Lost Souls is a 2000 American apocalyptic supernatural horror film directed by Janusz Kamiński, in his directorial debut, and starring Winona Ryder, Ben Chaplin, Elias Koteas, and John Hurt.

Its plot focuses on a devout Catholic woman who becomes convinced through the decoding of ciphers that a successful writer has been designated by Satan to become the antichrist.

Maya then learns from television that Peter Kelson is a writer who researches serial killers and studies pathological narcissism and parapsychology.

She confronts him with evidence such as his unique blood type, his lack of belief in pure evil, and the fact that his infant baptism was performed by a family member rather than religious clergy.

Writers Betsy Stahl and Pierce Gardner cited the writings of M. Scott Peck, such as People of the Lie as an inspiration for their story.

On Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 8% based on 93 reviews, with the website's consensus stating: "Though Kaminski's film is visually stylish, Lost Souls is just another derivative entry in the Apocalypse genre, with lackluster direction, unengaging characters, and no scares.

"[4] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has an average weighted score of 16 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".

[6][7][8] Elvis Mitchell in The New York Times wrote: "There are some particularly fine visual details; it's the central story that's lacking ... After what is supposed to be a harrowing moment, Kelson says, 'I was surprised but I was never frightened.'

[11] Carla Meyer wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Even a badly executed horror movie can achieve cheesy greatness.

"[13] The critical review from Film4 wrote: "Concluding with an ending reminiscent of both The Game and Jacob's Ladder (though delivered with the panache of neither), Lost Souls is not worth seeking out.