This week, the horror film Soul Collector, starring Nicolas Cage, was released internationally.
The film’s advertising campaign has proven to be one of the most successful of the year, and early reviews have been rave, keeping its Rotten Tomatoes rating above 90% after early screenings.
The film will be released in Russia only on July 25, but we have already managed to watch the new release. We are in a hurry to share our impressions, and we have something to tell about the film.
Briefly
A brilliant promotion strategy
There is a sticky atmosphere of anxiety here.
Nicolas Cage is as scary as Anthony Hopkins
The trailers promised something different.
It’s interesting to watch, but don’t expect a revolution.
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A brilliant promotion strategy
What is the movie about: FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), with unique psychic abilities, investigates a series of brutal murders committed by a mysterious serial killer nicknamed the Soul Collector. The killer rules out encrypted messages at the crime scenes.
By unraveling mysteries and mysterious characters, the protagonist comes closer to unraveling the secrets surrounding the Soul Collector and to understanding the depths of the evil she must face.
The advertising campaign for Nicolas Cage’s Soul Collector, produced by his own company Saturn Films, is a masterpiece of creating intrigue and anticipation.
The campaign began with teaser releases, each carefully crafted to not reveal the plot but to create an atmosphere of mystery and horror. The first teaser, released over six months ago, immediately attracted attention, leaving viewers with many questions and guesses.
A total of six teasers were released, each increasing the suspense but leaving little clarity on the film’s plot or the appearance of the film’s main villain. Director Osgood Perkins requested that Nicolas Cage’s image not be used on posters or trailers, despite his role as the titular character. This forced Neon to come up with a creative plan to market and sell the film without Cage’s involvement.
As a result, an entire website dedicated to the serial killer was launched, which describes in detail the victims of the serial killer Longlegs (Soul Collector) – a “Satanist psychopath” who terrorizes a US family.
The advertising campaign achieved its goal of creating an aura of mystery and horror around the film, which significantly increased the expectations of viewers. Did the film live up to them? Yes and no.
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There is a sticky atmosphere of anxiety here.
Director Osgood Perkins masterfully creates an atmosphere that envelops the viewer and makes them feel the inevitable heaviness of what is happening.
The slow pace adds tension, and even in the calmest moments there is an elusive, unpleasant feeling of danger.
According to the plot, the main character Lee Harker has psychic abilities that help her in her investigation, but make her vulnerable to the villain. Her visions and events intertwine with each other, blurring the boundaries between the present and the great, fantasy and imagination.
Perkins makes extensive use of visual metaphors and stylistic devices to heighten feelings of unease. Scenes shot in 8mm with a grainy texture and rounded corners transport the viewer back in time, creating a sense of otherworldly reality. Transitions from these retro scenes to the present are accompanied by widening of the frame into a wide rectangle, creating an unusual and unsettling effect.
Cinematographer Andrés Arochi uses symmetrical compositions and figures throughout the film. Each shot is so labored that in the process of isolating and alienating the characters, one feels trapped, from which it is impossible to escape. Add to this the camera that follows the heroine. We see her emotions and fear, but we do not see what she sees. A frightening effect of the unknown, conveyed through the acting of actress Maika Monroe.
The soundtrack by the mysterious composer ZILGI also plays an important role in creating an unsettling atmosphere. Background noise, sudden sharp sounds and strange melodies further immerse the viewer in a state of constant tension.
This film is not just a story about a serial killer, immersed in a world where evil penetrates every corner, leaving an indelible mark. And it seems that something is about to happen in the plot that will finally tear apart all the viewer’s nerve cells.
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Nicolas Cage is as scary as Anthony Hopkins
Naturally, one of the key elements that creates the film’s unsettling atmosphere is the character played by Nicolas Cage. The actor is known for his eccentric and flamboyant roles, and in this film the writer gives one of his most memorable and disturbing performances.
In recent years, Nicolas Cage has continued to show that he’s a real chameleon in film, from playing a quirky Dracula in Renfield to playing a hyperbolic version of himself in the comedy The Unbearable Weight Before Talent. But in The Soul Collectors, he shows that he has shades we’ve never seen before.
The appearance of Nicolas Cage’s character was one of the main mysteries and gimmicks of the film’s promotional campaigns. In trailers and teasers, his face was not shown, which increased intrigue and anticipation. Instead, viewers could only see fragments – hands, a silhouette or shadowed frames, which created an aura of mystery around his character.
When the soul collector finally appears on screen, the effect is stunning. Nicolas Cage is sinister and unnatural in the role, creating an impression of death and detachment from the world of the living. If you want a little spoiler, imagine a grotesque image of a 70s glam rocker straight from the underworld.
It is interesting that many journalists compared the film “The Soul Collector” with “The Silence of the Lambs”, which allows us to draw parallels between the main villains of these films.
Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter embodied exquisite horror and intellectual catharsis. Buffalo Bill, who made a suit from the skin of his victims, evoked horror in his physical and psychological cruelty. Cage’s character in The Soul Collector is also a true killer, but his approach has a mystical and supernatural edge.
He is one of those screen psychopaths who scare us not so much with his cruel actions, but with his very state.
While Lecter and Buffalo Bill are the embodiment of real horror, Cage’s Soultaker is something more sinister and otherworldly, which enhances the film’s cocktails and makes it unique in its own right. But unfortunately, it’s not enough, as the film’s main problem is its script.
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The trailers promised something different.
Despite the powerful atmosphere and intention of the actors’ work, we have serious complaints about the film. The expectations created by the marketing campaign were not met: we were counting on a more dynamic and eventful, profound film.
The story is moving in a completely different direction and genre than the teasers and trailers promised. And that’s a problem.
The advertising campaign created too high expectations. Instead of being multi-layered, many things are presented superficially.
The film certainly offers a few twists and turns, but they aren’t always strong enough to make up for the slow pace of the twist. The heroine, confronted with riddles and visions, gradually uncovers a fundamental secret, but the mental aspects of the plot often feel too regimented.
Overall, the film tries to play on the combination of 70s glam rock and the occult, with a particular fixation on the band T. Rex and their 1971 single “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”.
The song’s lyrics appear as a prologue and are referenced in marketing materials. The creators clearly explored rock’s long history of horror, from found Satanic messages on albums to the hellish cover art of bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Metallica.
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It’s interesting to watch, but don’t expect a revolution.
“The Soul Collector” is an atmospheric and stylish thriller, more focused on a sense of unease than a fast-paced, scary detective story about a serial killer. In terms of mysteries, the film is simply weak. It is unpleasant in places, but does not reach the level of colossal horror found in more gritty and profound thrillers.
Visual metaphors and flashbacks of the main character add mystery to the story, making it more like a nightmare than a standard thriller. A kind of satanic power that simply drags the viewer over the edge and back. Until the final credits.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
