Soultaker (1990)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Simply Perfect

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is not a bad movie at all, in my opinion. Though I love MST3K, I was disappointed that they chose this movie for one of their episodes.The story is pretty good. The acting is pretty good. The "effects" are certainly no worse than average. The only thing remotely "cheesy" about it is the "eighties" feel to it, and HELLO it was just about that time period, so that should be expected. Really, the music could have been much, much worse.Vivian Schilling contributed to something that was, all-in-all, very well-done! I kinda resent MST3K's Pearl referring to her as an "ambitious young lady". Schilling's performance wasn't "hammy" or anything like that. I thought she brought just the right sweetness and intensity to the character of Natalie.The only thing I'd change about it is more of a background story of the relationship between the soultaker and the woman Natalie so closely resembled.

But at least this movie got what it deserved - to be sent to the Satellite of Love to be ridiculed on by Mike, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot from Pearl Forrester on "Mystery Science Theater 3000!" "Soultaker" is one of those long lost, forgotten movies that are so bad you'll be guaranteed to have nightmares or depression later on in life. Even though the movie is not that old, it's still a very forgotten type of movie. If it had never been for the intelligent minds at "Mystery Science Theater 3000," the movie would not only seem like it was never made, but the movie wouldn't be very enjoyable by us moviegoers.In real life: this movie is really bad. In the Satellite of Love: this movie is excellent!

Soultaker was written by and starred Vivian Schilling. It also starred Joe Estevez, Gregg Thomsen, and Robert D'Zar as the Angel of Death.The story begins with introduction to Soultaker, played by Joe Estevez. We quickly learn what Soultaker's role will be in this movie.Next the college aged young people are getting ready for a summer festival, aptly named "Summerfest". In this film, the battle of the classes is omni-present throughout the film. The girls come from a wealthy class, and the guys come from roughly middle or lower class. The class roles seem to play a role in the film for some reason which isn't really clear or pertinent to the story.At Summerfest we learn more about the apparent class struggles of why Zach isn't encouraged to date Natalie. Soultaker makes an appearance as well, with apparently his boss the Angel of Death. Here D'Zar's character points out who is to die and who's souls are to be taken. It's revealed as well, that Soultaker will have a character conflict regarding Natalie, and how he deals with her because of someone in his past.Meanwhile Natalie is ditched by her ride to Summerfest, and Zach convinces her to ride home with them. During the ride home, Soultaker takes an active role causing them to wreck horribly at high speeds.The rest of the story surrounds the Soultaker collecting the souls of the dead passengers, and Zach and Natalie trying to outwit him to return to their bodies so they can continue to live. The class and character conflicts lay in the story, but are really never brought to the forefront or resolved.There's an attempt towards the end to drag out some of the drama, there's a lot of chasing and running which does tend to be really boring. It's not really acceptable, and it would've been nice had this been dealt with differently, somehow to maybe increase the drama but not bore the audience.The story and acting are decent. The soundtrack is OK, and even the production values are good.Robert D'Zar in his brief on screen appearances does a nice job as the Angel of Death. Joe Estevez does OK, however sometimes his role acting a bit flat. Vivian is pretty and does a decent job as Natalie, although perhaps over acting a bit in a few scenes.This may sound odd, but this movie definitely could've benefited from some pointless nudity. Vivian teases us a bit but that wasn't enough.In my opinion this was a pretty serious attempt at making a movie. The results, it's worth watching. Just don't expect a perfect production.3/10

I was reading the user comments today, and I wanted to respond to the person who said that basically people who watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 were Trekkie nerds. First of all, I don't think they have much of a sense of humor. Second, I'm someone who doesn't like most science fiction shows. I have never been a fan of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna rag on people who are fans of these types of shows. Also, I will say that I did not hate this movie. I respect that a woman could break through and write a screenplay, even though starring in it shows a big ego, I believe. I'll admit at the beginning Joe Estevez scared the bejesus out of me. But during MST3K, I thought Crow's comments were hilarious! The best thing he said was, "You may be wondering if I'm Martin Sheen. Well, I'm not. I'm his more talented but less appreciated brother, Joe Estevez. Thank you." I'm not sure if that;s the exact quote, but I think it's pretty close. This sounds nerdy, but in closing, I don't think MST's fan base is made of Trekkie nerds and I appreciate people who have a sense of humor, for highbrow and/or lowbrow comedy.