(2010) *
In a flashback we learn that sixteen years ago a serial killer who was unaware that he was a serial killer due to his multiple personality disorder was murdered by the police; or was he? Despite numerous gun shots and stab wounds his body manages to disappear down by the small town’s river. Apparently before his disappearance he scattered his 7 personalities among 7 newborns. Fast forward 16 years later and we find the “Riverton Seven” celebrating their collective birthday with an annual ritual of attempting to resurrect the Riverton Ripper where his body was last seen. Soon the Riverton Seven begin dying and it’s anyone’s guess as to the identity of the murderer. Is the Riverton Ripper back?
If that plot description was painful to read, it was even more painful to generate. My Soul to Take is a confusing mess of a movie. There’s so much to dislike here I don’t even know where to begin. In many ways My Soul to Take is simply a Nightmare on Elm Street redeux. The story is a slasher involving teens being murdered by an assailant with magical abilities. You almost wonder if this was a discarded script for an Elm Street sequel that was never fully realized. Craven still writes his “teens” as if it’s still the 1980s. The dysthymic “actors” are all awful, delivering Craven’s wooden dialogue with the enthusiasm of a billionaire winning $20 from a scratch ticket. Each is more unlikable than the next and they’re all interchangeable. You won’t have any emotional investment in these jerks.
The film is never scary, not for a single moment. Craven continues to provide the cheapest, most ineffective “scares” from the 80s school of film making. Rather than creating creepy ambiance, he jolts us with loud musical cues and quick jump cuts. Not a single goose bump will emerge from your body while watching My Soul to Take. The story itself is needlessly confusing and we are spoon fed voluminous exposition during the climax in a feeble attempt by Craven to make all the pieces “fit” together. It doesn’t work. My Soul to Take fails on every level. It’s an ugly mess with unlikable characters, zero scares, terrible cinematography, and a plot that will make you scratch your head more than once. This might be Craven’s worst film to date.
Sadly I’ve had to admit to myself that Craven is a pretty crappy director. I forget that for every Nightmare on Elm Street there are 10 really bad movies such as Shocker. Need a refresher? Here’s a sampling of Mr. Craven’s work.
2010 My Soul to Take
2005 Red Eye
2005 Cursed
2000 Scream 3
1999 Music of the Heart
1997 Scream 2
1996 Scream
1995 Vampire in Brooklyn
1994 New Nightmare
1991 The People Under the Stairs
1989 Shocker
1988 The Serpent and the Rainbow
1986 Deadly Friend
1985 The Hills Have Eyes Part II
1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street
1982 Swamp Thing
1981 Deadly Blessing
1977 The Hills Have Eyes
1972 The Last House on the Left
