13 SOULS

3 stars

Seven Tales. Digital. 25th May

One year, when I was at FrightFest, nearly every horror film shown started with the inspired by or based on true events card at the start. 13 SOULS is another one that uses that well worn idea – as if that makes the film that follows somehow more believable (it really doesn’t).

Apparently during a major fire in the 70’s, thirteen people were found dead in an elevator. Their bodies so badly burned that they were never identified or claimed by any loved ones. There were buried side by side in unmarked graves.

In the present, Ariel (Tim Shelburne) is the caretaker at the cemetery where these folks have been interred. He lives there with his younger daughter Nina (Brielle Tucker). Some years previous her mother, his ex-wife, had run away to Brazil with his elder daughter Agne (Sienna Belle). They had recently returned to the States and as her mother had died they drive to pick the young girl up – as he is now responsible for the clearly traumatised teen.

They stop at a roadside eatery, on the way back home, with lots of bikers there. Agne acts oddly. When a creepy biker approaches the girls she scares him off and he hurriedly rides off and a lorry crashes into him! Don’t mess with Agne.

Welcomed into their home, it isn’t long before the way his eldest acts starts to scare her sister. She is seeing her dead mother. Dad begins to suspect she might be possessed by something and approaches the Catholic Church but is rebuffed by the priest there.

Then he is advised to approach Father Melchior – who used to be the incumbent in the parish – as he might be of help, despite his loss of faith…

With lots of Catholic iconography this is your fairly standard “is she possessed by the devil” outing. It is better acted than most lower budget productions and the music by Pablo Fuu does add an air of tension to proceedings. The atmospheric cinematography by Renato Falcão features lots of Dutch and low angle shots. This US/Brazilian production is well handled by director Paulo Nascimento with the script, which doesn’t present anything particularly new within its narrative, by him in collaboration with Brittany Johnston and Flavio de Castro Barboza.

Steve Kirkham