Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

My Soul to Take Blu-ray Movie Review

Spine-tingling for all the wrong reasons...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 4, 2011

Here it is: the one I've been alluding to for months. Sex and the City 2, Jonah Hex, Leap Year, Skyline, When in Rome, Furry Vengeance, The Bounty Hunter, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, You Again and The Last Airbender may be strong contenders, but My Soul to Take is, far and away, the worst film of 2010. And it's bad. Inconceivably bad. The script is first-year film school genre junk, the story is a shameful stab at a long-lost art, the beastie beneath the bedsheets is a bore, the wince-inducing characters spew supernatural exposition without rhyme or reason, enormous plot holes litter the cinescape, the quote-unquote scares are as dull as a pair of kid's safety scissors, the slasher bits are clumsy and gangly, the visual effects languish, the performances would have drawn jeers in the '80s and, to be quite blunt, little redeems the all-too-pedestrian nightmare by film's end. It's the sort of bland, derivative, faux-gristly throwback horror hounds might expect to bear the words "Wes Craven Presents," not the sort of rubbery tripe that comes stamped "Written and Directed by Wes Craven."

Abel Plankov, the original Ripper...

When a serial killer dubbed the Riverton Ripper (Raul Esparza, Company: A Musical Comedy) is caught and nearly killed -- before mysteriously disappearing into the Riverton River, of course -- seven babies are prematurely and simultaneously born at a nearby hospital. Sixteen years later, the Ripper's body has yet to be recovered and the creepy miracle-baby teens (conveniently referred to as the "Riverton Seven") are well aware of the bizarre events surrounding their births. Apparently their parents weren't as skilled at keeping a dark secret as the folks on Elm Street. To celebrate their birthdays, the teens gather near the site where the Ripper vanished, con one of their friends into dressing up as the maniac and ceremoniously banish the home-brewed specter back into the river for another year. But when their fun is interrupted by the police and their ritual left unfinished, the Ripper returns with a vengeance. (Or so we're assured.)

But is the killer the Ripper, rising from his watery grave after sixteen years? Or one of the Riverton Seven, slowly but surely going insane? Suspect number one: Adam "Bug" Hellerman (Max Thieriot, Jumper), an introverted loner who shows all the clear signs of madness at a young age. Vaulting from one personality to the next, he mutters to himself, sees dead friends in mirrors and stands as the most obvious choice and most likely red herring. Suspect two: Jerome King (Denzel Whitaker, The Great Debaters), a hulking blind teen who never seems to be around when one of his pals are being gutted. Suspect three: Jay Chan (Jeremy Chu), an early victim who just so happens to disappear into the Riverton River after being attacked. Suspect four: Penelope Bryte (Zena Grey, The Shaggy Dog), an ultra-devout Christian good-girl who begins having ghastly premonitions. Suspect five: Alex Dunkelman (John Magaro, The Box), Bug's best friend and passive-aggressive confidant. Suspect six: Brittany Cunningham (Paulina Olszynski), the two-faced blonde who earns Bug's affection. And suspect seven: Brandon O'Neil (Nick Lashaway, The Last Song), resident bully, jock and grating antagonist.

Other suspects enter the fray as well -- Bug's angsty adopted sister Fang (Emily Meade, Twelve), his mother May (Jessica Hecht, Whatever Works) and local officer of the law, Detective Patterson (Frank Grillo, Prison Break), among many, many others -- but in a film this dreadfully penned, this hideously convoluted, this intolerably incoherent, who cares? Craven's finger-painted screenplay explains too much too often, reveals too much too soon, offers too little too late, collapses if subjected to the slightest scrutiny, unravels from the get-go and vomits up some of the most unnatural, ungainly, unengaging dialogue to grace a horror flick since House of the Dead 2. Thieriot and Magaro give it their all, they do. God help 'em they try. In fact, of everyone on screen and behind the camera, they come the closest to making My Soul to Take somewhat watchable. But there's only so much the two young actors can do to survive the multiple-career homicide Craven is hellbent on committing.

