Lost Souls (2000)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Instant Favorite.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

This movie, beautifully shot and paced with great discipline, has one of the great twist endings in all of horror/suspense cinema.It seems that perhaps the director relied too heavily upon the intelligence and observational powers of his audience; the unbelievable twist at the very last few seconds of the film went unnoticed by most of them.** POSSIBLE SPOILERS? **When I watched this movie for the first time I sat stunned as the credits rolled. The unexpectedness of the ending took my breath away. I feel sorry for those linearly minded viewers who missed out on the experience. Try watching it again without getting so invested in your beliefs about which characters are evil and which are good. Keep an open mind about the nature of deception and that the Devil is supposed to be the Father of Lies. Pay closer attention to the criteria that are given, in moments of exposition throughout the film, for the Devil's return. What characters might fulfill those criteria?

This film is for the over 13, those under may not understand all the nuances. The film starts off slow but builds quickly to capture your attention. At the end, one still does not know if good triumphed over evil or not. This film is OK for teenage get-togethers or college groupie sessions. It is a decent Anti-Christ film. It leaves room for a sequel, Lost Souls 2. Winona Ryder and Ben Chaplin are the two main characters. It is difficult to imagine Winona Ryder as a champion of Christ to save the world from the new Devil. There is no room for chit chat for movie watchers. However, this film is less memorable than the Omen and quickly forgotten after 20 minutes of watching it. OK for horror, not gruesome. This horror deals with the supernatural, not gore. Three thumbs up.

The reasons why Lost Souls was badly regarded become pretty obvious when you see the film. There are two that come to mind. It is stupid, and not exiting. On the other hand, it's not exactly unwatchable either. If nothing else, at least Janusz Kaminski's antique looking photography makes a nice picture, but in fact Lost Souls did a bit more for me, only a bit though.Maya Larkin is a teacher at a seminary school. She and her Catholic colleagues are convinced that Satan is about to enter human form, more specifically, the body of author Peter Kelson. His name was mentioned by a patient in a mental ward who was subject to an exorcism that went wrong and left Maya's tutor Father Lareaux on death's doorstep. Now Maya is going after Peter, hoping to find him before Satan does.One of the reasons I like Lost Souls is sort of a matter of personal taste. I've always loved Winona Rider, she has a great screen presence and her body of work shows a wide variety of faces. One could argue however that this is her most superficial role, but even so, she is not a lazy actress. Too bad the script didn't give her quite enough of a character.There are three things that Lost Soul could use; a brain, an energy boost, and perhaps another ten to fifteen minutes in running length. The ending is rushed and is about as anti-climactic as cinema can get. When I see this kind of thing happen, sometimes I want to think that maybe there was a longer ending planned, but something went wrong in the editing room.None of us can ever know. What we do know is that Lost Souls is dumb, and while it is probably destined for obsurity, it's not unwatchable.

Listening to the director's comment track on the DVD makes it obvious that he did not understand the story and background at all. His focus was on the cinematography which is understandable since this is his main occupation. This was his first director job. He did not understand the religious parts of the film at all. This led to many faults that were not resolved. He stated he did not want to do what "The Exorcist" had done so refused to clarify the story. He was the wrong person to direct this film and it shows.He stated that he took the original script and completely reworked it from the original intent. It is obvious he did not know the religious ideas therefore making a mess of what could have been a really good film.