Julianne Moore Stars In The Mysterious '6 Souls'

 

6 Souls can be described as a thriller. It can be described as a mystery. It can be described as supernatural. It can be described as a drama. It can also be described as suspenseful.

You can call it whatever you want, including a nail biter of a movie.

6 Souls, filmed back in 2009, is a supernatural horror-thriller directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, written by Michael Cooney, and starring Oscar® nominee Julianne Moore, Golden Globe winners Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Frances Conroy; Jeffrey DeMunn, Nathan Corddry and Brooklynn Proulx.

 

JULIANNE MOORE AND JEFFREY DEMUNN

 

Julianne Moore stars as Dr. Cara Jessup, a seasoned forensic psychiatrist who, at the behest of her father, tries to cure a case of a man's (David Bernburg, played by Rhys Meyers) personality disorder.  Jessup specializes in disproving the existence of Dissociative Identity Disorder, better known as multiple personalities. She is devoted to science. Even after her husband was murdered, her faith in God was not shaken.  In an attempt to open his daughter up to accepting unexplainable psychiatric theories, her father, also a forensic psychiatrist, introduces her to Adam (Rhys Meyers), a patient with multiple personalities who takes on some of the physical characteristics of those personalities. A simple phone call from her father prompts an eerie transformation in David. After Dr. Jessup quickly discovers that Adam's other personalities are murder victims, the closer she and her loved ones are to possibly becoming murder victims themselves. Soon, Dr. Jessup’s family is engulfed in a mysterious curse of ancient witchcraft. 

 JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS & JULIANNE MOORE

This is a dark drama to be sure.  While it’s a craftily produced movie, there was a constant in the movie that just didn’t make any sense.

Although Dr. Jessup knew she was dealing with a sick individual, who could possibly be dangerous, she kept turning her back on him for no reason, only to scared to death when she turned around. Plus, Jessup was way too brave. She would walk through towns at night, stand in the middle of the road at night by herself, venture into the woods to seek a witch and walk into someone’s home and search around for the owner. When she comes across a terrible smell, she walks toward the smell instead of away from it.   There are some other absurdities in the film that easily makes someone pause.

JULIANNE MOORE & BROOKLYN PROULX

 

Even with those hiccups, the movie still stands as an eerily good horror flick.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) is brilliant as a multiple personality patient. He makes some over the top overtures in his transformations that is frighteningly freaky.  He makes some subtle changes that are equally frighteningly freaky.

Moore is good as a psychiatrist, daughter, mother and sister, who is trying to hold it all together.

Frances Conroy (6 Feet Under) is always a star who delivers. She is sharp and convincing as the mother of a murdered child.

Directors Marlind and Stein have a winner on their hands.

On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likeable), O (OK) and E (excellent), 6 Souls gets an O (OK)

6 Souls (Radius TWC) opens nationwide April 5.