The Soul Collector

This is the trick guys, go into this movie knowing it's low budget and nothing over the top and you will kinda enjoy it. The story is somewhat original, 6/10

This is kind of a hard one to write about. If it were just the story alone and it had not been so well technically put together, I probably wouldn't have even bothered to write a review about it.

The story itself is basically pretty simple. You definitely will need subtitles for the non-English parts so you will be able to understand what the indigenous people are saying and dealing with, not to mention some important dialog between Lazarus and his, uh... companion. If you do not have subtitles, then you will not be able to follow the story very well, unless of course you happen to speak the South African language that is being spoken : )

I think one of the reviews that I read on one of the sites I normally check for films like this stated that he felt that this film had one of the best openings he had ever seen. I would agree. But, I don't feel it ever really reaches that level of intensity from that point on. And, FWIW, the cinematography, lighting, and editing are are done extremely well. The scenic shots are lovely. This is a VERY beautiful looking movie. BUT... in my lowly and wretched opinion I feel that although crafted really, really well, and the acting by the primary Lazarus was outstanding (the girl, not so much...) ultimately, to me the story was not really quite substantial enough or fully satisfying to fill it out completely. It was okay and certainly not terrible, and like I've mentioned, technically executed really well. I just don't think that it really packed the 'punch' that it could have. It kind of went in a more Metaphysical, ethereal direction as opposed to cranking up the intensity, which with this kind of Horror film I think would have worked better. The very, very ending though, not mentioning anything specific of course, but the ending at the very last moment is a little bit of a Gobsmack, but I didn't really quite understand it. As a matter of fact, I was just now kind of scouring the Internet to see if I could find some opinions or explanations about what it meant : )

Anyway, honestly not a film that I would get hugely excited about, I gave it a '6' which for me is just about at the borderline of maybe being worth a look. But, I really DID think it was a very beautiful movie and it was constructed very well, so I thought that it was at least worth a mention here...

I would say that if you truly don't mind extremely slow and fairly simply plotted films and you appreciate beautiful photography and some light but decent atmosphere AND you are not expecting a lot, then you might find this one mildly enjoyable.

The film opens with an older man on his death bed. With his final breath, he sees another man by his side, and instantly the old man in his bed passes away while the stranger walks away. On the flip side, the film introduces us to a family which consists of William (Garth Breytenbach), his wife Sarah (Inge Beckmann) and their adopted daughter Mary (Keita Luna). The family are driving back to William's family farm to attempt to start a new life. As they begin to settle in and restore the farm, young Mary meets a man in the woods named Lazarus. While Lazarus seems mysterious, he appears to be friendly towards Mary and soon meets her parents. Lazarus reveals that he used to work on the family farm a long time ago and offers his services, including fixing the generator which provides power to the house. While William and Mary see no harm in accepting the extra help, Sarah is not convinced on the stranger's intentions.

But little does this family know, the older man who calls himself Lazarus is a soul collector and is capable of speaking to the dead. Lazarus made an ultimate deal with the devil in a desperate attempt to save his daughter's life and soul after a tragic house fire. An agreement was made, but unfortunately for Lazarus the deal he made was too late, and his daughter died. Now Lazarus roams the lands as he wrestles with his past and his inner demons are hungry for souls.

The film's opening feels relatively slow mostly because nothing made sense to begin with. I'm proud to say after sticking with this film, it pays off significantly. I found this film hooked me in quite quickly as I was eager to understand more about Lazarus and ultimately, what path he will take when it comes to this new innocent family.

Another element that surprised me is that this film is a directional debut by Harold Holscher. As a film debut, I am impressed by the results. The Soul Collector delivers something different and something quite mysterious, which held my investment right till the end. It's also shot well, even during quite dark scenes. And, most importantly, the sound design is also quite impacting and powerful for those that love using their home cinema and surround sound.

As for negatives, I only have a few nitpicks with a release like this. The film's opening, while being mysterious, takes risks in regards to its pacing, and I would imagine some watching the movie may check out quickly rather than having the patience to let the story reveal all the details. While the film is classed as a horror, the film relies on good old jump scares which personally didn't deliver any real suspense. For some viewers, these jump scares could be effective. The film's ending did bring me slight disappointment as some elements are entirely unclear and may offer a different view depending on the interpretation of the audience member. For me, the weaker ending was a significant factor as I enjoyed everything that was being built up towards it.

Overall, as a directional debut, I am genuinely impressed by this film. It's quite mysterious, and I enjoyed how dark this film was. Performances are pleasing, particularly from actor Tshamano Sebe who plays The Soul Collector named Lazarus. Visually, this film is also pleasing and carries an impressive audio track. The movie exceeded my expectations, and I look forward to the director's next film, which I'll gladly support in advance. The Soul Collector is easy to recommend for those seeking a new style of horror film.

6.4/10 - Walkden Entertainment

This film by Harold Holcher explores the supernatural world via a story of a family encounter with a man with a curse. It does this with a good performance by Tshamano Sebe playing the character of "Larazus". Although this film has a good story with beautiful landscape shots, the delivery of the supernatural was not as strong.

A common theme throughout the narrative are references to the natural world: moths, worms, etc. Again the story have some interesting metaphor with insects and the afterlife, Sebe's performance holds the film together. His performance alone, deserves a looksie into this film, hopefully he will reappear in another supernatural film.

That being said this film.with the idea of South African "Fantastic" and "genre" cinema, this still a film to see. The growth of these films are growing in South Africa, like couple of years with 2017's "Lullably" by Darell Roodt.

The story writing and the acting was good. We are used to the western kind of horror stories and it overshadows our own African Stories. This has a great sense of originality as these are some of the scary stories you hear in Africa. This opens up a whole lot of possibilities for how those stories can be enacted into movies. Great for African audiences as they can relate. Slow but mature movie, resonates better with adults.