The Soul Collector

I wAs surprised to see this with such low scores. This is such a unique and original film that also feels non fiction. Starts a little slow but the buildup was good in the second half! Don't want to give any spoilers but was a little unsure of the meaning of the ending. Overall pretty impressed by this film, the acting, storytelling, sense of dread and even displayed importance of family.

This is one of the better horror films released this year.

It will appeal more to adults who enjoy an engaging and well produced movie rather than the trashy shock-horror kind of teen film that saturate the horror genre at the moment.

The acting is superb with well-rounded and believable characters.

Well worth seeing.

I don't think the pacing is the problem here, neither is the execution, I just believe that the plot isn't strong enough for a good story.

I had to take my time with this one, as it seemed to go on and on and on, but when I checked, only one hour had passed. So yes, I do agree with other reviewers that said it is a slow movie, but somehow, it simply fails in keeping your interest up. It was difficult to watch it in one view, even tho things were happening on the screen, I just wasn't drawn into it, at all really, so I just let it play until finally it was over.

Hard to recommend 8, sure, it is nice to see what foreign cinema can do..perhaps Africa needs more time. An ok effort at best, and maybe for some, but definitely a lot of room to improve things.

Cheers!

This film by Harold Holcher explores the supernatural world via a story of a family encounter with a man with a curse. It does this with a good performance by Tshamano Sebe playing the character of "Larazus". Although this film has a good story with beautiful landscape shots, the delivery of the supernatural was not as strong.

A common theme throughout the narrative are references to the natural world: moths, worms, etc. Again the story have some interesting metaphor with insects and the afterlife, Sebe's performance holds the film together. His performance alone, deserves a looksie into this film, hopefully he will reappear in another supernatural film.

That being said this film.with the idea of South African "Fantastic" and "genre" cinema, this still a film to see. The growth of these films are growing in South Africa, like couple of years with 2017's "Lullably" by Darell Roodt.

Just as a warning, this film is very slow going and is a lot more psychological than visual, so if you're hoping or expecting a film with lots of creepy moments and/or jump scares then this will disappoint.

The Soul Collector is a lot more of a drama than anything. Some horror and suspense moments, but definitely more on the drama side. Not that that's a bad thing, but the trailer misleads you which is disappointing. However, putting that aside, it's not too bad of a film if you can handle much slower paced movies.

Set in South Africa, this tells the story of a family who recently move into a new house and befriend an old man (Lazarus) who is on a path of spiritual self healing after committing an act that causes him to lose his only daughter. A film you need to pay attention to to actually get what is going on but can be pretty tricky because of the slow pace. It's easy to become bored and disinterested unless you can get into it.

Lazarus is played really well by Tshamano Sebe who, while technically playing "the bad guy", makes you feel sympathetic towards him and does a good job of bringing you onto his side even though you know you should really be against him and what he's doing. The rest of the cast do a decent enough job with what they have but the standout is definitely Sebe.

All in all, The Soul Collector isn't too bad of a watch and it may be a decent break away from the seemingly endless superhero films that is being trudged out right now. Just be prepared for the slow pace.