‘6 Souls’
R, 112 minutes
By Christopher Lloyd
“6 Souls” is more interesting to ponder as a cinematic failure than as an actual movie.
It stars some very talented performers, including Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. And the Swedish directors, Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, know how to make a movie visually interesting. So how come this horror/thriller is such a complete disaster?
It helps to know the film was shot five years ago, and hung around the studio’s vault gathering dust before finally being shunted out to pay-per-view and a modest theatrical run this spring.
Screenwriter Michael Cooney breaks out that moldy oldie of a story concept: multiple personalities. Never mind that most psychiatrists consider it bunk.
Actually, heroine Cara Harding (Moore) is among them. The story opens with her dismissing split personalities as a figment. But then she’s introduced to a patient, David (Rhys Meyers), who appears to be the real McCoy.
David is a shy, sweet Southerner confined to a wheelchair. But Adam is a brash lothario who walks unimpeded. Other personalities manifest themselves as time goes by, plus a supernatural element enters along with a hillbilly mystic muttering about curses and the Devil.
What’s supposed to be scary instead comes across as incredibly goofy … and tiresome.
Movie: D-minus