Lost Souls (film)
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| Lost Souls | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Janusz Kamiński |
| Produced by | Meg Ryan Nina R. Sadowsky |
| Screenplay by | Pierce Gardner |
| Story by | Betsy Stahl Pierce Gardner |
| Starring | Winona Ryder Ben Chaplin Sarah Wynter Philip Baker Hall John Hurt |
| Music by | Jan A. P. Kaczmarek |
| Cinematography | Mauro Fiore |
| Edited by | Anne Goursaud Andrew Mondshein (recut) |
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Production
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| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
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Release dates
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Running time
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97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million[1] |
| Box office | $31,355,910[2] |
Lost Souls is a 2000 American horror film directed by Janusz Kamiński, in his directorial debut. The film stars Winona Ryder, Ben Chaplin, Elias Koteas, and John Hurt.
Plot
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. A small group of Roman Catholics believe Satan intends to become man just as God did in the person of Jesus. Writings from a seemingly-possessed psychiatric patient lead them to Peter Kelson (Chaplin). The group suspect it is Kelson's body Satan has chosen to occupy. The youngest of the group, Maya Larkin (Ryder), meets Peter to investigate further and try to convince him of embodied evil. Other signs come to Kelson as he and Maya take a journey full of strange occurrences, self-discovery and an ultimate showdown.
Cast
- Winona Ryder as Maya Larkin
- Ben Chaplin as Peter Kelson
- Sarah Wynter as Claire Van Owen
- Philip Baker Hall as Father James
- John Hurt as Father Lareaux
- Elias Koteas as John Townsend
- Brian Reddy as Father Frank Page
- John Beasley as Detective Mike Smythe
- John Diehl as Henry Birdson
- Anna Gunn as Sally Prescott
Production
The film was shot in 1998 on location in Los Angeles and New York City in America. The film was initially set for release in October 1999. However, due to a flood of "end of the world" and supernatural horror movies such as End of Days and Stigmata scheduled for release around the same time, a decision was made to delay the film. The second release date, February 2000, was also cancelled due to a conflict with the very popular Scream franchise. A final release date of October 2000 was finally decided upon, which also happened to be exactly the same day as the re-release of The Exorcist.
Reception
The film opened at #3 at the North American box office making USD$7,954,766 in its opening weekend. Lost Souls ultimately grossed only $31.3 million worldwide, making it a Box office bomb.
The film was given very negative reviews from critics, though the condemnation was somewhat tempered by praise for its photography and atmosphere. It currently holds a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 90 reviews with the consensus stating: "Though Kaminski's film is visually stylish, Lost Souls is just another derivative entry in the Apocalypse genre, with lackluster direction, unengaging characters, and no scares." It is ranked at number 95 on their 100 worst-reviewed movies of the 2000s.
Elvis Mitchell in The New York Times wrote: "There are some particularly fine visual details; it's the central story that's lacking ... After what is supposed to be a harrowing moment, Kelson says, 'I was surprised but I was never frightened.' That about sums up Lost Souls."[3]
The critical review from Film4 wrote: "Concluding with an ending reminiscent of both The Game and Jacob's Ladder (though delivered with the panache of neither), Lost Souls is not worth seeking out."[4]
