THE DARK SOUL (2018)

Chandler (Kevin Brewerton, 13 Dead Men) turns up in China. He has a name. A drawing of a face and a pocket full of cash to help him find the person they go with. However, we know from the prologue that this person is unlikely to be found, at least in one piece. This is the setup of The Dark Soul the new film from writer/director/producer Bey Logan. His second film as director after Snowblade, he has an extensive list of credits in the other two roles. They include The Medallion and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny.

The local police chief doesn’t trust him for some reason and recommends he hire Dickson Lee (Lang-Xing Ye) to help find him. Lee is of course on the police payroll. The two soon find themselves dealing with a sinister clinic run by Diana Zhou (Bianca Stam, Chasing The Dragon). One with ties to black market organ harvesting. But what is Chandler’s connection to all of this?

The Dark Soul bills itself on IMDB as a thriller, but it’s a little more complicated than that. The plot takes a turn into horror territory and the result is an entertaining hybrid. The trailer gives the connection away, though in any case, it becomes obvious that Chandler is carrying around at least some of the missing man’s memories. The scene where he shares a memory of a day at the beach with the missing man’s mother is actually touching.

Brewerton is a champion kickboxer and looks a lot like Dave Bautista though not quite as big. Needless to say, that comes in handy in the film’s many fight scenes. While not enough to turn The Dark Soul into an action film, there’s enough to add to the film and keep the story moving along.

The Dark Soul is, in the end, a fun film that mixes action and thriller with just enough supernatural elements to make it stand out from the crowd. I do wish it had explained a few things a bit better but that’s a small detail.

DarkCoast will release The Dark Soul on digital platforms on June 6.