Soulmate   Starring: Anna Walton and Tom Wisdom Distributor: Soda Pictures RRP: £17.99 Certificate: 15 Release Date: 11 August 2014

After losing her husband in an accident and as a result attempting to take her own life, Audrey decides she has to get away from everything she knows and spend some time alone. She rents a cottage outside a tiny village in Wales, but almost immediately begins to hear noises coming from a locked upstairs room. Obtaining the key for the door, she discovers letters and objects belonging to the previous owner. Over a day or two the sounds of another presence in the house become more distinct, until she is shocked to see a figure sitting in an upstairs chair. For some reason she has an affinity with the deceased previous owner who is surprised but pleased that she can see him. He had killed himself after being shunned by his one true love, and discovered he could not leave the boundaries of the cottage. Their shared heartache brings them closer together, and helps Audrey to set her life back on track. But when she mentions leaving, the ghost has his own motives for turning violent...

To call this film a slow burner would be an understatement of staggering proportions. For the first fifteen minutes very little happens, and I found my mind wandering. Then the plot develops into an almost traditional English haunted house ghost story, with the difference being the ghost plays a major part in the proceedings. This makes it… not unique, but certainly somewhat different from the normal malevolent spirit story. Rather than the shock or horror present in many modern ghost tales, this one concentrates on matters of the heart. The affiliation created by their similar situations – one in life, the other in death – gives the whole situation more poignancy. You genuinely find yourself sympathising with the Audrey character in her attempts to recover from tragedy and continue with her life, never with the ghost. Although the male ghost is benign for most of the film, and actually aids Audrey in reconciling her life, you are cleverly made to feel as a viewer that he is the villain from the start.

This movie was a Frightfest entry, and on the DVD extras there are interviews conducted by Alan Jones who points out the merits of this example of debut full-feature directing. I used to follow the reviews of Alan Jones for years when I used to buy Starburst magazine on a regular basis and enjoy the original ranting of John Brosnan. Most of what he said made pretty good sense, as it does on the disc here. Also present as extras are a commentary and two short films – The Last Post, and The Halloween Kid.

So, this is a solid debut from Axelle Carolyn. It’s not going to win many awards, but it does get away with not biting off more than it can chew.

7

Ty Power