Why is everyone discussing Nicolas Cage’s slow-burner “Soul Collector”?

The independent horror film “Soul Collector” starring Nicolas Cage will be released in Russian cinemas simultaneously with the world on July 25. Let’s see why film critics unanimously praised the film and called it the second “Silence of the Lambs”.

Atypical fear

To begin with, the film looks like a classic detective horror film about a serial killer, with the main character investigating mysterious deaths. Originally a room movie from Neon, the film broke box office records by grossing $22.6 million at the US box office in its first week. Many shots and moments really create fear, but there are no truly bloody scenes here, in keeping with the slasher spirit. For example, we barely see the face of the main villain (played by Nicolas Cage) throughout the film, but the terrible make-up and visual manipulation give us the creeps. A typical slow-moving narrative forces you to make terrifying guesses about Satanism and watch the psychological game between a detective and a maniac (at one point it even becomes clear that the main character is the killer), while the ending is striking in its simplicity.

Symbolism, codes and film memories

In the story, FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is on the trail of a maniac nicknamed the Soul Collector (in the original). – (Longlegs, meaning Long-legged). Although many cases remain unsolved for many years, Lee Harker manages to solve the case and track down the culprit thanks to his paranormal abilities.

The dark horse director Osgood Perkins (of “Oz” fame) may be the key to understanding the film. Now 50, he has – In addition to making films as an actor, he also makes his own films. – dark fairy tale “Gretel and Hansel”, art horror films “I Live in the House Beauty” and “February”. The director took his last name from his father, Hollywood star Anthony Perkins, who played a maniac in Hitchcock’s cult film Psycho. His mother, actress Berry Berenson, died on a plane during the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers. The director himself emphasized that this could be a clue to read the script of the film.

Indeed, the film contains many memories of such films as “Silence of the Lambs”, “Seven”, “Zodiac”, “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”. For example, not only does the main character wear a jacket like Clarice Starling’s, but in one of the scenes there is a direct mention of calves. Letters sent by a killer. Basement. Throw a head into a box. The villain somehow remotely kills nine-year-old girls born on the 14th of the month. All these and other images will become a pleasant puzzle for a sophisticated connoisseur of the genre.

The film was shot in a strange way

Critics have already called “Soul Collector” the creepiest film of recent years, if not the creepiest, then certainly the weirdest. Almost nothing seems to happen in the film. It seems that the picture and the ominous music mixed with glam rock compositions are more important than the meaning. Even when the maniac wanders around the house, the images are so emotionless, dynamic and unaesthetic that they look like a music video. You can notice that the film is shot mostly in blue and yellow tones. There are no sharp scenes where monsters suddenly appear, no bloody shots with splatters, but at the same time the film increases the fear. In some ways, “Soul Collector” is reminiscent of friendly horror – this genre and some of its elements are used in computer games, when a person plays a cute game like The Sims for hours, and then a scary presence and a scary sound suddenly appear. This is exactly the sense of paranoia that “Soul Collector” evokes.