Soul Survivors (2001)

A co-ed is caught between the world of the living and the dead.

Director:

Stephen Carpenter (as Steve Carpenter)

Writer:

Stephen Carpenter (as Steve Carpenter)

Stars:

Melissa Sagemiller, Wes Bentley, Casey Affleck

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melissa Sagemiller	...	Cassie
Wes Bentley	...	Matt
Casey Affleck	...	Sean
Eliza Dushku	...	Annabel
Angela Featherstone	...	Raven
Luke Wilson	...	Jude
Allen Hamilton	...	Dr. Haverston
Ken Moreno	...	Hideous Dancer
Carl Paoli	...	Deathmask
Barbara E. Robertson	...	Margaret (as Barbara Robertson)
Richard Pickren	...	Ben
Candace Kroslak	...	Cool Blond (as Candace Kaye Kroslak)
Ryan Kitley	...	Young Cop
Rick Snyder	...	Father McManus
Danny Goldberg	...	Campus Cop

Storyline

College freshman Cassandra "Cassie" steps into a nightmare of otherworldly visitations after surviving a devastating car accident. Haunted by a grim reaper of a far different kind, her only hope is to cling to chance encounters with her lost love Sean and the aid of a mysterious young priest named Father Jude. It is the spirit of Sean, her soul mate, who guides her to love, but it is her friends Matt, Annabel and Annabel's morose friend Raven who try to draw her to the dark side.

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Plot Keywords:

supernatural horror | college | car accident | ghost | alternate reality | 

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Taglines:

The World of the Dead and the World of the Living... are About to Collide.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for terror/violence, sexuality and some substance abuse

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 September 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alucinação

Filming Locations:

625 Haven Street, Evanston, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,140,698, 9 September 2001

Gross USA:

$3,111,545

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,299,141

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lost Soul Productions, Original Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Marsden turned down the role of Sean in favor of the part of Scott Summers/Cyclops in X-Men (2000).

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Goofs

When Cassie is lying next to Raven in the hospital, Raven's chest is alternately covered and uncovered between shots.

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Quotes

Annabel: What's the Drama?

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Alternate Versions

To attract a teen audience, this movie was edited from an "R" rating. Among the things cut were gore, language and sexuality.

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Connections

Referenced in Futurama: The Sting (2003)

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Soundtracks

Khyber Pass
Written by Adam Hirsch
Performed by Tree Adams
Courtesy of Bully Music

User Reviews

Awful. One of the worst movies ever. Would've been a good movie if it weren't chopped up and marketed wrong.

A shoddily made "horror flick" that's actually a bad mash-up of romance and psychological thriller. I wonder how anybody's career survived this dud.

Dumb college kids go to a Goth party. A girl and her ex-boyfriend make out in an 'innocent' way. Her boyfriend gets ticked off, she gets her friends into a car accident, and the movie borrows from "Vanilla Sky", "Jacob's Ladder", and "Romeo and Juliet" (its supposed source of inspiration). Is the chick hallucinating? Is all this trouble she's going through really happening? Who cares?

Rumor has it, the script was good. Looks awfully messy to me. Either that, or some insidiously haphazard editing made it so that nothing made sense, just for the sake of a PG-13 rating. The "restored" Killer Cut which offered "MOAR 53X!!1!!! MOAR BLOOD AND GOAR!!!!1!! MOAR TERROR!!!1!!1!!!" still didn't bring any clarity. A marketing fail on Artisan Entertainment's part, the same studio which promoted "The Ninth Gate" as an action movie. Enough about that. This is anemic in terms of entertainment value, lacking chemistry, thrills, or even any unintentional humor. None of the younger actors could even act their way out of being a human centipede. With a rather hackneyed twist in an ending that took forever to reach, it's finally placed the final nail in its coffin. Just to add more suffering, you have to go through a lame soundtrack and the least consistent score ever heard. I mean, music you would hear during "Half-Life 2" incorporated into a 'scary, intense' chase scene in a swimming pool complex? No, that does not go there. Don't get me started on those main titles! And I thought "Chained" (a similarly bad film, only from Australia) was bad.

However, the only saving grace this film seems to have from it rotting along with the sparkly vampires and fake-CG pups is... Luke Wilson, as the sensitive priest dude. He was alright, doing the best he could with this material. The visual aspect, rancid as it is in the club, is only worth looking at in the reality and dream scenes.

Since there is nothing that can redeem this botched-up travesty, "Soul Survivors" is a disaster in every sense of the word. It delivers... a middle finger to horror fans looking for something simple or spooky, a steaming pile of crap to the psychological thriller lovers, and virtually nothing for there to appeal to everyone else. This is indeed one of the worst films I've laid my eyes upon.

Now, it's time for me to rinse them out so I could eliminate the burn that this travesty has cursed me with.