Soul Mates

Two strangers wake up in the same bed, chained to each other, with no idea how they got there. That's how 'Soul Mates' begins, a 2023 horror thriller directed by Mark Gantt and written by Chris LaMont and Joe Russo. Its debt to 'Saw' is out in the open, only this time the deadly games come courtesy of an online dating service.

Allison (Annie Ilonzeh, from 'Chicago Fire') says she hates online dating, and at first she's sure Jason (Charlie Weber, Frank in 'How to Get Away with Murder'), a wealthy tech type, has kidnapped her. He hasn't. They've both been picked by a site called Soul Mates, which has its own ideas about matchmaking.

Locked in an industrial maze, they're pushed from one game to the next, each a nasty twist on something you'd do on a first date. Their host on the screens is the Matchmaker, played by Neal McDonough of 'Band of Brothers' and 'Yellowstone', a grinning sadist, while "Getting to Know You" plays in the background. What they don't know is who's pulling his strings.

Faith Media Distribution put it out in a handful of US cinemas on 20 October 2023. Critics were split. Some liked the leads' chemistry and the pace Gantt keeps on a tight budget, and Assignment X noted that the gore isn't constant but hits hard when it comes; others found it tired and silly. Variety called it watchable trash, better than the worst 'Saw' films if nowhere near the best.

• Horror
• Thriller