Taglines: The World of the Dead and the World of the Living… are About to Collide.
College freshman Cassandra “Cassie” steps into a nightmare of otherworldly visitations after surviving a devastating car accident. Haunted by a grim reaper of a far different kind, her only hope is to cling to chance encounters with her lost love Sean and the aid of a mysterious young priest named Father Jude. It is the spirit of Sean, her soul mate, who guides her to love, but it is her friends Matt, Annabel and Annabel’s morose friend Raven who try to draw her to the dark side.
Soul Survivors is a 2001 psychological thriller film starring Melissa Sagemiller as college student Cassie, whose boyfriend Sean (Casey Affleck) dies in a car accident that results from her driving after a night of partying. The accident leaves Cassie racked with guilt and emotionally vulnerable to the point that she begins hallucinating strange visions and waking-dreams, even though Cassie’s friends Annabel (Eliza Dushku) and Matt (Wes Bentley), as well as a local priest called Father Jude (Luke Wilson), all attempt to assist her in coping with the loss.
Filming took place in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Some scenes were also filmed in Gary, Indiana. The filming started in May 1999 and concluded in September 1999.
About the Story
Cassie and Sean, as well as ex-boyfriend Matt and good friend Annabel, go to a club situated in an old church. There Cassie sees a man with a clear, plastic mask (Carl Paoli) and an imposing man with a scarred face (Ken Moreno). Deathmask tries to grab her on the dance floor, but she pushes him away and steps outside the club with Sean.
In the parking lot, Matt eavesdrops on their conversation. Sean confesses his love for Cassie, who claims she feels the same way. When Sean returns to the club, Matt convinces Cassie to give him a last ‘goodbye’ kiss. Sean sees this, and reacts badly to it, giving Cassie the silent treatment as they drive off. Cassie, who is behind the wheel, continually looks away from the road until the car crashes. Cassie’s next memory is of being rushed to the hospital; Matt and Annabel are unharmed, but Sean has been killed on impact.
During the school term that follows, Cassie has several visions of Sean. She also has visions of Deathmask and Hideous Dancer in the company of Matt and Annabel. On several occasions, she believes she is being chased by the two men, although Annabel and Matt assure her that the incidents are all in her mind. After one chase, Cassie faints and is rescued by Father Jude, a young priest who is sympathetic to her fears and offers to listen if she ever needs someone to talk to.
A few nights later, after being chased again, Cassie knocks at the church door, and Father Jude gives her sanctuary. He gives her an amulet depicting St Jude and allows her to sleep in his small room in the church. Upon awakening that morning, Cassie sees that the calendar in the room reads 1981. She enters the office of the attending priest (Rick Snyder) and asks to speak to Father Jude but is told that Father Jude died in 1981.
After a swim competition in which she has been made to participate, Cassie is chased by Deathmask. Defending herself with the tube of a fluorescent lamp, she ends up stabbing him in the stomach but when Cassie returns with Matt, they find there is no body in the pool. Even though she believes that Matt and Annabel are conspiring against her with Deathmask and Hideous Dancer, Cassie requests that Matt take her home to her mother. Instead he drives Cassie to the club, saying that he wishes to pick up Annabel.
Cassie follows him but gets lost, eventually finding Annabel with a new lover called Raven (Angela Featherstone) who has precognitive powers. When Raven tells Cassie to “leave or die” Cassie exits the club and makes her way back to the parking lot. There Matt drunkenly insists on another ‘goodbye forever’ kiss, but Cassie smashes a bottle on his head knocking him unconscious before pushing him from the car and driving away.
Soul Survivors (2001)
Directed by: Steve Carpenter
Starring: Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, Eliza Dushku, Angela Featherstone, Melissa Sagemiller, Luke Wilson, Candace Kroslak, Christine Dunford, Amy Farrington
Screenplay by: Steve Carpenter
Production Design by: Larry Fulton
Cinematography by: Fred Murphy
Film Editing by: Janice Hampton, Todd C. Ramsay
Costume Design by: Denise Wingate
Set Decoration by: Douglas A. Mowat
Art Direction by: Keith P. Cunningham
Makeup Department: Marc Boyle, Lun Yé Hodges
Music by: Daniel Licht
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for terror/violence, sexuality and some substance abuse.
Distributed by: Artisan Entertainment
Release Date: September 7, 2001
Visits: 167
