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DVD REVIEW FOR
" LOST SOULS "

(2000) (Winona Ryder, Ben Chaplin) (R)

Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides
98 minutes Letterbox (2.40:1)
16x9 - Widescreen
English English Dolby Digital 5.1
DTS
1

PLOT & PARENTAL REVIEW

AUDIO/VIDEO ELEMENTS:
While most of the film's look is intentionally dark, murky and somewhat monochromatic, what may have worked in the theaters clearly doesn't look as good here on home video, even with the capabilities that DVD brings to the table. Varying amounts of noticeable pixelation are present in many scenes, giving the film something of a grainy look, and the overall image quality simply looks murky throughout most of the film (few scenes are razor sharp). The audio, however, fares much better. With a decent horror score and related sound effects, as well as plenty of various and highly effective spatial effects, the audio track certainly helps complement the necessary suspense aura needed for a film such as this.
EXTRAS:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene (with moving images).
  • Running audio commentary by director Janusz Kaminski & cinematographer Mauro Fiore.
  • 10 Deleted Scenes.
  • Theatrical trailer.
  • Director and select cast filmographies.
  • DVD-ROM: Script-to-screen -- Watch the movie while reading the entire printable script.
  • DVD-ROM: Original website.
  • COMMENTS:
    For anyone who's ever worked in retail where perishable or seasonal items are sold, it's common knowledge that the oldest products are always moved to the front of the display case. That's because of the hope that they'll sell before they expire or go out of fashion, thus reducing the store's possible financial loss if they'd have to trash such items.

    Of course, in Hollywood, films don't expire, thanks to the home video industry and TV broadcasts where movies live on forever, as well as the occasional re-release of films into theaters. Simply put, the major Hollywood studios can rarely afford to eat their films and thus swallow the huge production costs, even if their product is bad or has missed the crest of whatever craze it was trying to capitalize on. As such, the studios usually send such films straight to video or cable TV. On occasion, however, and for a variety of reasons, they'll keep certain films sitting on the shelf for months or even years while the studio heads (often ones who replaced those who gave the green light to the troubled project) try to figure out the three Ws of marketing: What to do with the film and when and where to release it.

    Such was the case with New Line Cinema's "Lost Souls," that reportedly sat on the shelf for well more than a year, caught up in some sort of internal struggle that prevented its initial theatrical release until the fall of 2000.

    Besides the re-release of "The Exorcist" in theaters, it seems like we've been inundated of recent with films about demonic possession, the Devil and/or the coming of the Antichrist. From "Bless the Child" to "Stigmata" and "End of Days," that horror sub-genre has received its share of recent attention, but all of that results in the lessening of the impact of each subsequent film.

    That's certainly the case with this release that marks the long-delayed directorial debut of Oscar winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski ("Saving Private Ryan," "Schindler's List"). While he gives the film an effectively gritty, grainy and decidedly monochromatic look, he can't overcome what ultimately turns out to be a middling script courtesy of producer turned screenwriter Pierce Gardner.

    Perhaps part of the film's problem is that too many hands and trips to the salvage booth (a.k.a. the editing suite) have resulted in the story feeling too lose and disjointed. That's often the case when various people try to fix what's considered a problem film and this picture shows signs that that might have been the case here.

    What was probably a larger part of the film - the whole bit about Winona Ryder's character, Maya, being a recovering possession victim - is reduced to a quick flashback that leaves the viewer to assume and/or guess about the details regarding that back-story. The same holds true for a subplot involving the film's two mass murderers as it feels as if additional footage about them ended up on the cutting room floor rather than in the film.

    As far as the basic plot is concerned - regarding Maya trying to convince a man that he's the pending Antichrist and then doing what she can to help him - it's basically serviceable and does drive the story forward. Nonetheless, it's otherwise a by the numbers supernatural thriller that surprisingly isn't that thrilling save for a few spooky moments. What are supposed to be shocking revelations are either relatively tame or varyingly absurd, and most of the scary moments are simply textbook examples of the "let's split up in this dark house and turn on as few lights as possible" variety.

    The film's biggest problem is that the supernatural elements - the possessions and exorcisms - aren't particularly effective or scary, especially when compared with what occurs in the "The Exorcist." In that film, evil and the Devil were personified by the contrast between the young and innocent girl played by Linda Blair and that creepy, otherworldly voice and attitude that emanated from her.

    Here, such creepiness is relegated to the background, which turns out to be a huge error since we're supposed to worry about Peter experiencing the same fate. Perhaps the filmmakers assumed we'd fill in such blanks, but the stakes never feel that high regarding such matters and the film suffers accordingly.

    Another problem is the way in which the characters are drawn and then portrayed. In short, they're neither interesting nor that sympathetic, thus resulting in the viewer not having anyone to lead them through the film. As a result, while we witness what occurs, we don't really care or worry about the characters played by Winona Ryder ("Autumn in New York," "Girl, Interrupted") or Ben Chaplin ("The Thin Red Line," "The Truth About Cats and Dogs"), particularly since they're so bland.

    John Hurt ("Midnight Express," "The Elephant Man") is present as the resident exorcist, but doesn't make nearly the impression that Max Von Sydow did in "The Exorcist," while Philip Baker Hall ("Rules of Engagement," "Magnolia") and Sarah Wynter ("Farwell, My Love," the upcoming "The Sixth Day") can't do much with their respective roles of uncle and girlfriend, especially when the latter inexplicably disappears for most of the film's second half. Meanwhile, John Diehl ("Anywhere But Here," "The Hi-Lo Country") appears as an evil mass murderer, but is pretty much reduced to a standard, knife-wielding psycho killer.

    Overall, the film starts off with a halfway decent, if rather familiar premise, but unfortunately doesn't turn into anything special. While Kaminski's heavily stylized and somewhat old-fashioned film thankfully stands above and apart from the first-time efforts of MTV-weaned directors, all of the bleak, highly contrasted lighting and monochromatic color schemes can't overcome what turns out to be a less than engaging or interesting story.

    Lost Souls is now available for purchase by clicking here.

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