I once heard a quote regarding the Star Wars prequels. I don’t remember who said it, but they said that “… Star Wars is a lot like pizza; even when it’s bad, it’s still pizza.” The same can be said for My Soul To Take. Just substitute “Star Wars” with “Wes Craven’s movies”. I have mixed emotions on this one, honestly. But more on that in a minute. For now, the plot.
Sixteen years ago, the Riverton Ripper was caught and shot, supposedly dying on his way to the hospital in a fiery accident. At the same time, seven babies were born, all premature. Fast forward to today, where the “Riverton 7″ as they are called, celebrate “Ripper Day”, an urban legend ritual where one of the seven children defeats a dummy dressed as The Ripper in order to put off their inevitable doom. This year, it seems that they will have to fight more than a mannequin as they are picked off one by one. Did The Ripper come out of hiding to show the kids he isn’t a joke, or has his soul possessed one of the seven born on the night of his death?
Before I get into my acutal thoughts on the film, I just want to say that I think Wes Craven was pressured by the studio to make this movie 3D. There are maybe two shots in the whole movie that work as 3D, one of them is the closing credits. I wish I was joking.
Having said that, this movie was ok. Just ok. Craven had some great ideas here, he just had too many at once. A lot of cool imagery, symbolism and sound effects were no match for a poorly written script. My main problem with the movie is that the cast was very cliche and Craven should have known better. We have two nerdy outcasts, an Asian guy, an African-American guy, a jock douchebag, two popular hot girls (who happen to be bitches) and the Soothsayer (aka, the “something bad will happen” character). Not even the main characters out of the Riverton 7 are likeable, and you really need that in a horror movie.
We don’t really get any scares until almost the half way mark. Until then, this movie plays out like Mean Girls. The minor plot point of a school bully mafia that is making money on everything from beating the crap out of kids to selling cheat sheets really has no bearing on the movie and should have been thrown out. Add into that the jock douchebag knocking up the principal’s daughter and you’ve got an episode of Secret Life of the American Teenager.
I really wish they had done more with the character of Penelope. Her being the only born-again Christian of the Riverton 7 seemed like it should have been explored a little deeper than it did. They could’ve also made her a great red herring if she had stayed around a little longer. Instead they made her look like a creepy religious zealot a la Carrie White’s mother.
The lead character of Adam (or “Bug” as he’s called during the movie) had too much going on for his own good. He’s hearing voices, impersonating other characters and freaking out at a moments notice makes him look so obvious as the villian that you see right away that he’s not.
That is only scratching the surface of the transparent nature of the cast. As far as minor characters go, the adults in the cast really phone this one in. Especially Jessica Hecht, who plays May. Her tone of voice and inflection throughout the movie just misses the mark entirely.
On to more positive things. While the main actors don’t have much to work with, they really give it their all. These kids bring their “A” game to a movie that would’ve gone straight to DVD, save for the fact that it was written by one of the legends of the industry. However, this one doesn’t slip on the gore. We have lots of blood here which, though it doesn’t save the movie, gives you something to look at until the credits roll. I also liked how this one didn’t go for the obvious “jump” scares that so many movies go for to get the easy screams.
What this movie lacks in focus and originality, it makes up for in great casting and a few cool kills. But as I said earlier, if Wes Craven’s name wasn’t on this script, it would never have gotten off the ground.
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