LOST SOULS
SYNOPSIS:
Ailing Father Lareaux (John Hurt) leads a small group of Catholics called the
X-Fathers, who believe Satan will soon become man, just as God did as Jesus.
They are thus committed to exorcising demons from host bodies, with the help of
secular adviser Maya Larkin (Winona Ryder), a Catholic school teacher and former
victim of demonic possession. She suspects a smug best-selling crime author,
Peter Kelson (Ben Chaplin), who studies serial killers, may become the
manifestation of Mephistopheles. He meets a few prerequisites; he was never
baptised and is a child of incest. As he and Maya learn more tell-tale signs,
they enter a world full of spooky incidences, self-discovery, and ultimate
confrontation.
“Long-time Speilberg cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, whose Oscar
nominations include Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List, makes his stylish
but disappointing directorial debut with Lost Souls. His atmospheric visual
details can't save the film from Pierce Gardiner's routine, repetitive, and
quite rueful script. The fact that Lost Souls has been held from release since
1998 says little for the studio's confidence. Unlike wine, it hasn't improved
with age. It's obvious the studio wants to ride the Mephistophelian wave after
The Exorcist raked in millions and created a resurgence of Satan bashing. While
it and films like Rosemary's Baby and The Omen set the standard, Lost Souls
resembles a recruitment film for Catholicism, proposing agnosticism as a
sure-fire way to horns and cloved-hooves. A few loud noises and absurd
spectacles may not even wake you from long patches of somnambulism. Black runny
stuff and cockroaches flailing on their backs is about as scary as it gets,
which is hell for clean freaks but hardly Satanic. If only Winona spider-walked
down the stairs. She looks paler than normal here, with a few fiery flashes in
her eyes the best she can do from the seriously lacking script. British actor
Chaplin looks flat reacting to these extraordinary developments; maybe he was
just concentrating on his Yankee accent. Only Philip Baker Hall, as a faux
priest, is memorable with his line, "They had their 2,000 years; now it's
our turn." The abrupt, "oh-screw-it" conclusion is the final nail
in this weak demon. Like Kelson says in what's meant to be a scary moment,
"I was surprised but I was never frightened." Me neither.
Shannon J Harvey
"Lost Souls is a classic case of a good idea spun too far out of
control. The clutch of millennial movies dealing with the apocalypse which was
sure to descend on the world when the calendar clicked over (End of Days and its
ilk) relied heavily on special effects and massive explosions to tell their
(often thin) tales. Lost Souls at least employs a consistent point of view and a
passable theory. The writers of this film take the premise that if Satan was to
take human form, it would be done quietly, without huge fanfare - the better to
hatch his evil plans. What transpires though is that they lose control of the
plot, with ever more ludicrous twists and turns in the second half of the movie
making for a sadly uninspiring ending. After a taut first half, these
developments feel contrived and empty. Director Janusz Kaminski was Kryztof
Kieszlowski’s cinematographer; so it comes as no surprise that the film looks
great and has a ton of brooding atmosphere. Winona Ryder is very good as the
rather erratic Maya; and Ben Chaplin equally so as the bewildered Peter. Ryder
plays Maya with just the right blend of sincere conviction and possible
psychotic derangement. John Hurt and Phillip Baker Hall both have marginal
roles; but John Deihl gets some of the creepiest moments in the film. A brave
attempt that’s brought undone by the lack of discipline in the screenplay,
Lost Souls is a true mixed bag - moments of brilliance sitting uncomfortably
alongside moments of folly."
David Edwards
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CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 0
Unfavourable: 1
Mixed: 1


TRAILER
LOST SOULS (MA)
(US)
CAST: Winona Ryder, Ben Chaplin, Sarah Wynter, Philip Baker Hall
DIRECTOR: Janusz Kaminsk
PRODUCER: Meg Ryan, Nina R. Sadowsky
SCRIPT: Pierce Gardner (story and screenplay), Betsy Stahl (story)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mauro Fiore
EDITOR: Anne Goursaud, Andrew Mondshein (recut)
MUSIC: Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Garreth Stover
RUNNING TIME: 102 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: April 24, 2001
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