Desperate Souls is as close as you can get to being two different genres in one film. First half romance and the second half more of a psychological thriller than horror.
The movie begins with the introduction of Moira the succubus, played by indie film scream queen Angel Bradford as she seduces a down and out man named Kevin, played by Nathan O'Brien.
Move forward and we meet our protagonist Devin, played by Joe Rosing in conversation with his therapist Racheal, played by Sarah Dolan. It's here we establish Devin has mental issues such as depression and suicidal thoughts. When Moira, who is seen existing in a void, senses Devin, she becomes drawn to him. Knowing that falling in love with a mortal can have consequences, Moira resists, only coming in Devins dreams to make love to him and not fully taking his soul. Eventually, she gives in and takes on human form to be with him. This is when the film makes a turn and becomes a psychological thriller as an over jealous Moira makes sure that no one gets between her and Devin.
The acting of Angel Bradford and Joe Rosing are convincing and they do have chemistry, but it's Bradford's portrayal of Moira that is the stand out performance. Appearing in low (and even some lower) budget indie films, it's this film she gets to spread her wings (no pun intended) and show she is a very capable actress when given the chance. There is one scene between them that is acted extremely well and brings everything together nicely, for the most part (more on that later).
While Angel and Joe do a great job as leads, Magdalena Conway as the suspicious Rebecca and Jake Yanko as her sex driven boyfriend Dan, try, and most of time succeed, in stealing the film every scene they're in. The rest of supporting cast, Jamie Apple, and Mia Katz, are there for fodder, but, instead of being in the film just to fall to the hands of Moira, they have backstories that blend in with the rest of the film.
For an indie film, Desperate Souls is well written, and for the most part, flows at a good pace. The score from Tony Parsons is haunting, yet beautiful. I will get this out of the way, I did not like how the film ended for it made little sense. I'm not going into spoiler territory, but I was really disappointed.
Overall, Desperate Souls is a refreshing change from the usual indie films released or coming soon. It's not a perfect film for there are some issues sprinkled throughout, but they don't distract from the film itself.
I'll give Desperate Souls a 7 out of 10.
The movie begins with the introduction of Moira the succubus, played by indie film scream queen Angel Bradford as she seduces a down and out man named Kevin, played by Nathan O'Brien.
Move forward and we meet our protagonist Devin, played by Joe Rosing in conversation with his therapist Racheal, played by Sarah Dolan. It's here we establish Devin has mental issues such as depression and suicidal thoughts. When Moira, who is seen existing in a void, senses Devin, she becomes drawn to him. Knowing that falling in love with a mortal can have consequences, Moira resists, only coming in Devins dreams to make love to him and not fully taking his soul. Eventually, she gives in and takes on human form to be with him. This is when the film makes a turn and becomes a psychological thriller as an over jealous Moira makes sure that no one gets between her and Devin.
The acting of Angel Bradford and Joe Rosing are convincing and they do have chemistry, but it's Bradford's portrayal of Moira that is the stand out performance. Appearing in low (and even some lower) budget indie films, it's this film she gets to spread her wings (no pun intended) and show she is a very capable actress when given the chance. There is one scene between them that is acted extremely well and brings everything together nicely, for the most part (more on that later).
While Angel and Joe do a great job as leads, Magdalena Conway as the suspicious Rebecca and Jake Yanko as her sex driven boyfriend Dan, try, and most of time succeed, in stealing the film every scene they're in. The rest of supporting cast, Jamie Apple, and Mia Katz, are there for fodder, but, instead of being in the film just to fall to the hands of Moira, they have backstories that blend in with the rest of the film.
For an indie film, Desperate Souls is well written, and for the most part, flows at a good pace. The score from Tony Parsons is haunting, yet beautiful. I will get this out of the way, I did not like how the film ended for it made little sense. I'm not going into spoiler territory, but I was really disappointed.
Overall, Desperate Souls is a refreshing change from the usual indie films released or coming soon. It's not a perfect film for there are some issues sprinkled throughout, but they don't distract from the film itself.
I'll give Desperate Souls a 7 out of 10.