to really appreciate what they were trying to do.
I watch a lot of indie films, and some are definitely horrific (although many of them have some merit buried in there somewhere. This one was definitely worth a watch. Someone had a pretty clever idea, developed it, and managed to work in some thought-provoking philosophy along the way.
Despite is flaws, there was something about the story, and the developmental arc of the characters, that kept me fascinated. I watched it more like I was watching an art project than a movie, and I was able to really appreciate what they were trying to do.
I watch a lot of indie films, and some are definitely horrific (although many of them have some merit buried in there somewhere. This one was definitely worth a watch. Someone had a pretty clever idea, developed it, and managed to work in some thought-provoking philosophy along the way.
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Dr. Redfield (Paul Statman) pulls Ram (Sid Veda) aside to be sure he will cooperate, Ram's co-worker Medina (ShaiFali) asks what he wanted. Ram responds, "Directions to NAMBLA." Sid and ShaiFali improvised the exchange and it such an unexpected dig on the film's antagonist, the director decided to keep it in the film.
- Quotes
Dr. Jack Sutree: For a minute there... I lost myself.
- Crazy creditsThe end credits celebrate the entire cast utilizing their likeness along with their name and role. Even though the end credits are among the shortest in modern film history, every single person who worked on the film is credited, even the extras.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Starfilm (2017)
- SoundtracksSlavonic Dance No. 12 in D-Flat Major, Op. 72. No. 4
Composed by Antonín Dvorák (as Dvorak)
Courtesy of Naxos of America
- How long is 96 Souls?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- 96 душ
- Filming locations
- Los Angeles, California, USA(Loyola Law School)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 52m(112 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.37 : 1
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