"My Soul to Take" Movie Trailer Review

"My Soul to Take"

Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Anthony Crabtree

Wes Craven has been a force in the horror genre over the last four decades, creating unrivaled works of cinema that have rarely been topped. Recently, however, his output has been sparse and has left a lot to be desired. While I have liked the last few films Craven has directed (“Scream 3,” “Cursed” and “Red Eye”), most critics received these films with dislike at the worst and minor praise at best.

Recently, the big news about Craven has been his return to the "Scream" series, with the fourth film due out next year.  But before that series hits the big screen, Craven returns with “My Soul to Take.” Judging from the trailer, it probably won’t surpass any of the classics that Craven has created, but it may rank down there with the fun, schlocky films that are enjoyable like “Shocker” and “Cursed.”

The trailer starts off and looks like a decent--and modern--Wes Craven film. Its tone is like any good slasher film, with teens running around and some type of mysterious--but possibly supernatural--killer who has it in for them in a small, rural town. An amalgamation of “Scream” and “Cursed,” it seems to have promise at the beginning, going back to the Wes Craven that we knew in the mid-nineties, when Craven created some excellent pieces of horror cinema. The best part about this trailer is the fact that when it starts out, it looks original. The film is not a sequel, a prequel, or a remake. This is refreshing.

And yet the trailer quickly goes south. The song “You’re Going Down” by Sick Puppies begins playing, and the idea is that it's supposed to make the movie suddenly hip and intense.  It doesn't--the song is lame.  Now, what appeared to be a somewhat original horror film just comes off like a cliche. Then the words flash up that the movie will be presented in 3D. Anyone who knows about “My Soul to Take” also knows that it has been finished for about a year.  So, it was  converted to 3D. While Craven did oversee the conversion process, it’s still converted and the track record for those has been weak to say the least.

As a longtime fan and supporter of Wes Craven, I still will see the film. It has his signature all over it, whether that's a good or bad thing. I have always been entertained by the films he directs and have no doubt that I will find some enjoyment in “My Soul to Take."

What are the odds that I will see this film in 3D though? Those odds are slim.

Below is the trailer for "My Soul to Take," which opens in theaters October 8, 2010. What are your thoughts?