8 aka The Soul Collector (Movie Review)

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

PLOT: A cursed older man must collect souls and feed the demon kept in his over-sized leather sack. An unsuspecting family moves onto the farm, he is occupying, and as one would suspect when it comes to sack-demons, things do not go well.

LOWDOWN: There has been a silent pandemic going on for a while that I can't seem to wrap my head around. What's with the lazy and awkward titling of films? I do not understand how studios expect to garner an audience when your movie title sounds like it belongs in a Serbian mockbuster or that you looked a corkboard and pulled it out of your ass USUAL SUSPECTS style. Having recently reviewed movies like BLACK OPS (review up tomorrow), YOU DIE, DARKNESS FALLS (review up tomorrow) and now THE SOUL COLLECTOR, the one constant they all have are these generic pain-inducing titles, regardless of their quality. Just looking these up is a chore in and of itself, and I can't imagine how making your movie MORE difficult to find would help in any way.

THE SOUL COLLECTOR (WATCH IT HERE) caught me by surprise. Putting aside its generic NETFLIX shelf-filler title and a dollar store-looking poster, this did the creepy demon (ghost?) girl thing right with a refreshing geographical twist. A tale of a recently bankrupt South African family taking over the family farm only to find Lazarus (Tshamano Sebe) an old farm hand still hanging around with a dark secret. This is my first time hearing of Sebe but can attest that this is HIS film. Within the first five minutes, he commands the screen and has a presence that immediately got my buy-in. I'd point to him when describing great acting — having little dialogue yet selling the spiritual and human drama as smooth as a sip of good burbon down the gullet. Lazarus is haunted with guilt; however is sweet, charming, and wise. Though director and writer Harold Holscher wants to play coy on if he can truly be trusted, Sebe gave such a welcoming and trusting performance I half expected him to pull out a pipe and bestow some f*ckin'g soul searching knowledge.

I'm in love with the South Africa setting. The folklore and poignant ghost story shaped by the culture helped this shine above the rest of the overcrowded sub-genre. What sets this apart is the rural African life filtered through local mysticism. The method (a seance?) Lazarus uses to extract the souls he feeds to his demon companion is fascinating AND unsettling. He does a chant that got under my skin. Holy hell, If I ever heard this in actual life, I'd turn the other f*cking way. The local village tribe (as the saviors) was also quite intimidating as they were almost like a warring faction with Lazarus, only on the right side of history. The village's tribal leader (Chris April) was such a badass with his one cataract eye and a straight-shooter attitude. He acts as the local shaman but has this intensity and dark side that kept me switching loyalties more than a few times. I'm usually pro-shaman If you must know but wasn't 100% on this one.

Lazarus befriending the lonely child Mary (Keita Luna) and low-key planning her death is where the movie’s main stakes come into play. Feeding the demon in the sack is his burden to carry, and it’s the conflict that eats him up. I got some PUMPKINHEAD vibes from this as the clearly drawn lines between villain and hero become pretty damn muddled. The demon and Lazarus aren’t outright evil but merely pawns in a larger game. I’m not saying they’re on the side of good, but things aren’t as clear-cut as one would expect. The idea of the sack with a monster is (in theory) laughable to a point where it should be accompanied by a meme of Ray Liotta laughing, but bravo, my friends because the execution here makes THE SOUL COLLECTOR stand out. Having her peak out with big bright eyes as they saturate her face in shadows makes for a great visual. They show very little, but the sight of the dingy big leather sack has me shuddering even now. As outright ridiculous as it sounds, with some TLC you can make most things work, and that's the case here.

I do have a few issues I need to get off my chest though. First of all, why is the family unit so useless in being an actual family? William (Garth Breytenbach) is written as a man who's so weak and unsure I was half expecting a flashback to when he lost his balls. He isn't meant to be a total coward, but every action he takes (however illogical) is done out of forced hesitation. It not only adds nothing but makes him annoying and unlikable. The father is shown to care about Mary but doesn't have the time to give her the attention she deserves. Is he overworked? Sure, but also adding ineptitude as his defining characteristic is just plain bulls*it. I will say that Garth Breytenbach is a great actor and this has nothing to do with his performance but more on how the character is written. Sarah (Inge Beckmann) doesn't fare any better as the mother. She's portrayed as vicious and mean-spirited for no reason. Sarah is meant to be cautious and overwhelmed as well and frustrated that she isn't gaining more ground with her new step-daughter but comes off unlikeable a bitchy towards everyone in the film. We're meant to care about her, and we get a few tense scenes (in theory) where she's in peril, but I ended up rooting for the demon ghost. If you write your character as a hateful jerk, then I'm going to want to watch them die instead of rallying behind them. Maybe don't be an ass?

GORE: There isn’t any blood or gore here, and THE SOUL COLLECTOR mainly focuses on the supernatural and the afterlife. If gore is your game and you’re looking for a little “red” in your life, then this flick isn’t for you.

BOTTOM LINE: Overall, the film works best when it's knee-deep in African mysticism. THE SOUL COLLECTOR is at its strongest when dealing with loss and the afterlife. This puts it above the usual Blumhouse jump scare trend that usually floods the horror market. That being said, there are a couple of clichéd ones in here as well, but nothing too egregious. THE SOUL COLLECTOR isn't unique when you boil it down to its key ingredients, but it puts a personal spin on the demon/ghost sub-genre that gives it an individual identity. With a captivating lead and interesting use of the dead/haunted child angle, I am happy to say that this is one movie that transcends its low-budget VOD format. The title sucks (it was initially called 8: A SOUTH AFRICAN HORROR STORY), but don't let that dissuade you from giving it a look. THE SOUL COLLECTOR is somewhat a diamond in the rough, and what's life without the occasional diamond?