Two strangers wake up together in an unknown location. Soon, they find out they are in a sadistic game created to push people to find their soulmates.
Written by Chris LaMont and Joe Russo and directed by Mark Gantt, Soul Mates is a horror film that went right under the radar in the fall of 2023, coming out in theaters and disappearing before most could know it existed. The film is one of those that is of its time with a dating and how difficult it’s become to find a soul mate for some. Thus, the film brings a man and a woman into a twist game that forces them to get closer, to basically share trauma and be trauma-bonded for life as what some see as soul mates. The film does this by putting them through challenges, or tasks, that are violent to someone else, thus creating their own trauma by hurting a third party. It’s twisted, it’s cruel, it’s a bit much at times, but it’s exactly as expected if one looks at it as a torture porn film. The tasks’ violence is rather well thought out and there is some level of surprise throughout the film even for hard core horror fans. The torture devices are interesting here and that’s something not many films can claim.
The film’s performances here are good. It’s a limited range in terms of the character basically going from scared to more scared, but it works for the film’s needs so that cast does the most with that. Annie Ilonzeh as Allison is the star here, she shines throughout and really gives the film the performance it needs. She’s giving this her all and it’s great to watch. Playing her partner in this odd situation is Charlie Weber as Jason who does quite well here as well. Playing a sort of too-happy-to-be-true character, Neal McDonough hams it up in each of his scenes, seemingly loving the violence and violent choices given to the leads. His performance becomes almost like a sort of dark clown that goes way over the top and honestly gets to be too much at times. Hamming it up works for a few scenes, but there is a limit and while for most of the film he is toeing that line, he does cross it and it makes his performance come off a bit, well, off and not in the right kind of way here. Considering how Ilonzeh and Weber take the film and their performances, there is a disconnect with his.
The film here looks great, giving the viewer an easy view of everything happening, good or horrifically bad. The cinematography by Andrew Russo and the editing by Zachary Weintraub allow the viewer to see it all in its bloody glory, giving the viewer plenty time to get to the gross stuff, the gooey stuff, and the oh-my-goodness-why stuff. The film looks great, giving the watcher the view they need on everything here. The special effects get showcased in this beautifully, if there is a such a thing, and are done with talent and a clear love for the red stuff.
Soul Mates is a surprising addition to the genre that came and went in theaters much too fast with far too little marketing. It should have been a hit right around Halloween. It’s a solid horror film with some connections to the dating world that will make some think twice about the whole thing as more than dangerous. Of course, things are exaggerated for our entertainment here, but are they really that far off from the crazies of this world?