Souvenirs (2020) User Reviews

Bad, very bad.

[markadmoore · 3/10 · 20 August 2020]

First year drama level acting and script.

Predictable? Ah, yeah!

Redeeming qualities? Hmmm, nah!

No idea how it got the 5.4 rating, must be those involved in the film, no way genuine reviews are getting anywhere near that score!.

Crime and Punishment

[lavatch · 3/10 · 3 April 2022]

There was a revealing moment early in "Memories of a Murder" (a.k.a., "Souvenirs") when a package that arrived at the Morbid Curiosities shop run by young Gail Niven included a copy of Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment." The film itself was about that topic, and it strove to emulate the exceedingly dark tone of Dostoevsky's psychological novel.

Unfortunately, the mechanics of the film kept exposing themselves as contrived and artificial without any genuine probing of the themes of crime and punishment. The best scene in the film was the visit of Gail to a prison where she met Garret Wayne Stubbs, a serial killer, who turns out to be her father. There was excellent tension and an eerie credibility in that scene.

But the rest of the film was muddled and unconvincing, especially in the portrayal of Gail's eccentric and deeply troubled grandmother, Margot, and the character of Janice Roseland, the alleged detective from Traverse City. Nothing seemed to add up to reveal the essence of those characters who became the bane of Gail's life.

The film never achieved a uniform style other than a quirkiness and overall unpleasantness. The weak denouement never even resolved the situation of Gail's status at the university. She was admitted, but will she ever attend and finally shut down the Morbid Curiosities shop?

Don't waste your Time!

[Casamarciano · 2/10 · 24 May 2022]

The movie is just terribly boring. The actors are bad, as is the script. The constant crying of the leading actress was annoying. The plot made no sense. How anyone can give a movie like this 10 stars is beyond me!

2/10.

More questions than answers

[pumping_iron-1 · 3/10 · 28 December 2022]

This movie was not a thriller, not suspenseful, just weird. The characters were never developed, so I was left with more questions than answers. Could Margot walk or was she pretending? What kind of school accepted Gail? I assumed it was an art school because in one scene she appeared to be doing drawings. Why didn't Margot tell Gail anything about her mother? I can understand why she was reluctant to tell her about her father. What happened to Gail's mother? Why didn't Alexa's parents like her? I would've enjoyed the movie more if Gail hadn't been so wimpy and weepy. When she sliced the tires on Tori's vehicle, I thought yay, now she's going to show some spunk. But she returned to being weepy and wimpy. There was really no mystery that Janice was not really a cop. She weirdly questioned Gail, so I knew she wasn't really a cop. Who stopped Gail from killing Janice? I assumed she was dead until I saw her in the prison yard. I wish the story and characters were better developed. There were also so many important details left out that it made the movie disjointed. The movie had an eerie vibe but never quite made it there.

Really well done !

[baunacholi-86159 · 7/10 · 3 July 2022]

Souvenirs manages so well what other psychological thriller nowadays hardly achieve. Tell an original story, let it develop slowly and take advantage of all the suspiciousness, uncertainty and dark chapters which arise. A small gem without massive effects, overly graphical violence or A-lister.

Surprisingly good!

[haroot_azarian · 8/10 · 17 August 2020]

The problem with independent movies is that is the luck of the draw. They can be either very good or very bad. Well to my pleasant surprise I found this movie to be very good. Good acting by everyone (most of the cast not well known, well at least to me). the story was excellent with a good ending. Cinematography was very good. All in all I highly recommend this number!

Loved the plot twist!

[tinaannino · 10/10 · 6 October 2020]

This film was suspenseful and ended with a turn of events. I really enjoyed this indie film, which I was introduced to during a recent film festival.

A new take on serial killer genre

[jbeanie-15458 · 9/10 · 24 August 2020]

Found this a refreshing take on the serial killer genre. appreciated that the film is lead by a female ensemble. Performances were pretty solid.

Surprisingly good

[haskel-72951 · 8/10 · 24 November 2020]

Mot at all what I was expecting. Not a horror movie but an engrossing psychological thriller with a strong cast of unknowns working from a well developed script. This deserves to be seen. It isn't perfect but it is a close to perfect as a low budget indie thriller gets. Highly recommended.

Great watch

[maxarias-10868 · 10/10 · 11 October 2020]

Amazing acting , great vision and filming by the director and unpredictable twists. Would highly recommend giving it a watch.

Excellent Movie

[asrichmond · 10/10 · 10 May 2021]

I watch every single movie on Lifetime and this is one of the best I've seen in a while. Does not even seem like a Lifetime movie. I highly recommend.

Released as "Souvenirs" October 2020 also

[Vanindel-1976 · 9/10 · 10 May 2021]

Decent flick with a pretty predictable ending if you pay attention. Over-acting runs rampant throughout, but is better than your typical Lifetime movies.

Eerie and Intriguing

[brookkd222 · 8/10 · 9 May 2021]

The entire movie is really intriguing from start to finish. The ending was really good and you're not left with any questions. The leads were perfect for their parts and were really enjoyable to watch.

a slowburning psychopaths...

[ops-52535 · 8/10 · 31 March 2021]

Dream, with narcississtic undertone, in a story about a young female bound to her disabled grandmother, managing the shop of murdermerorablia.

Its a small cast movie, with actors that doesnt, except for the lead female, slam the table with good acting. Their dictation though has been trained and you wont need cc's to watch due to their excellent linguistic work. But great dynamics and good realistic dialouges works.

Productionwise its a lowbudget, nice production managed movie, with great camera moves, a shroudded story, with twists that reveals secrets that would make even you scared if real life.

So a little thriller it is, almost psychological horror made on a dime, a result that makes the grumpy old man recommend.