The Sleeping Soul

Director - Shawn Burkett (Bludgeon, A Shameless Revenge)
Starring - Ayse Howard (Bludgeon), Corey A. Thrush (Midsummer Nightmare), and Conor Elwood Burkett
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror/Thriller
Format - Streaming (Youtube Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Bludgeon was the first film directed by Shawn Burkett that I was lucky enough to see.  After watching it I became friends with him through Facebook and the two of us talk frequently about random genre related topics.  After I reviewed Bludgeon he sent me two more films to review under his label Concept Media.  The first film of the two is this one here directed by him and based on a story he had written but never finished.  After he visited a horror convention he decided it was time to resurrect his forgotten story.  I knew nothing of the film before watching it but I did go in to it with an open mind.  I knew this one would not be the type of horror film I typically watch.
     The film follows Grace James (Howard) as she struggles to put her life back together after her fiance and unborn child were killed by a drunk driver.  She copes with her lose by consuming large amounts of wine, cigarettes, and creating video diaries. When things finally start to look up she begins to have nightmares regarding the lose of her family and to make matters worse things go bump in the night.  Randoms doors and cabinet drawers open and shut at odd hours of the night and kitchenware is scattered on the floor when she returns to a room.  The young girl can no longer take it and takes a large amount of pills with her wine while in the bath.  She then awakens and the door blows open revealing a bright light.  As she slowly approaches the light she is quickly sucked in followed by her fiance and baby boy walking in to the room to lock the door.  We then jump 16 years and her son is driving to the cemetery to lay a flower on her mother's grave.  When he completes his sincere task he starts to leave the cemetery when he hears a voice tell him to stop.  He panics and slams on his brakes as a car drives by speeding.
     By now most of you may have noticed that I love slasher and zombie flicks and even more so if comedy is added to the mix.  I rarely enjoy horror and thriller hybrids involving ghosts. I do like Carnival of Souls and The Others which is strange because they both have a similar premise as this flick here.  The cast in this one is rather small in comparison to the other films I have reviewed in the past, in fact, you can say this is a one man (woman) show.  Howard does a great job in her role and does carry the entire film on her back.  The rest of the cast does a decent job the few seconds they are in the film.  The story is something we all have seen before in films like Carnival of Souls and The Others.  Just like The Others, this film turns the story in to a more eerie and scary story.  Some of the scenes actually made me jump and caught me completely off guard. These scare tactics are necessary to make an effective ghost story.  As much as I like the story I feel the film would be a lot more effective if the film was cut down more.  A lot of the scenes regarding the main character and her video diary is rather boring.  These scenes take up the first half of the film and makes the film feel rather slow burning and hard to follow.  When I first started watching this one I figured I would not like it but once the hauntings started I quickly changed my mind.  Finally, for those of you seeking great special effects and amazing on screen kills will be disappointed with this one.  The kills and special effects are replaced by a solid performance by the lead and a decent storyline.  Overall, this is an eerie tale that will make your skin crawl at times.  I recommend it.