Sweet Taste of Souls Movie Review - Click Click Shred Shred

An interesting premise rides on a see-saw that mostly remains down.

The invention of the camera has significantly impacted human. We love to capture specific incidents as they unfold only to revisit the memory later and "live" it all over again. Ellinore (Honey Lauren) clicks for a different purpose. Her photograph literally traps the victim within the four walls of a frame. Basically, it's not the memory but the person himself she captures. Terry Ross' Sweet Taste of Souls establishes Ellinore's uncertainty/unreliability/cruelty by opening with just the lower portions of her body. Uncertain because the targets are not particular. Unreliable because she fumbles. Cruel because of the torture. The movie, as if afraid, tries not to "confront her." The face is shown right after we catch one of her subjects, who appears suddenly when the camera surveys the room. His first instinct? To run. Ellinore catches sight of him but, oddly enough, doesn't follow. All it takes is another print, and bam, the victims return.

Before being returned to the frame, this man, whom Ellinore considers her husband, runs quite a distance. He stumbles upon a group and recites, "I am not Patrick. I am not Patrick. I am not Patrick!" Considering him a mad man, they push him aside. Let's introduce ourselves to this group. They are four struggling band members consisting of Kyle (Mark Valeriano), Wendy (Amber Gaston), Nate (John Salandria), and Lily (Sarah J. Bartholomew). I went through the actors' IMDb profiles and found that Sarah voiced Cassidy in one of my favorite video games, Life Is Strange 2. Anyway, back to the film. Kyle and Nate appear to be best friends. Strangely enough, they stop the van, twice, to fight in the exact same way. Their fights lack vigor. There is too much talking, followed by a push or a punch. Eavesdrop on the conversations, and you will notice no interest whatsoever. Dialogues are scripted, but that doesn't mean you need to show it is rehearsed. The women fare better.

Once in the town of Angel Falls, the group comes across Elle's Kountry Kitchen. Kyle is hungry. He is the driver, so the vehicle stops. Others resist, thinking it as a bad idea to enter. Kyle ignores, forcing them to sit in an empty restaurant. It is here we get a peek behind Elle's process. Hiding behind the wall, through an opening, she clicks the pictures of the people. Ellinore appears, flirts a little, and sends the band with a pie to die for. No wonder it turns out to be cold. In terms of horror films, if Kyle is the arrogant one, then Nate is the one who initiates the trouble. Before leaving, Nate breaks a photo frame. As a replacement, Ellinore inserts the group in her collections. With some couples and the "husband," they now share the wall of frame(s).

This premise is intriguing. Writer F. Scott Mudgett surely has a wild imagination. Sadly, this idea is not executed with flair. The primary issue happens to be the absence of focus. If you put your finger on it, the problem arises with its tone. When Nate and his friends communicate using sign language with other trapped individuals, the film turns into a comedy. Some of the earlier interactions between Kyle and Nate make it a buddy-film. When Ellinore picks up the knife, the eerie score turns the film into horror, and when she flirts, it operates on an erotic/femme fatale genre. A police officer using a flashlight in a well-lit area feels like a spoof. Nate and Lily contribute romance. A flashback gives a psychological thriller's vibe, and a rape scene hits like a message on women empowerment. Finally, a CGI devil twists the narrative towards a monster movie. If indeed, we use the camera to record an instance, and Ellinore uses it to seize the people. Then Ross utilizes this tool to confine every genre possible inside this film. One can applaud the intention, but I really wish Ross had stuck with a single vision and polished it to perfection.

The bits I liked were few (or two). Both of them showed a great perception of what could be. For example, take the CGI demon who not only refers to the entity having a taste for the soul. It represents our darkest desires, our wicked thoughts that try to overcome the mind to inflict revenge or retribution. It is the tempting sensation of evil. The other bit unveils wit. It is the scene where Ellinore manipulates an officer by crying for help, and when he arrives...The film needed more tension, more surprise, and more cleverness. Or why not go for camp or slasher? Anything to stop the inconsistent oscillation. Sweet Taste of Souls, alas, is more bitter than sweet.

NOTE - Sweet Taste of Souls will be available for streaming across various digital platforms (Amazon, InDemand, DirecTV, AT&T, FlixFling, Vudu & Fandango) from November 1, 2020.

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