Shudder Saturday: Soulmate (2013)

A well-handled debut feature from writer-director Axelle Carolyn, Soulmate is a film that uses supernatural trappings to explore something very grounded, which is namely how difficult people can find it to move on after losing a loved one.

The first person we see suffering is Audrey (played by Anna Walton). She has recently lost her husband, and attempts suicide at the very start of the movie. She then rents a cottage, where she hopes to have some time to rest and get better. Unfortunately, the cottage still has a spirit residing there, in the shape of Douglas (Tom Wisdom), a young man who managed to commit suicide after the death of the woman he loved. After an initial fright, Audrey starts to find herself enjoying conversations with Douglas, despite warnings from a local couple, Theresa (Tanya Myers) and Dr, Zellaby (Nick Brimble). Audrey thinks they are either not wanting to believe her or not wanting to condone her actions, but perhaps they are just thinking of her safety.

Inevitably too slow and uneventful for anyone seeking standard horror movie thrills, Soulmate is best viewed as a straightforward drama that happens to also feature a ghost. If you're hoping for either The Conjuring type levels of spookiness or The Ghost And Mrs. Muir type levels of humorous interaction between a living tenant and dead "squatter" then you'll be disappointed here. This looks at a number of people adversely affected by loss. Although Audrey and Douglas are the main focus, it also becomes obvious that there's something drawing Theresa to the cottage, and its inhabitant, and the third act draws things together in a way that you suspect may not play out well for those involved.

Carolyn does well enough, the film looks good and the script develops the characters in a way that lends more weight to the words and actions as things head towards the finale, but it all feels a bit like something too stagey at times, despite one or two scenes set outdoors. It's a chamber piece and, as such, feels more like the kind of thing you could catch on TV in the evening than a film you would seek out on streaming/disc.

Although not perfect in their roles, everyone does decent work. Walton is a very good lead, mainly just because I like her and would like to see her in more roles that don't have me spending the first few minutes thinking I am watching Rebecca Ferguson, and Wisdom gets to play his ghostly character without any clichéd ghostly mannerisms. Myers isn't as good, but does fine in her role, and Brimble makes the most of moments that have him warning of a danger he won't explain in any more detail. There's also a very small, welcome, role for Emma Cleasby at the end of the film.

It's always a bit tricky when reviewing a film like this to find a balance. You cannot "punish" it for not being the film you expected it to be, yet it's also not good to praise it too much just because it does something a bit different, as admirable as that is. There really should have been a few more scares scattered throughout this, or some more gripping drama between some of the main characters. As it is, the end result sits uncomfortable between the two worlds, not entirely unlike the sad male ghost at the centre of things.

5/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can get the same DVD here (region 2).