Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Tss5078 Dead Souls is every adopted child's biggest fantasy and worst nightmare rolled into one. On his 18th birthday, Johnny Petrie (Jesse James) finds out that he's adopted and there is an inheritance waiting for him. Despite being told not to go back to his home town, Johnny does any way, and learns another secret about his past, one that will put a target on his back. Dead Souls is another film produced for the little known NBC owned cable horror network, Chiller. Because these films are made for TV, they have to be somewhat toned down, something that is always going to hinder a good horror film. For this reason, Chiller films usually come down to two things; the cast and realism. The filmmakers can't use the gore and violence associated with most modern horror films, so it comes right down to how believable or frighting is the story? That brings us to Dead Souls, which has a fairly creepy backstory, that starts out believable, but really stretches near the end. What is enjoyable about this film is that instead of focusing on what it can't do, it works extra hard to be the best at what it can do, meaning get ready to jump, scream, and be on the edge of that seat. As for the cast, Jesse James makes it happen, and no I don't mean that Jesse James. I am referring to the blond haired, blue eyed, twenty-eight year old, who started his career in horror at the age of 9, and like a fine wine, he has only gotten better with age. James has been in some huge Horror films, worked with all the big names, and he was more than over due to star in his own film. Even when this movie starts to fall apart towards the end, Jesse James and his unique style of the cute country boy with the fire inside, is what keeps you watching all the way through to the end. Dead Souls isn't a great film, but it's not a bad one either, and when you compare it to some of the other originals Chiller has put out there, it's a big step in the right direction.

jlthornb51 An average, run-of-the-mill ghost story that neither succeeds or fails and only captures the imagination a few times. Director Colin Theys never really pulls the elements of the story together and fashions anything substantial from them. The cast is less than adequate for the most part with the stunning exception of the wonderful Geraldine Hughes. She gives a superb performance and gives the proceedings a touch of class. However, she isn't in enough scenes to rescue the movie from the oblivion to which it's destined to disappear. Due to the presence of Hughes, the film deserves 3 stars more than the 4 it would ordinarily receive on its own merits.

spoken !!! SPOILERS IN POST !!! First off, the beginning is so low-grade in every aspect I can think of that I nearly stopped watching. But if you can stick it out until the mother goes to the hospital then things pick up nicely. And, too, a lot of little background facts are embedded in that awful start, so you need to listen.Secondly, the wonderful orchestral music was not presented properly; although I did not hear any of the irritatingly loud "jump" sounds, I also couldn't hear it when it should have been a tad louder. So some of the opportunities for adding suspense went right out the window, and I felt let down.On the other hand, I found the characters generally believable, and there wasn't one instance of awkward acting bringing me out of the movie other than in the very beginning. And you do need to remember that this is a horror movie, so it's short on artsy character development and the like.The ghosts creeped me out, but not as much as could have been had the beautiful music been a better presence at times. And their story is something new to me, unique.I can't say anything about the end without giving it away, but if you pay attention it has an interesting little twist on the "you won't believe me" thing.I will buy the DVD, pre-owned, if it ever comes out, because I know I would watch it at least once per year thereafter. If something can be done to improve the volume of the background music (not the songs) for DVD then I will buy it new.And last but not least, the soundtrack of songs should be something worth owning if you're a fan of such, which I am. But as of this writing I haven't found samples to listen to.So sit back, pretend the beginning will be on the exam, and enjoy the rest.

gavin6942 Upon his 18th birthday, a young man receives a mysterious phone call telling him to come out to a property he just inherited. Now, he will learn about his true past and the dark secrets of his family.I would first like to point out that director Colin Theys is under 30, and has already accumulated a decent amount of credits. Now, they may not be big projects and he may not be the next big thing in horror. However, "Dead Souls" was better than average and I think we might be seeing Theys moving up in the world very soon.The film as a whole has a creepy atmosphere and preys on the connection between God, faith and how far we will go for what we believe in. Other stories have told this tale with varying degrees of success. Here, I think we have a new angle -- the protagonist, despite being born into such a home, is completely unaware of it and experiencing everything for the first time. He is an outsider as much as an insider.Not all of the acting is great, and some of the characters are a bit random and show up without reason. Even Emma seems to be thrown in there for nothing more than a romantic interest. I do have to single out Bill Moseley as doing an excellent job. He gets roles in many bad films and gives performances to match. Here, I think he gives it his all.