The Dark Soul (2018) [Film Review]

The Dark Soul (2018); or, In Search of…
     This is not some American town. It’s Asia. An Asian guy looking for another Asian guy in Asian city, that’s one thing. If I walk the streets with some big American, people are going to start talking about me, not to me.
The Dark Soul is one of the latest filmmaking endeavors from director Bey Logan and producer James Nan. A low-key mystery drama with action elements may initially seem to a boring story, but it surprisingly turns out to be a pleasant viewing experience.

Release Info

Directed by: Bey Logan Starring: Kevin Brewerton, Lang-Xing Ye, Connie Song, Bianca Stam

Language: English, Mandarin Runtime: 90 min

Synopsis
An American man called Chandler (Kevin Brewerton) arrives in China in order to find a missing person. A police officials sends him to a local contact, Dickson Lee (Lang-Xing Ye), who is supposedly an expert in such cases. The partners with contrasting dynamics have to find their way through the brutal world of an international crime syndicate. In order to catch the bad guys, they must unravel the mystery connected with independent medical facilities in China.

The Chinese Connection
The Dark Soul plays on the familiar theme of “fish out of water” which was present in The Way of the Dragon as well as A Rumble in the Bronx. However, the situation is reversed this time and we get to see a Westerner trying to get a grip in the Orient.

Intriguing storyline and nicely choreographed fight sequences directly point that this movie may be a decent Jason Statham vehicle; nevertheless, the main leads: Kevin Brewerton and Lang-Xing Ye do a great job.

The story might be confusing at first (a foreigner is looking for a Chinese guy he has never met before), but things become clearer more or less halfway through the picture. I have to admit that the plot twist reminded me a bit about Jun’ya Sato’s classic thriller from 1976 Manhunt. However, I do not intend to share any spoilers.

Apart from great performances of the main leads, I also enjoyed the supporting parts done by Connie Song (as Karen Kan, the flower shop lady) and Bianca Stam who played Mrs. Zhou, the main villainess. She had a great fight scene in the finale and I wish she could have been utilized more in the picture.

Recommendations
All things considered, The Dark Soul is a better effort than Vixen (2018). Indeed, it is engaging and enjoyable for one viewing. In addition, I appreciate the “behind the scenes” montage during the end credits. It clearly shows the passion of the crew and their hard work that went into this big project made on a relatively small budget. My thanks go to TriCoast Studios for sharing the screener. They released the film under their DarkCoast label. See the trailer below:Overall score: 7/10

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