The biggest shock is that Craven, the same man who gave audiences chilling classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street and serrated satires like Scream, returns from his five-year hiatus (of sorts) with such an excruciating addition to the genre he helped build. My Soul to Take isn't scary, unnerving, clever, unsettling, compelling, devilishly constructed or disturbing in any way. Craven spells out everything, from the nature of his Big Bad to every last mystery that surrounds the Riverton Seven to the connections they share. And just to make sure everyone's on the same page, he repeats himself and reiterates plot points ad nauseum, pounding away at the story until his narrative and mythos have been beaten beyond recognition. When he runs out of ideas and steam, he even lifts from his own canon, ripping entire pages out of far better films in his repertoire. As it stands, My Soul to Take has just one saving grace: its first five minutes. Raw and riveting, if only for a short time, our introduction to the Riverton Ripper is tenacious and intense. Unfortunately the moment Officer Patterson arrives, Craven's dialogue and subsequent storytelling drags the film into the river along with the Ripper, never to be seen again. My advice? Leave this one in the depths of the bargain bin.

My Soul to Take Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There isn't anything wrong with Universal's 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation. Then again, there isn't anything particularly spectacular about it either. Detail is striking at times -- even if it's a tad underwhelming at others -- and edge enhancement and noise reduction rarely wreak havoc on Riverton and its denizens. Fine textures are often effectively resolved and decidedly decent on the whole, object definition is sharp and satisfying, and delineation, though impenetrable, bolsters the tone of Craven's foreboding atmosphere. Colors, meanwhile, are suitably bleak yet altogether strong. Black levels are fairly deep (barring a few problematic nighttime shots), primaries are nice and pulpy, splashes of sticky red stuff add visceral punch to DP Petra Korner's palette, and skintones are lifelike throughout (and corpse-like when necessary). And Universal executes it all with proficient precision. Artifacting and banding aren't an issue, noise and crush are only a factor insofar as Korner's photography is concerned, the unseemly seams of Craven's glossy CG gore are the only eyesores viewers will be forced to endure, and the usual assortment of lesser anomalies are held at bay. All in all, horror junkies will be most pleased... assuming they're able to look past the film itself.

My Soul to Take Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My Soul to Take embraces the eerie silence, sudden shock, sonic storm school of horror sound design and Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track keeps pace. Craven's manic soundfield never comes alive as readily as it does when some poor schlub is about to die, but the resulting LFE eruption and rear speaker fury is gripping nonetheless. Otherwise, the studio's capable mix primarily deals in hair-raising ambience, hushed acoustics and dead-aim directionality, all of which deliver in their own regard. Effects ricochet from channel to channel with ease, low-end support lends notable weight and presence to the experience, and dialogue is crisp, clean and intelligible throughout. No, My Soul to Take doesn't represent the pinnacle of modern horror sound design, nor will it leave you with the unsettling sense that a killer is slinking around your home theater. However, Universal's lossless track goes for the jugular and, inherent shortcomings aside, remains faithful to Craven's every intention.

My Soul to Take Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray edition of My Soul to Take doesn't offer much in the way of supplemental value, thanks in large part to a Craven-led audio commentary that does little more than bleed out. Still, the disc at least has a commentary track. The same can't be said of the majority of Universal's recent horror releases.

• Audio Commentary: Director Wes Craven, reserved and practically reticent, sits down with actors Max Thieriot, John Magaro and Emily Meade for a rather dull, altogether anecdotal chat that idles far more often than it hurtles along. For diehard Craven fans only.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD, 22 minutes): Five scenes are available: "Old Puppet Ceremony," "Jay's House," "Brandon on Phone in Woods," "Fang Plays Guitar" and "Revelations." Only "Revelations" is worth its weight in intrigue, even though it only muddles an already convoluted backstory.
• Alternate Opening (HD, 2 minutes): Craven's alternate opening begins at the end. It doesn't help.
• Alternate Endings (HD, 4 minutes): Two strikingly similar alternate endings, both of which come up short.
• BD-Live Functionality and News Ticker
• My Scenes Bookmarking

My Soul to Take Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My Soul to Take is awful. Unbelievably awful. If you'll excuse the lame play on words, it's as soulless as they come. I'd go on, but I think my "worst film of 2010" disclaimer says it all. Fortunately for Craven, its Blu-ray release isn't half bad. While the director's commentary and the film's supplemental package isn't going to entrance anyone, Universal's video transfer and DTS-HD Master Audio track are strong enough to make My Soul to Take easier to swallow, even if the flick still leaves an ungodly aftertaste. Rent it if you must. Just don't say I didn't warn you.