Get a life. Get an afterlife…
The Grim Reaper is dying. It is time for his replacement to be chosen. Such is the premise of ‘Soul Searcher’, an independent fantasy-adventure movie going into production this autumn in England. Set to combine action and effects with down-to-earth characterisation and a heartfelt unrequited love story, the film contains several character-defining martial arts sequences as it tells the story of Joe Fallow, a shy 19-year-old who finds himself selected to become the new Grim Reaper.
“My first feature, ‘The Beacon’, was an all-out actioner,” says director and co-writer Neil Oseman, 23. “It was entertaining, but this time round I wanted to tell an emotional story in amongst all the chases, sword fights, scythe fights and visual effects.” Taking its cue from such genre movies as ‘Men In Black’, ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Spider-Man’, ‘Soul Searcher’ sets its comic book style action in a contemporary urban environment. “This is not your typical British film,” Oseman is keen to stress. “It’s not about gangsters, or unemployed guys on bleak council estates. It’s a feel-good film that will have the audience on the edge of their seats.”
In charge of the demanding martial arts sequences is fight choreographer Simon Wyndham, who first worked with Neil on ‘The Beacon’. “It’s an interesting challenge,” says Wyndham, “in that the scythe – the trademark of the Grim Reaper – is a difficult weapon to choreograph. I’m just beginning to get to grips with what kind of interesting moves we can do with it – it should look pretty cool when we’ve worked it out.”
Portraying Joe is Ray Bullock Jnr. – no stranger to martial arts, having taken up karate at the age of six. “Hopefully I’ll be able to do most of the fight work myself,” he enthuses, “but obviously there’ll be doubles on hand for some of the ‘money shots’.”
Aiding Joe in his mission to prevent bad guy Dante (Andy Nicol) from breaking down the walls between Hell and Earth is Luca Callista (Lara Greenway), a striking spectral bounty hunter. “She’s kind of a cross between Boba Fett, a Ghostbuster and Sharon Stone in ‘The Quick And The Dead’,” Greenway explains. Luca’s weapons of choice are two modified Berrettas which fire skull-engraved bullets designed to kill ghosts and demons. “I have a whole armoury in the trunk of my car,” Greenway continues. “Plasma Pulse Grenades, a long range Ecto-Rifle… It’s going to be a lot of fun!”
With principle photography slated to begin towards the end of October, Oseman and his crew are hard at work on the props and costumes, alongside other preparations such as scheduling and location scouting. You can follow the production’s progress on the website (*no longer available*) where you’ll also find more of the concept art, a teaser trailer and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Update: ‘Soul Searcher’ is available to buy now from Amazon.co.uk.
Far East Films would like to thank Chris Jones and all those working on ‘Soul Searcher’.
