DVD Review: SOULMATE Offers Plenty Of Creepy Atmosphere

Axelle Carolyn's Soulmate is the kind of film that will inspire all sorts of reviews based upon a critics particular dispensation. Not scary enough to be a thriller, not bloody enough for gorehounds, and not paced quickly enough for those of us with attention issues, the film occupies what is becoming a growing niche in the indie horror world, the "slow burn". An increasingly popular term for films which lean heavily toward set up and atmosphere, this type of film has gained popularity following the successes of Ti West's House of the Devil and The Innkeepers. Don't get me wrong, I know they were always there, but it is with West's recent films that the phrase has come back into popular usage among critics. Soulmate would certainly find structural similarites with those films, though, in my opinion it lacks the punch that makes those films work.

Hear me out.

The film opens with a woman, Audrey, played by Anna Walton (The Seasoning House, a guilty favorite of mine) attempting suicide in a bathtub -- an event which caused the film significant problems in the UK, but we'll get to that later -- she fails, rehabilitates and moves to the country to recuperate. Turns out that she was mourning the loss of her husband, and with her new found solitude she intends to continue upon her career as a writer by writing her new novel away from reminders of her former life, and frankly, away from any reminders of humanity in general. She is quickly joined in the house by an increasingly insistent spirit who shares some of her pain and the two form a bond that is, naturally, unhealthy. As the bond grows more firm, Audrey grows rationally uncomfortable, but the ghost won't let go.

I don't think that Axelle Carolyn was attempting to make a thriller, a gorefest, or an action horror spectacle, however, it's clear that she wanted this film to be creepy. The isolated setting in the British countryside, the creaky old house, the nosy neighbors, the chatty ghost, it all points toward a film meant to give you the chills. Where the film stalls for me is the very nature of the relationship between Audrey and the ghost. The familiarity they begin to share as the film wears on begins to diminish that atmosphere and the audience could begin to forget that he's a ghost at all, which begins to weaken the tension. We are reminded of his phantasmagorical nature frequently by a neighbor with an ulterior motive, however, that seems more like an attempt at disruption or the comforting process than an actual plot point.

This unusual style will work for many, many people. Those who lament the death of atmospheric horror, those who wish they got to know their characters a little better before they were ripped limb from limb, those who are tired of being assaulted by flashing lights and cacophonous dins in their horror will be delighted at Soulmate. It's just not my style. I love horror more than your average person, I definitely love a good creepfest, too. However, what I do not enjoy is wasted atmosphere, and for me, the payoff wasn't really worth the journey. There is a climax, and it is horrific in the strictst sense of the word, but it just wasn't enough. I don't feel as though my patience was rewarded.

Soulmate is a well-crafted, well-written, well-shot, and deliberately made film. It will strike home with a lot of horror fans, just not this one. Axelle Carolyn has done an admirable job with her first feature film. It should do her some favors in establishing legitimacy for her as she struggles to get out from beneath the shadows of her more well-known husband, director Neill Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday, Game of Thrones), as no one would accuse Mr. Marshall of interfering too much with this. Their styles are complete opposites, where Carolyn obviously gravitates toward atmosphere, Marshall has made a career of bombast. I feel that Carolyn has at least a few great, gripping stories in her, they just haven't made their way out yet, and I'm eager to follow up with her and I'll be in the front of the cheering crowd when I feel she's made that film worth celebrating.

The Disc:

Soulmate receives it's first uncut home video release from Revolver Entertainment in the US. The bulk of the film's notoriety so far has come from the trouble it's had with the BBFC in the UK. The opening sequence showing Audrey's suicide attempt was forced to be cut because she is shown slitting her wrists vertically, which is a far more lethal method than the typically shown horizontal cuts shown in most films. This was seen by the BBFC as "imitable behavior", which threw up a red flag and started their engines on that old chestnut that their purpose was to protect British youth. The fear, ridiculous though it may be in reality, was that this scene would lead to a rash of razor blade suicides in Britain, so the BBFC forced Carolyn to cut the film or they'd reject giving it any certificate, thereby effectively banning it in the UK outright. She did cut the film for the UK market, because it would've been financial suicide not to, but thankfully the US has no body with such power, and we get the film full strength.

The disc looks perfectly adequate. As I mentioned above, Soulmate is not a film to test your home theater setup, it's mostly grey and mostly quiet, and that atmosphere is conveyed well enough on the DVD. There are a few extras on the disc, an early Carolyn short called The Halloween Kid, starring Anna Walton, which is not unlike Tim Burton's Vincent in showing us the story of a child obsessed with the macabre is an adorable way, but the most interesting of the features is a Q & A shot at a film festival (I'm blanking on the actual fest). In the Q & A, Carolyn addresses the ridiculous nature of the BBFC ban, and even the notion that her film, with hardly any gore at all, is now effectively a Video Nasty in the UK in its uncut state. She goes on to dicuss, with great literacy, the nature of her film and her process in a way that is engaging and effective. She clearly has a good head on her shoulders and that gives me great hoope for her future endeavors.

Revolver Entertainment's Soulmate hits DVD and VOD October 28th.