"Lost Souls" follows faithfully in the Hollywood tradition, or what has become tradition, of bewildered souls who encounter spirits beyond their ken, and quite often, beyond Hollywood's. Think "End of Days," or "Bless the Child."
Maya Larkin ( Winona Ryder) is a young woman with at "troubled past," which has left her vulnerable to demonic possession. Sound familiar?
She has been saved by Father Lareaux (John Hurt) who has now become her mentor. Under his direction, she takes up with a group of priests who believe the devil is coming back to earth. Maya witnesses a church-sanctioned exorcism of a violent sociopath who has murdered his entire family. And this is where she crosses paths with Peter Kelson ( Ben Chaplin), a charming young New York author who has no truck with Maya's beliefs. However, he exhibits a definite desire to have some truck with Maya.
Anyhow, as luck would have it, it looks like the devil is coming back to inhabit Peter's soul, and it's up to Maya to save him. She can't understand how Peter could be the body that Satan plans to inhabit, but she has it on good authority.
Some of the scenes are called "eerily good," and one reviewer calls it a "modern thriller where faith battles reason." Now, where have we heard that before?
The movie is directed by Janusz Kaminski, Academy-Award winning cinematographer of "Schindler's List," and "Saving Private Ryan," and produced by Nina Sadowsky and Meg Ryan.
It is rated R for violence, terror and some language.
It starts Thursday at Diamond Cinemas.