Soul Survivor (listed as Spectres on IMDb) is a little different than a lot of movies I see on Lifetime Movie Network. This is a tale of a teenage girl, Kelly (Lauren Birkell), who is lonely and depressed, as her father has passed away and her mother, Laura Lee (Marina Sirtis), is too self-involved. After Kelly attempts suicide, Laura Lee takes her to live in a home in the country for the summer. Before even settling in, Kelly meets a mysterious boy and she begins to experience unusual happenings in the house.I liked this movie but I had to pay close attention, as it seemed a little choppy in places and it had a lot going on. Lauren Birkell does a nice job, as does Alexis Cruz. Marina Sirtis' character is annoying but I suppose she is supposed to be that way for the story. She does give a realistic portrayal, though.

With the name and the description, it's easy to mistake this as being another edge-of-your-seat, thrill-ride horror movie. It's anything but. Apart from having a supernatural aspect to it, it's pretty much an after-school special sort of film. Its PG-13 rating isn't even needed. The suicide element is so brief and tame, that this could still easily be rated G (remember, G doesn't have to mean kids, it just means General Audiences). The interesting thing is that, when the credits finally rolled, I was satisfied with what I'd seen. Imagine that, a movie that doesn't go for the kill and just wants to entertain you with a decent story for an hour or two. The script is...OK, the dialogue is... acceptable, the acting is good, for the most part (this movie is rife with underrated actors that are much more talented than they've ever been given credit for). What I find interesting is that everyone comes across as real people. Not "good actors," just your regular, flawed bozos found on every street corner. When Julia Roberts or Tom Cruise are on a screen, you get drawn-in, but it's always "them." Marina Sirtis, on the other hand, makes you believe you're watching a typical house-mom type, not an actress, who's both kind and overbearing under different circumstances --just as a real person might be. There's a scene towards the end that'll have you wanting to give her a medal for realistically portraying someone in emotional agony, and not simply "oh, the script says I'm supposed to scream here." So, overall it's not a blockbuster, and it's not something you'll want to rush out and tell your friends about. Heck, some of the metaphysical/religious concepts used are so... well, let's just say I don't subscribe to them and politely leave it there, suffice to say they're a bit corny and detracting, in an amalgamated "I've read a lot of spiritual books, but don't really know a thing about it" sort of way. But, I gave this one an "8" score for one very good reason: It accomplished what it set out to do, and it did leave me happy that I'd watched it. With Hollywood pumping out multi-million dollar blockbusters with tons of FX and no story on a regular basis, how often can we really say that about a film these days?

I was fortunate enough to get to see this film a couple weeks back at one of my favorite theaters (the Rialto in Pasadena) and the ambiance of the venue really added to my experience (the Rialto is a grand and spooky place - you can feel the ghosts that surely live there). My only wish is that more people turned out for I can only imagine how much fun it would be to see "Spectres" with a big audience.Having read about the movie in advance, I knew it was not going to be a horror film. Still, there were several moments in the movie made me jump and based on the reaction of the rest of the audience I was not alone. Also I was surprised at how funny the movie is. It's a good thing too because if this film had taken itself - or its philosophical/spiritual ideas - too seriously, it could have been a disaster. Instead, it wears its heart on its sleeve without shoving anything down your throat. And because the filmmakers don't violate the rules they've created in this world, you walk away at the end, maybe not believing, but thinking it'd be really cool if the ideas expressed were true.If people come to this film for any reason other than the supernatural elements, of course, they'll be coming for the cast of recognizable sci-fi veterans (so amazing to see David Hedison again - he looks FANTASTIC). It certainly is fun to see so many good actors playing against type. Still, it is the young actress who plays "Kelly" that steals the show. She IS the movie and that's no knock on the other performers, who all do really good work.Technically, the film is somewhat of a mixed bag in that there's some choppy camera work and the music is often that of a TV Movie. Some of the effects are cool, some are barely serviceable. According to the filmmakers, the movie was shot in high definition, and it has a really unique look to it that seems to fit the mood. Also, the sound effects and design do a lot to add to the spooky and emotionally haunting atmosphere.Still, technical flaws aside, this is clearly a modest-budgeted picture with huge ideas and an even bigger heart and as such I really hope it finds wide acclaim and success.

Just came from the North American premiere, that happened at Cinequest in San Jose.Marina Sirtis, as well as Tucker Smallwood, Linda Park, the director (Phil Leirness) and script writer (Bud Robertson) were there, and we had a nice Q&A session with them at the end.The movie was very good - I'd say excellent if it weren't for one thing:The actors and director basically took the script in a completely different direction than the writer wanted initially. Which is a good thing, for the most part. However the end result is that the film cannot really define itself as a thriller/ghost story (like it originally was supposed to be) nor a like anything, really. It has ingredients of thriller, but it is mostly about a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship with some details of paranormal but without taking itself too seriously.What makes it a very good movie is basically two things: wonderful performances by an ensemble cast that was hand picked (and will definitely attract lots of sci-fi fans, with well-known Trek alumni plus Alexis Cruz from Stargate/Stargate SG-1) and the fact that the underlying plot of the mother daughter relationship IS very interesting and very well played out.The ghost story basically comes out as a plot device. This no Six Sense, no X-Files. :-) The actors and the director didn't take the ghost story seriously and that shows. :-) But that's OK - honestly, it makes the movie more interesting and fun to see.Anyway, they said they've found an international distributor and a national one may be in the works - as soon as they figure out how to categorize this movie. If they do find a way - go see it. Even if you're not a fan of any of the actors, their work really deserves your 90 minutes (and $9).