Having seen this movie four times, I finally feel I am in a position to comment intelligently on it. The reason for delaying my opinion was that I wasn't sure how the ending fit in with the rest of the movie. This film clearly shows Kaminski's influence by Roman Polanski, who has been noted for abrupt endings, particularly in the case of The Ninth Gate. However, in this movie, unlike The Ninth Gate, the abruptness of the ending is clearly the only logical conclusion given the premise established by the screenplay. John Hurt is perfectly cast as the battle-tried and wounded priest exhausted beyond comprehension by combat with Satan. He seems to me as believable as Max von Sydow in the title role of The Exorcist, although we know less about the character in this movie. Wynona Ryder gives a competent performance in the lead role, though it might have been better-handled by a more seasoned actress, and the character deserved fuller development in the screenplay. The black-and-white opening titles are quite compelling, as are the black-and-white, stroboscopic exorcism sequences. All in all, the cinematography is outstanding, with the film quality ranging from finely-detailed color to grainy, flickering black-and-white. The screenplay, with the exception noted above, is also generally quite good, although the story line is fairly predictable. There are a few logical implausibilities, the most notable one being that although Peter Kelson's uncle had been priest of the same congregation for many years, and his brother a member of that same congregation, Peter Kelson yet had no clue as to what they were really all about. This of course could be explained by some kind of deception on the part of the congregation, but that is not indicated in the screenplay. Overall, I give this movie a rating of 8 and recommend it to those interested in the genre.
Review of Lost Souls
