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| The simple, water color-manipulated poster for Wes Craven's My Soul to Take |
The little society of Riverton has a tragic past: 7 people were killed by the 'Riverton Ripper' 16 years ago. - On the same night 7 births took place there! Now, 16 years later, (figure; 1 + 6 is also 7, gasp!), a new maniac naturally runs amok!
My Soul to Take is deftly written and directed by great Ohioan filmmaker Wes Craven (Scream (1996)), his first film as writer-director-co-producer since New Nightmare (1994). The film wallows in youth group mechanisms, popularity anguish and homo-erotically charged scenes. It is ridden with heavy Catholic guilt, shame, child-raising discipline and other such elements often utilized, (from Craven's own childhood experience 'catalogue'). All of this content is regrettably not pushed very far. It gets combined with an editing concept that tries to befit the text-messaging generation as well as violent but essentially not very affecting murders, which bogs down My Soul to Take, a film that seems too courteous and a little dull.
Related reviews:
Wes Craven: 2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Scream 4 (2011) - Craven & Williams serve an irresistible slasher treat
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) or, Don't Fall Asleep!
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| Lead Max Thieriot (Bates Motel (2013-17)) takes direction from Craven in this fine behind-the-scenes still |
Thieriot gives an interview about the film here
Cost: 25 mil. $
Box office: 20.9 mil. $
= Huge flop
[My Soul to Take was released October 8 and runs 107 minutes. Filming took place in Massachusetts and Connecticut from April - June 2008 with reshoots in June 2009. Craven's wife Iya Labunka served as one of the film's producers for her first time. It was shot in 2D but converted to 3D in post. The film opened #5 (behind The Social Network, Life As We Know It, Secretariat and Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole) to a 6.8 first weekend in North America, where the film only played for 4 weeks and grossed 14.7 mil. $ (70.3 % of the total gross). The film's 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 4.2 mil. $ (20.1 %) and Greece with 0.38 mil. $ (1.8 %). My Soul to Take is rotten at 9 % with a 2.9 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of My Soul to Take?
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