Wes Craven My soul to be taken must have been a terrible event. Instead, it was released 15 years ago to puzzled audiences, disappointed reviews and accompanying poor box office returns. However, now that its era has passed and its place at the end of Craven's career has become clearer, perhaps the film itself has come of age.
It was the first feature film written and directed by Craven since 1994, when he directed the film A Nightmare on Elm Street series and test Scream row simultaneously with New nightmare. Crazy concept My soul to be taken essentially crosses two of Craven's signature franchises. In the first episode of the film, the serial killer named the Ripper is revealed to be a man suffering from multiple personality disorder who is later caught and killed. That same night, seven babies were born at a local hospital.
Fast forward 16 years and the so-called “Riverton Seven” are all teenagers loosely bound by a shared history and an annual superstitious ritual in which the Ripper is re-killed in effigy. Some say the seven children may even reflect the different souls that took turns inhabiting the Ripper's body. Naturally, these teenagers begin to be selected one by one.
So, on the one hand, a masked killer stalks and kills teenagers, even at one point making a threatening phone call. On the other hand, there is a group of teenagers who are haunted by the terrible past of their hometown. Combination Screamtactile beats in style and some NightmareHallucination-style hallucinations add spice to the mystery novel. For example, although it would normally make sense to assume that closely observing a mild-mannered child nicknamed “Bug” (Max Thiero) would count as an alibi for him. But when Bug starts seeing his Riverton 7 classmates in strange places after their deaths – especially in mirrors – it becomes clear that there is some greater subjectivity at play. This also, along with the hastily presented (but unclear) exposition, makes My soul to be taken more than a little confusing.
Given that Craven immediately followed the film in relative safety, Scream 4 six months later, one would assume that this was a troubled production caused by studio interference, e.g. Cursed. This aptly titled werewolf movie was subject to endless interference and reshoots from Harvey Weinstein, and Craven quickly followed it up with a back-to-basics thrill. Red eyeprobably his best postScream movie. But My soul to be taken wasn't Cursed situation. Craven never criticized the film or his experience making it. In fact, in interview dedicated to Scream 4he had this to say about the film's pathetic reviews: “When you make a film like My soul to be taken and people think it sucks, it hurts. We put a lot of work into it and it's a good movie, but you keep going.”
It's easy to understand these grievances—and just as easy to understand the bad reviews. My soul to be taken This is a very strange film and it doesn't have much patience or atmosphere. The exposition, characterization, and “colorful” dialogue are confusing. Craven's handwriting appears rusty, the gears squeaking especially audibly as he approaches teenage sniping. Scream scenarios. For all the quick back-and-forth and compressed schedule of the film (most of it takes place over the course of 24 hours), it feels oddly drawn out. On top of that, the young stars' performances lack the clarity needed to truly convey the idea of different souls sharing bodies.
And yet! Like most of Craven's films, there's something creepy and haunting about it. My soul to be taken. Author and critic Scout Tafoya, as part of her video series “Unloved”: reads the film as autobiographically personal for Craven. In particular, he sees the twisted serial killer soul that may be harassing and changing these teenagers as analogous to the dark creative impulses that Craven may have felt during his gruesome horror career. It's a thrilling moment, but it's not the only way to enjoy the film.
There's something else about the fluidity and sometimes nastiness of teenage identity. Many of the Rivertown Seven are both disgusted and obsessed with each other. Max and his best friend Alex (John Magaro) discuss their passion for Brittany (Paulina Olszynski), but it seems obligatory and distant, despite the fact that they have supposedly known her for years. Penelope (Zena Gray) is initially portrayed as a committed Christian with a strong belief in heaven and especially the brimstone of hell, but by the end she sounds more fatalistic than that. (She's also one of the more likable and empathetic characters, which comes as a surprise to Craven, who, as Tafoya notes, has been the subject of judgmental scoldings for the impure content of his work.) The menacing school bully Fang (Emily Meade), who controls a small army of jock henchmen, is a goth-looking girl. Nerd outcast Bug bears an uncanny physical resemblance to the handsome and popular Brandon (Nick Lashway). All this suggests a certain grim impermanence, the temporary nature of the school's social order, which has become bordering on nihilistic.
It's not up to par A Nightmare on Elm Street. But in 2010, following a lousy decade full of mediocre horror remakes (in fact, the ill-fated A Nightmare on Elm Street the remake came out only six months earlier) and the sad remnants of the post-Scream teen horror boom, My soul to be taken probably should have been rated better than similar ones Stay alive or Boogeyman. In one particularly strange scene, Bug and Alex present their biology project, dressing Alex as a huge California condor, terrorizing his classmates, and eventually spraying Brandon with some unknown substance. They extol the bird's endurance and ability to feed on death. At such moments, My soul to be taken is perceived as a criticism of oneself and a declaration of perverted, terrifying pride.
