Redundant and unnecessary.

Captivating movie !

best movie i've ever seen.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Johnny Petrie, a young man who's just turned 18, learns that he has inherited a farm house in a small rural town in Maine. Johnny travels to Maine (against his mother's wishes) to tie up a deal with a realtor that will allow the property to be sold off, but when he arrives, he decides to stay at the house and look into why he was left the property and why it's been deserted for so long. As the day turns into night, Johnny starts to witness strange happenings around the house, and before long, he learns of the horror that went on there 18 years prior.Dead Souls has got to be one of the most boring movies I've seen for a good while which is a pity because it comes across as being a really decent supernatural horror. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, as the film just ambles along without any real direction, going about as slow as a snail in treacle.The story itself isn't that bad, even if it is unoriginal, but it's the execution of it that makes it a lot less interesting that it could have been. The whole movie just lacked atmosphere, lacked any real tension, was not scary or creepy, and was pretty poorly acted in some scenes. If it had a better ending then it might have been saved, but even that ended up being a damp squib.As for the characters, well, they were pretty much your run-of-the-mill annoyances, especially Emma who went around acting like the whole world owed her a favour or three. Actually I don't know what was more annoying...Emma's attitude when she's caught in a house that's not even hers, or Johnny for just blindly accepting her attitude and acting like it's him that's in the wrong.The only real decent part of this movie were some of the special effects that were used, but that's obviously not enough to save this guff.I'd only suggest watching this film if you're suffering from bouts of insomnia, otherwise it's best left well alone.

When reviewing movies, it's sometimes hard to judge them fairly by the mediums they were created for. For instance, to come down as hard on a TV-movie created on a small budget as you do a bigger one like the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" remake would be unjust. That's how I tried to look at Chiller's "Dead Souls."Johnny Petrie (Jesse James) inherits an old farmhouse on his 18th birthday from a family he didn't even know he had. Tired of living under the thumb of his overprotective aunt (Geraldine Hughes), he decides to visit his boyhood home and solve the mystery as to who he really is. Upon arriving, he discovers his father (J.H. Torrance Downes) was a local preacher in the small Maine town. He went crazy one night and murdered his entire family, leaving the restless spirits of his mother (Elizabeth Irene) and siblings (Kyle Donnery and Bridget Megan Clark) trapped in the house for eternity."Dead Souls" is an effective little supernatural thriller from Chiller directing regular Colin Theys. He does as well here with the haunted house genre as he did with the zombie genre when he helmed Steve Niles' "Remains." That might not win many over, but I thought the Las Vegas-set living dead tale was an entertaining entry into the world of Saturday Night straight-to-cable B-movies.Things tend to happen quickly in a 90-minute movie based on a 295-page novel. Yes, character development in the movie feels a bit rushed and it would have been nice to get them a little more fleshed out, but overall I thought director Theys and screenwriter John Doolan did what they could with the time they had allotted.Just like most low-budget horror films, "Dead Souls" has one big genre actor it relies on to help bring in fans. In this case, we have Bill Moseley ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre II," "The Devil's Rejects") playing the retired town sheriff who's privy to the dark secret the old farmhouse and its property holds. Moseley adds a level of legitimacy to the movie, as I'm sure filmmakers were counting on."Dead Souls" is presented in 1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.78:1) and both DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo. The picture quality is clear, clean, and easy on the eyes. Whether you watch it utilizing the 5.1 surround sound or 2.0 stereo, there are plenty of creepy bumps, screams, and jolting sound effects to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat in anticipation of jumping through the roof.Special features on the Blu-ray release of "Dead Souls" include commentary provided by Director Colin Theys, Producer Andrew Gernhard, and Screenwriter John Doolan. There's also a tour of the set guided by Director Theys. Bloopers and TV spots round out the bonus material.Whether it was his intentions or not, "Dead Souls" writer Michael Laimo did a great job warning audiences what happens when you lose faith in God and begin to think you need something else as a religious supplement to the Bible. I'm speaking as a movie critic who happens to be a Christian, of course. This shows the tragedy the fallen preacher's family suffered all because he didn't fully believe and rely on God to take care of them and their eternal souls. To make a long explanation short, it highlights the dangers of mixing cult and Biblical beliefs together.I'm a sucker for ghost stories and, while not being as solid as theatrical releases like "Sinister" and others, "Dead Souls" still delivers enough scares to make it worth the viewer's time. The film does leave a little too much to the imagination sometimes when it comes to minor plot points. It relies on the audience's common sense to come into play and fill in what we don't see transpire on screen. However, if you can get past its weak points and just enjoy the movie for what it is, you'll find a decent little thriller here to keep you entertained on a Saturday night at the house.

Lame scares. Terrible dialog. Obviously a made for TV movie. It comes complete with an annoying teenage girl character. And, for some reason, the writer or the director hates dogs... two are savagely killed. I mean, kill as many people as you want, but leave the animals alone. The stepmother character was good and well thought out, however. And Bill Moseley never disappoints.Maybe they decided to film a first draft... who knows.You'd think that a Chiller original would be a little better.I don't usually gripe about spending $10 on a DVD, but a fatty McDonalds meal would have been more worth it. So, do yourself a favor and pass this one by.

Upon his 18th birthday, a young man receives a mysterious phone call telling him to come out to a property he just inherited. Now, he will learn about his true past and the dark secrets of his family.I would first like to point out that director Colin Theys is under 30, and has already accumulated a decent amount of credits. Now, they may not be big projects and he may not be the next big thing in horror. However, "Dead Souls" was better than average and I think we might be seeing Theys moving up in the world very soon.The film as a whole has a creepy atmosphere and preys on the connection between God, faith and how far we will go for what we believe in. Other stories have told this tale with varying degrees of success. Here, I think we have a new angle -- the protagonist, despite being born into such a home, is completely unaware of it and experiencing everything for the first time. He is an outsider as much as an insider.Not all of the acting is great, and some of the characters are a bit random and show up without reason. Even Emma seems to be thrown in there for nothing more than a romantic interest. I do have to single out Bill Moseley as doing an excellent job. He gets roles in many bad films and gives performances to match. Here, I think he gives it his all.