Horror icon Wes Craven, responsible for Freddy Krueger,
Scream films and one of my favourites, Last House on the Left,
takes us once again into a foggy, cold small town where cardboard
cut-out teens are cut down like hours of the clock. Riverton is home to
seven kids who were all born the day, 16 years earlier, a mass murderer
finally met his maker.
There's a somewhat kooky ritual amongst the youth to
gather every anniversary at the ambulance crash site (the rusting
vehicle is still there) by the riverside where the Riverton Ripper
vanished. It is the turn of “Bug” (the bedazzling, blonde Max Thieriot)
to take on the costume and enact the Ripper's last moments. Except he
freaks out.
The deaths of the Riverton Seven ensue shortly
thereafter, beginning with the Asian kid (Jeremy Chu). Meanwhile Bug and
best mate Alex (John Magaro) grow even more atypical and isolated
(they're the “weird, loser guys” which seem to adorn every US high
school) until Bug's extremely introverted and bizarre behaviour scares
not only his sister Fang (Emily Meade is the only strong performance)
but also his purported mother, the school and Alex himself.
As the kids keep dropping, questions arise as to who is
responsible. There are rumours the Ripper never died and is back; or
that he mystically reincarnated or is in the minds of one of the kids
(but whom?).
The film was released in (post-production) 3D in cinemas
but is presented in 2D on the Blu-Ray. The colours are quite muted and
the quality of the image is lacking in numerous scenes. The sound mix is
good but not overly dramatic. The sound is DTS-HD 5.1 or Dolby 2.0 and
special features include alternate opening and endings (don't hold your
breath), deleted and extended scenes, the trailer, and a feature
commentary with Craven and the cast (this may prove more interesting
than the thriller).
Beside one clean, good confrontation scene, My Soul to
Take is a largely soulless project and apparent indulgence from a
man we know and expect to do better. The lack of tension not only stems
for our complete disinterest in these generic young people but also from
the lazy direction which does not bother to spring a surprise or
challenge on the viewer. Genre fans alone might sit all the way through.
