Lost Souls (2000)

A small group of Catholics led by an ailing priest believe that Satan intends to become man, just as God did in the person of Jesus. The writings of a possessed mental patient lead them to ... See full summary »

Director:

Janusz Kaminski

Writers:

Pierce Gardner (story), Betsy Stahl (story),

Stars:

Winona Ryder, Ben Chaplin, Sarah Wynter

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Winona Ryder	...	Maya Larkin
Ben Chaplin	...	Peter Kelson
Sarah Wynter	...	Claire Van Owen
Philip Baker Hall	...	Father James
John Hurt	...	Father Lareaux
Elias Koteas	...	John Townsend
Brian Reddy	...	Father Frank Page
John Beasley	...	Det. Mike Smythe
John Diehl	...	Henry Birdson
Paul Kleiman	...	Paramedic
Bob Clendenin	...	Mental Patient (as Robert Clenendin)
Oliver Clark	...	Mr. Silberman
Michael Mantell	...	Kleiman
Brad Greenquist	...	George Viznik
Ming Lo	...	Michael Kim 'Robert'

Storyline

A small group of Catholics led by an ailing priest believe that Satan intends to become man, just as God did in the person of Jesus. The writings of a possessed mental patient lead them to Peter Kelson, a writer who studies serial killers. They think it's his body Satan will occupy. The youngest in the group, a teacher named Maya Larkin, goes to Peter to investigate further and to convince him to believe in the possibility of Evil incarnate. Other signs come to him as he and Maya them take a journey full of strange occurrences, self-discovery, and an ultimate showdown.

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Plot Keywords:

priest | mental patient | teacher | devil | antichrist | 

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Taglines:

The Danger Is Unknown. The Truth Will Terrify You. The Power Will Possess You.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/terror and some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Almas perdidas

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£217,276 (UK) (12 January 2001)

Gross:

ESP 583,101,500 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avery Pix, Castle Rock Entertainment, Prufrock Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was initially supposed to be released in October 1999. Its trailer was in theaters in Summer 1999. However, due to a flood of "End of the World" movies coming out at the exact same time (End of Days, Stigmata, etc...), the decision was made to delay the film. Its new date was 4 February 2000. However, that date was canceled after the very popular "Scream" franchise staked out that date for its final installment, Scream 3. The final release date of 13 October 2000, was finally decided upon, which also happened to be the same exact day as the re-release of The Exorcist.

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Goofs

The thumb visible in the close-up of the scene in which Peter is preparing a fishing bait isn't his.

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Quotes

John Townsend: God will forgive me. The transformation is near.

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Crazy Credits

The initial credits appear as numbers morphing into letters plus a reversed shadow.

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Connections

Referenced in E! True Hollywood Story: Winona Ryder (2002)

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Soundtracks

"TIJUANA LADY"
Written by Ian Ball, 'Paul Blackburn', Thomas Gray, Benjamin Jo Ottewell,
Oliver James Peacock
Performed by Gomez
Courtesy of Virgin Records Ltd.

User Reviews

How Can You Go From "Little Women" and "Washington Square" to This?

Winona had just had a big hit with "Girl Interrupted," and Ben Chaplin was impressive doing Montgomery Cliff's "The Heiress" part in "Washington Square." So what possessed them to do a cheesy "Exorcist" meets "the Omen" and "Rosemary's Baby" formula movie? In any case, the movie has a good opening twenty minutes and promises real scary stuff to come. You don't know anything about the characters or what's going on and that makes it a little frustrating, but you can forgive the movie for that. Unfortunately, the movie becomes less scary the more the silly plot and characters gets revealed. Probably the silliest moment comes when Winona tells Ben that he fits the profile for the "antichrist" because he's never been baptized. It is hard to see how Winona Horowitz could say such a thing with a straight face.

Apparently the first time director is a great cinematographer. That is usually not such a good thing. Yes, Stanley Kubrick did make the transition, but most cinematographers are too concerned with the lighting and have no idea how to direct actors. That turns out to be the case here, where everybody is just doing monotone line readings.

I confess my love for Winona, but even her presence only makes the film barely watchable and not quite enjoyable or fun.